My Favorite Concert DVD's....

[PeruvianSkies]

I wanted to compile a list of some of my favorite and most-played concert DVD's, which are based primarily on two facets: performance of the music and peformance of the DVD. Not only does it have to be a good musical journey, but the DVD needs to look and/or sound good as well. Here are my top few:

JOHN FOGERTY: THE LONG ROAD HOME - Fogerty "brings it" big time with this awesome DVD in DTS w/ plenty of hit songs mixed with some newer and less known material. Fogerty has always remained true to his music and this performance is just a stunner!

BILLY IDOL: STORYTELLERS - a surprisingly great performance and Idol shows that he still has the chops and ability to win over the crowd. Also in DTS the mix is quite strong and really has some superb rythymn and bass. I actually like some of the arrangements of the songs here instead of the album cut, for example - "Sweet Sixteen".

ROY ORBISON: BLACK AND WHITE NIGHT - once a reference DTS sampler item, this is a superb peformance that is stacked with musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and T-Bone Burnett. Roy shows here exactly why his simplistic, yet emotional songs are still popular to this day. Super.

QUEEN: WE WILL ROCK YOU - this particular concert was meant to large screen playback and the level of detail in the picture is stunning. There is one shot in particular where Freddy is playing the piano and there is a bottle of beer on the top of the piano and you can read the ingredients....it's sick. Not only that, but also another good DTS mix that demonstrates exactly why Queen was amazing live.

ERIC CLAPTON: ONE MORE CAR ONE MORE RIDER - I've seen several of EC's DVD's and they all pretty much suck, but this one is superb! Shot in what appears to be HD, this looks stunning and the DTS is one of the best for a concert that I have yet to hear. It's incredibly deep, with loads of detail in the guitars and just well balanced overall. A must must must!

DEPECHE MODE: TOURING THE ANGEL - I was a bit disappointed with the LIVE IN PARIS DVD as it had not DTS, but here they got it right. Super DTS with loads of great classic songs by the band and also their new album Playing the Angel, which in my opinion is their best album in many many years. Solid tracks, great performance and a winner with good sound.

PETER GABRIEL: STILL GROWING UP LIVE AND UNWRAPPED - bolt down anything that is in your room as the bass on this DTS disc will blow you away. Songs like "Sledgehammer" in particular are well executed and this is one of the best times I've seen Gabriel with maybe the exception of SECRET WORLD, but that disc is only DD 5.1. Booooo.

What are some of your favorites?????????????

[Luvin Da Blues]

I have to add a few here

The Eagles-Hell Freezes Over...if only for the pure musicianship offered

Neil Young-Prairie Wind...Hey it's Neil

Andre Bocelli-Under the Desert Sky...What a voice!!!!!

[Rae]

Hmm, I don't know that I have any proper concert DVDs. The closest thing would be the Michigan Fest 2002 DVD that brings back some warm fuzzy memories, but that has only one song per band and not entire performances. I do also have a few tour films... one of my personal favorites is the Lightning Bolt The Power of Salad DVD. Some great moments on that one including Brian Chippendale sitting in a refrigerator during a house show in Texas and dropping from the ceiling and immediately hitting the drums as soon as he lands during another show. Awesome!!

~Rae

[PeruvianSkies]

I have to add a few here

The Eagles-Hell Freezes Over...if only for the pure musicianship offered

Neil Young-Prairie Wind...Hey it's Neil

Andre Bocelli-Under the Desert Sky...What a voice!!!!!

I was curious about the Neil Young...he can be hit or miss. I'll have to check that one out. I love his material of course, but sometimes the concerts are not well done. As far as the Eagles are concerned, that disc was also one of the DTS samplers, although there are two different DVD's of that particular concert...one WITH DTS and one WITHOUT. I was never fully excited about the entire mix, although the performance is superb. The mix always sounded a bit too spread out and thin in some areas, although tracks like NEW YORK MINUTE...awesome.

[3-LockBox]

Dream Theater: Live At Budokan

Roger Waters: In The Flesh

Porcupine Tree ; Arriving Somewhere

[ForeverAutumn]

Dream Theater: Live At Budokan

Roger Waters: In The Flesh

Porcupine Tree ; Arriving Somewhere

Ah, all nice choices. I'd have to add Pink Floyd's Pulse to the list.

