Best Concert DVD


Now that I finally have a pre/pro (Krell Showcase)that does justice to music, I have been snapping up concert dvd's.

Now I'm looking for recommendations. Which concert dvd's do you find exceptionally well done in terms audio and video fidelity? Which ones were the best in terms of the artist's performance?
kinsekd
U2's latest concert video is awesome on all counts, assuming you like U2. Something like 20 cameras. Great audio and video.

Nine Ince Nails - All That Could Have Been. The music is somewhat difficult to listen to for a long time, and the video quality isn't as good as U2's, but the sound is really good. You'll wonder why other DVDs don't push the bottom end of your system in the same way.
Camel/Coming of Age
Steve Hackett/Tokyo Tapes
King Crimson/Live in Japan
Sade/Live
Here's a few I have:
Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" Excellent, especially Burning Down The House.

James Taylor "Live At The Beacon Theatre" Terrifically subdued and well recorded multi-channel.

I don't care what anyone says, I like The Eagles "Hell Freezes Over"

Jim Robinson
Dave Matthews Band - Listener Supported
Grateful Dead - View From The Vault, vols. I, II, III
Roger Waters - In The Flesh
Talking Heads - Stop Makin' Sense

Music For Montserrat Live - features: Elton John, Eric Clapton (Clapton and Knopfler perform an acoustic "Layla"), Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Sting, Carl Perkins, Mark Knopfler (Brothers In Arms with full orchestra), and Jimmy Buffet. All get together for a final jam of side 2 of Abbey Road and Hey Jude.
I would have listed the same DVD's that Jim Robinson has on his list, but if you are willing to step outside the "live concert" format and just consider an outstanding music DVD, then you must rent or buy "Calle 54".

This film is a tribute to some of the finest contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz musicians (several have died since the film was completed), and is my favorite music DVD. Featured in the film are Paquito d'Rivera, Eliane Elias, Michel Camilo, the Fort Apache Band, Tito Puente, Chano Dominguez, Chico O'Farrell, Gato Barbieri, Chucho Valdez and his father Bebo Valdez, and a host of other great musicians in supporting roles. For those reading this thread, I'll simply say that if you liked Ry Cooder's film "Buena Vista Social Club", then you'll love "Calle 54".

The music from "Calle 54" won a Grammy last year for best Afro-Cuban jazz CD, and I think the film was nominated for an Oscar in its film category. Awards aside, this DVD has outstanding musical performances, first-rate sound, and excellent film production values. It can also give your sound system a real workout.

While I give this DVD my highest recommendation, it comes with a caveat: this may not be your cup of tea if you absolutely hate Afro-Cuban jazz. On the other hand, if you can listen to this DVD without tapping your foot and getting really engaged with the film, you better check your pulse...
For the sake of sound Diana Kralls newer concert DVD is a must, So is Keiko Matsui DVD.If you never heard Keiko Matsui try a CD first. She is a great pianist.

Santana's "Supernatural" is pretty in sound, video quality is OK.
I always try out my Peter Frampton "Live in Detroit" DVD for guest. Great sounds and video.Can't miss on that.

There are more already mentioned, but give these a shot.

By the way I did not like the video or sound qaulity of Sarah Mclachlin in "Mirror ball". It almost sounded better in two channel verses 5.1. Video quality is marginal. Good music though.

My wife loves the "Cher" DVD Live in Las Vegas and the 3 Divas both sound great. Gotta keep them happy.

Enjoy
I apologize if someone already mentioned it but how about "Eagles - Hell Freezes over". I actually get chills when they do "The Last Resort" - it sounds that good.
As already stated, The Eagles and Peter Frampton Live are not to be missed. I would like to add the Fourplay Live concert DVD to the mix. They have some great vocalist singing with the group such as Chaka Khan and the Phills and in Phill Perry and Phillip Bailey.
Hello All,

I would like to recommend Metallicas' "S&M" concert DVD. The band plays w/ Michael Kamen conducting The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. I'm a Metallica fan so my opinion is a bit biased but I think, if you give it a shot, regardless of if you are a fan or not, you will find this DVD very enjoyable. Excellent sound and picture. Very well done........John
Here's my whole list in no particular order.