[kexodusc]

Dream Theater: Live At Budokhan and Score
Allman Brothers: Live at the Beacon Theatre (the DTS track on this is amazing)
Tori Amos: Welcome to Sunny Florida
B.B. King: The Jazz Channel Presents (still a great entertainer)

[Mr MidFi]

Watched one of my faves just last night...U2 at Sloan Castle. Video production values are not superb; it's filmed in 35mm at an outdoor venue at night. But the performance is solid, and the crowd is spectacularly supportive.

[nobody]

I don't treally watch many music DVDs, but I always gotta mention <b>The Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense</b>.

I also really like <b>A Night With Lou Reed</b> quite a bit. IT's just a straight up concert video from 83, nothing fancy, but Robert Quine shows some great guitar work with Reed and the rest of the band is in good form as well, including Fernando Saunders on bass.

[PeruvianSkies]

Dream Theater: Live At Budokhan and Score
Allman Brothers: Live at the Beacon Theatre (the DTS track on this is amazing)
Tori Amos: Welcome to Sunny Florida
B.B. King: The Jazz Channel Presents (still a great entertainer)

I wish Dream Theater would get on board with DTS, especially a band like this that puts so much effort and energy into a great show and perfection. The sound on the Metropolis 2000 DVD is horrid...it's 2-channel and it's weak. The LIVE AT BUDOKAN is probably their best and maybe SCORE, but they are still lacking in the sound dept.

[Rae]

Reed and the rest of the band is in good form as well, including Fernando Saunders on bass.

I have a friend who does a ridiculous impression of Fernando: "the wonderful thing about Lou is that not only does he lead you into the darkness, but he romances you back out!"

I forgot that I do own a couple of concert DVDs after all; Melvins Salad of a Thousand Delights and a Minor Threat DVD that has at least three complete shows on it. One that I really enjoy but don't actually own is that Neil Young concert pic where he has those red-eyed Jawas as his stage crew. C'mon, you know which one I'm talking about.

~Rae

[kexodusc]

I wish Dream Theater would get on board with DTS, especially a band like this that puts so much effort and energy into a great show and perfection. The sound on the Metropolis 2000 DVD is horrid...it's 2-channel and it's weak. The LIVE AT BUDOKAN is probably their best and maybe SCORE, but they are still lacking in the sound dept.
Yeah, it'd be nice...my understanding is its a rather expensive addition to the production costs that either band or the label doesn't want to bother with. I don't think they have the volume to make it a good business decision.

That said, it's been my experience than when it comes to heavier music like DT, the benefits of DTS tend to be reduced substantially for live events as everything is sort of blurred. It'd be better, but not much bettter IMO. DD is better than the crappy pro-logic or whatever the Metropolis DVD got stuck with.
Ironically, the sound quality of the DVD's is better than all of the shows I've been too.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Pink Floyd: Pulse is definately at the top. Musically as well as visually stunning in every way. A very well produced DVD set.

Cream: Live at Royal Albert Hall - 2005. Excellent concert. Jack Bruce sounded as good in '05 as he did in the band's heyday. Ginger Baker didn't miss a beat, and EC, well, need I say more? Another well produced DVD.

Yes: Yessongs: Not the best quality from an AV standpoint, but it captured their musical style perfectly, IMO.

And thanks for the shopping cart suggestions gang! :thumbsup:

[Swish]

...these are among my favorites.

The Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense. This is so good, I judge all others against it, and most come up short...way short.

Richard Thompson - Live from Austin, TX. This guy may be the best acoustic guitarist in the world, and his work on this DVD is jaw-dropping. '1952 Vincent Black Lightning', which is the a motorcycle, is probably the my favorite solo guitar story songs ever, and his playing is nothing short of amazing. If you like acoustic guitar, you have to see this.

The Band - The Last Waltz. I was a big fan, so if you're not, you may not care for this too much, although it was done documentary style by Martin Scorsese, made more interesting because said director had developed a serious cocaine addition after his New York, New York movie bombed. This movie, filmed at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, was highly regarded and documented the final concert by The Band, who used to back up Bob Dylan and were referred to as 'the band' by most people before breaking out on their own. There were a ton of monster 'special guests' doing, including Van Morrison (doing Caravan, which was probably my favorite performance in the movie), Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, and finally, Bob Dylan.

[ForeverAutumn]

...these are among my favorites...Blah, Blah, Blah



It's not a concert DVD, but what was the Super Furry Animals DVD that you sent me a while back? That had stunning sound quality. Probably the best I've heard.

[kexodusc]

Oh, man, how could I forget - Metallica S&M...maybe their last good effort.

[Rae]

Oh, man, how could I forget - Metallica S&M...maybe their last good effort.

Hmm... you and I have divergent opinions on Metallica... unless S&M is also an alternate title for ...And Justice For All...




Heheh, reminds me of the old anecdote about an exchange between two music enthusiasts:

Music Fan: God, you're so self-centered! I bet the Replacements' last decent album was named after you!

Rock Snob: But my name's not Tim!

~Rae

[Swish]

It's not a concert DVD, but what was the Super Furry Animals DVD that you sent me a while back? That had stunning sound quality. Probably the best I've heard.

...the World", and I bought it based on Slosh's comments. The DTS mix sounds incredible on my 7.1 HT system, and the video portion looks pretty cool on my HDTV. I remember having a soirée at my house and a few people stayed late, so I popped it in. Nobody was feeling any pain at that point of the night, and they were totally amazed at this DVD. Some of the animation and effects are downright freaky.

Swish

[Slosh]

I love the way the drums swirl around you on "Alternate Route To Vulcan Street". This effect could have been really cheesy but somehow they managed to make it work. Oh, and that video for "[A] Touch Sensitive" . . . :)

I made a DVD-R copy with only the DTS track. No menus to navigate. Just pop it in and instant playback. Plus all of the bonus tracks are right there after the main album ("Tradewinds" is great and should have made the album IMO).

Of course a great DTS mix would mean nothing if the music wasn't up to par. This is still my favorite SFA album and I think it sounds better than the 5.1 SACD version of Love Kraft.

In fact - NP:

[kexodusc]

Hmm... you and I have divergent opinions on Metallica... unless S&M is also an alternate title for ...And Justice For All...


Probably not, AJFA is my favorite Metallica album. S&M only works so well because of the songs they played from ..And Justice For All - back...and maybe 1 or two other tunes.

[Diego]

Marillion- Marbles on the Road

Transatlantic- Live in Europe

Jean-Luc Ponty- In Concert

Yes- Songs From Tsongas

[Dave_G]

I love concert dee vee dees.

My favorites:

The Flower Kings - Instant Delivery

Pendragon - And now everybody to the stage

Transatlantic - Live in Europe

Camel - Coming of Age

Galahad - Live in Poland (absolutely stunning)

Nektar Live

Steve Hackett - The Tokyo Tapes

Pallas - The Blinding Darkness

Ozzy - Live at Budokan

Marillion - Marbles on the Road

Neil Young - Heart of Gold

Roger Waters - In the Flesh

IQ Stage

King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me

IQ - 20

Jadis - View from Above

Pendragon has 2 more coming out soon, looking forward to those! I want to get Camel's Pressure Points too. Anyone seen that one?

Oh yes, of course, all of the Rush dvd's are great.

Regards,

Dave

[Wireworm5]

OK, I'll add my picks that haven't been mentioned.

U2- Elevation
AC/DC- Live at Donington
Kitaro- Live in Yakushiji, Enchanted Evening
Satriani- Live in San Francisco
Blue Man Group- Complex Tour
Chili Pepper's- Off the Map. Sloan Castle
Stevie Ray Vaughn- Live from Austin
Santana- Sacred Fire, 2 channel only
Great Big Sea
Blackmore's Night- Castles and Dreams
Judas Priest- Demolition

[musicman1999]

David Gilmour in Concert
Great music,great sound.Possibly the best LPCM track i have ever heard.


bill

[PeruvianSkies]

David Gilmour in Concert
Great music,great sound.Possibly the best LPCM track i have ever heard.


bill

LPCM can be incredibly when done right, like on the CRANBERRIES video collection...just superb.

[PeruvianSkies]

David Gilmour in Concert
Great music,great sound.Possibly the best LPCM track i have ever heard.


bill

I was curious about that disc...I'll have to check it out now!

[Duds]

Some good choices so far

I have quite a few, here are some that are coming to me

Tori Amos - Sunny Florida
Gathering - Sound Relief
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
Tool - Salival
Type O Negative - Symphony For The Devil
Slayer - Still Reigning

[Rae]

Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps

There ya go!