Camel/Coming of Age
Steve Hackett/Tokyo Tapes
King Crimson/Deja Vroom, Live in Japan
Sade/Live
Eagles/Hell Freezes Over
Roger Waters/In The Flesh
Peter Frampton/Live in Detroit
The Band/The Last Waltz
Wishbone Ash/Live Dates 3
Deep Purple/New, Live and Rare
Deep Purple/Australia 99 Total Abandon
Deep Purple/ London Symphony Orchestra
Procal Harum/Live
Mike Oldfield/ Tubular Bells II and III Live
Mike Oldfield/ The Millenium Bell
Jethro Tull/ Living With The Past
Pete Townsend/Music From Lifehouse

I have a few more but these are my Favs.

Robt
Santana Supernatural Live- the video is absolutely first rate and the sound is amazingly clean. Multiple artists make this disc fun to watch again and again plus DTS encoding is a plus. You'll be up all night. I would like to check out that Roger Waters DVD because if it's anything like "amused to death" it might be halucinegetic in surround
Alice in chains "unplugged" is awsome, though it may not be everyones cup of tea.
Fleetwood Mac, the dance is also well done.

Vader007
For smooth Jazz fans, I recommend Casino Lights '99: Montreux Jazz Festival. It features music by Four Play, Boney James, Rick Braun, and several others. It is also recorded in DTS 5.1, DD 5.1, and PCM Stereo. A great way to compare the formats.
Concert DVD

Steely Dan - Plush Jazz (latest tour)
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
The Who - Royal Albert Hall w guests
Yes - House of Blues
Sade - Lovers Rock
Diana Krall - Live in Paris

I also enjoy those classic album reviews
Steely Dan, U2, EJ, The WHo
DON HENLEY LIVE - INSIDE JOB (Great performance and probably best sounding DVD that I have)
The Band - The Last Waltz
Directed by Martin Scorcese
Best Cinamatography
The Artists -
Van Morrison
Ronny Hawkins -Best Quote -To the Member's of The Band "You won't make much money but you'll get more pussy than Frank Sinatra"
Neil Young
Joany Mitchell
Neal Diamond
The Staple Singers
Emmylou Harris
and more.
If you Love The Woodstock era and the music this is a must . The Band is the Reason why the Woodstock concert happened .
Best show and lights: Phil Collins Live in Paris. Best sound: Eagles Hell Freezes Over, or Fleetwood Mack The Dance.
I have some of the ones already mentioned. One that I didn't see is James Taylor "Live at Beacon Theater". A true gem.
Thanks very much to all who posted. Many of these were already on my shopping list. I've since acquired some of them through eBay. Others, like Calle 54, I never would have thought of, but will now consider. Nice thing about it is that most of these can be had for less than $20.

Thanks again. You guys are the greatest!
I have to tell you that Queen's "We Will Rock You" DVD in DTS is so well recorded that I feel like lighting matches! The mix is excellent, and in DTS, this will blow you away (and your neighbors!)
Santana is very good as is the Eagles "Hell freezes over". I still think the BEST sounding concerts are on laserdisc. My Pink Floyd concerts on LD are the only reason I still keep an LD player around!! In fact most of the LD concerts I have sound much better on LD than DVD - the picture quality is with DVD but not the sound! I've noticed this with movies as well. We A/B Jurassic park one day and the LD version killed it! The subs were really going on each dino footstep with the LD, while the DVD produced a muted thud.
Nine Inch Nails...All that could have been.