~Rae

[Duds]

Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii

[Duds]

Hallucino-Genetics

[Ex Lion Tamer]

The only one I have is Wire On THe Box: 1979, I watched it a few times when I got it. It's good.

[musicman1999]

I was curious about that disc...I'll have to check it out now!

If you like Pink Floyd or Gilmour this disc is a must own.The disc is all acoustic,well shot in a very nice venue with great sound quality.

bill

[PeruvianSkies]

If you like Pink Floyd or Gilmour this disc is a must own.The disc is all acoustic,well shot in a very nice venue with great sound quality.

bill


Super...I'll pick it up next time I see it. I am disappointed with the other PINK FLOYD DVD's out there...PULSE should have been in uncompressed PCM 2.0 and DTS...what the heck? I do have ROGER WATERS THE WALL (Live in Berlin Import) that has good DTS 5.1.

[SlumpBuster]

AC/DC- Live at Donington
Blue Man Group- Complex Tour


These are two of my favs as well. They both make wonderful use of discrete 5.1 channel. i.e. On the AC/DC disc, Malcolm comes from left speaker, Brian from the center, and Angus from the right. On the Blue Man, the center is dedicated to just the percussion of the Blue Men with the rest of the band coming from the left and right. But on both discs it all blends very well.

Good picks so far, if a little prog and indie heavy, so I will add some that don't appear and would be unlikely to appear.

I get much more eclectic with concert DVD and will pick up a concert DVD for and artist that I don't even have a CD or record for. One of those is Shakira: Live and Of the Record. I got this on a whim. I'd generally liked what I heard of Shakira on the radio, but then while we were recently in Mexico, a cab driver played a whole mix CD during an hour long drive. It was the whip. This show is big and full of spectacle. The mix is great and the band is tight.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/EnvivoYenprivado.jpg

Gwen Stefani: Harijuku Lovers Live. Another big show full of spectacle, as far as I'm concerned Stefani can do no wrong, either solo or with No Doubt. Been a long time fan and I always look forward to new material. She strikes me a chick whose probabably got a super rad record collection.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/HarajukuLoversLiveCover.jpg

Here is a more intimate show that is on of my all time favorites: Social Distortion: Live in Orange County. I am an admitted fanboy and sure it is not the classic line up, but what a great DVD. The rhythm section is just sick.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/LiveinOrangeCountyDVD.jpg

[Demetrio]

Some of my personal favorites:

Progressive Rock

- PORCUPINE TREE - Arriving Somewhere...
- OZRIC TENTACLES - Live at the Pongmasters Ball
- ISILDURS BANE - Mind Vol. 5: The Observatory
- P.F.M. - Live in Japan 2002
- PINK FLOYD - Pulse
- KAYAK - In concert
- IONA - Live in London
- SATELLITE - Evening Dreams
- FLOWER KINGS - Meet the Flower Kings
- ROGER WATERS - In the Flesh
- DAVID GILMOUR - In Concert
- CAMEL - Coming of Age
- IQ - Subterranea: The Concert
- MARILLION - Live from Loreley
- PALLAS - The Blinding Darkness
- ECHOLYN - Stars and Gardens
- GENESIS - The Way We Walk
- STEVE HACKETT - The Tokyo Tapes
- PETER GABRIEL - Secret World Live
- PROCOL HARUM - Live at the Union Chapel

Other music genres

- LOS LOBOS - Live at the Fillmore
- MILES DAVIS - Live in Munich
- MORCHEEBA - From Brixton to Beijing
- BJÖRK - Vespertine Live in Royal Opera House
- ERIC CLAPTON - One More Car, One More Rider
- STEELY DAN - Two Against Nature
- STING - The Brand New Day Tour
- U2 - Go Home & Vertigo
- FLEETWOOD MAC - Live in Boston
- DIRE STRAITS - On the Night
- MARK KNOPLFLER - A Night in London
- PHIL COLLINS - Serious Hits: Live in Berlin
- KITARO - Daylight, Moonlight: Live in Yakushiji

Cheers,
Demetrio.

[RoyY51]

I'll go with James Taylor: Live at the Beacon Theater. To me, this is everything that a concert dvd should be. The musicians are represented on the sound stage exactly as they were lined up. No instruments popping up behind you, no studio-added effects...just an extremely convincing fifth-row-center experience.