I wish that I was a bigger NIN fan, because this DVD is amazing.
The Grateful Dead - "Downhill From Here" Excellent sound, although 2ch Stereo. Some consider these shows to be the last truly Rockin' Dead shows. The DVD is from the first and third nights of the '89 Alpine Valley run. A must have for any Deadhead & others who appreciate good tunes.........
Well many of my favs are already mentioned.----However in classical there happens to be the best version of Beethoven's 9th there ever was.---Ok, they're all good this is just a little bit better. Claudio Abbado's version on DVD !!This has it all. Picture, sound, AND the performance; the soloists, the singers all top of the heap.I have about 8/10 recordings of this piece, to compare this, to.
I was never a fan of the BeeGees, but having said that "One night only" is a must see/listen.
I have to add Steely Dan's "Two against nature" to the list.
Treyhoss is right about laserdisc. Pink Floyd sounds geat as does Eagles Hell Freezes Over. I prefer the LD version to the DVD. The movie True Lies sounds better on lazerdisc than it does on DVD {analog anyone?}.


(1)Mary Chapin Carpenter, Live at Wolf Trap - Jubilee
(2)Lillith Fair
(3)Sarah McLachlan, Mirrorball
(4)Diana Krall, Live in Paris (but really only for the last track - "A case of you").
Only because this one was filmed in 1969 the sound and picture quality is not up to today's standard. For purely historical value and the performance of many individual artists do not miss the original "Woodstock". For me this is an example of commercially unpolluted music. Music that had soul and meaning those days, unlike the carefully engineered empty attempts of today's pseudo artists which fall into the flavor of the week category. If you are looking for audio and video thrills for your home theatre, this one is not one of them.

I just watched a preview of Eric's Clapton's 01 tour on directtv last night and it was very good. They were advertising the DVD release of the concert. I will go pick it up. I also like U2's Elevation DVD but I am not very impressed with the video quality. I wish they would release U2's ZOO TV tour in widescreen DVD. I have the VHS and that is a very good concert. I also had the opportunity to see all three of these tours live.
I just watched a preview of Eric's Clapton's 01 tour on directtv last night and it was very good. They were advertising the DVD release of the concert. I will go pick it up. I also like U2's Elevation DVD but I am not very impressed with the video quality. I wish they would release U2's ZOO TV tour in widescreen DVD. I have the VHS and that is a very good concert. I also had the opportunity to see all three of these tours live.
Wvick Zooropa is on LD and you're right it's very very good. I'll buy it on DVD also when/if it comes out due to LD limited life. Want to watch that one for a long, long time.

Dave Matthews Listener Supported. Wish their live albums were that good.

Sarah Mclaughlin Mirrorball

Dylan Don't look back. Brings you back 30 years like it was yesterday.

Fleetwood Mac The Dance is a classic
ONE MORE CAR, ONE MORE RIDER is the new DVD and CD release of Clapton's 01 tour. A must have for Clapton fans. The concert was filmed in LA on the last night of the tour and although Clapton admits he was tired and did not feel up to performing, the performance is outstanding. The band features top notch muscians including Billy Preston (Winner go round in circles),David Sancious, and Nathan East. The video quality is good and the audio quality is excellent. The concert features a long acoustical set ending with a long electrical set of some of his most popular songs (Badge, Sunshine, Layla etc.) Highly recommended.

Bill
Billy Preston (winner go round in circles)??
For those who care - "Will it go round in circles"
That's kind of like the older Brownsville Station song
"Smokin in the boy's room"

The last line of the chorus is ....smokin ain't allowed in school.
A friend of my wife's in college thought it was....smokin in the lounge is cool!

I get a kick out of these.
Bill
Various Artist / Best of "Live at W.54 th Street" PBS music series. Great audio tracks covering a wide range of music genres.
Elton John at Madison Square Garden, I think its called 1 night only.
I recently saw something called "G3" for you electric guitar fans. It had either Joe Satriani or Steve Vai or maybe both
No one mentioned Roy Orbison's "Black and White Night". Although its not in color its a stunning concert with many great muscians playing with Roy. The sound is excellent.

Also, Eric Clapton's 24 Nights is very good.
Just finished watching the Dixie Chicks in concert. If you have an interest in C&W, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
I only own one so far, New Order 511. Based on the quality of both audio and video I will be buying others. For New Order/Joy Division fans this is a great DVD. They play a great mix even going back to the JD days including Tansmission, She's Lost Control and Love Will Tear Us Apart.