DVD music concerts


I seem to get more out of concert video's now.After watching movies like "Standing in the shadows of motown",Neal Young "Heart of gold",The Band "Last waltz" Dave Matthews Band "Red rock"...to name a few.

What would you recommend that has good audio as well as video.Some of the older recordings on newer DVD's sound bad.I'm trying to avoid them(smile).

KG
kgveteran
killer blu ray concerts

Jeff Beck - live at Ronnie Scotts
David Gilmour
Paul McCartney - except too much commentary
Yes - Live at Montreaux

coming - Stop Making Sense

dvd's
major secomd for Wilco'c Ashes of American Flags
I was at the Tipitina's show in New Orleans
Chris Botti; "Live in Boston" has great guest artists; fabulous sounds; a track with Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Josh Groban, nice dialogue; well recorded on Blue Ray...its a nice evening if you like lite Jazz....
on Blue Ray; Diana Krall; "live in Rio" is a good quality video; shot in hi-def; can't believe she's 45 years old; and the music quality on the BD is also excellent
For those who do not know what they are missing here is a taste.

That ain't Maceo...that's Fred Wesley. A legend on the trombone and it is pretty obvious from this clip why. (If you are not a musician then you may not realize how extremely difficult this is)
Marty,

I agree with My name is Maceo - It is a great DVD for those who like funk. It is a film documentary that has great music and is also fun to watch - these artists are mostly down to earth yet brilliant performers (a big contrast to Sting "Bring on the Night", where you have this pervasive atmosphere throughout of the most ugly Monsters from Sting's ID prowling around - that guy gives me the creeps).
I note that "My Name is Maceo" isn't -strictly speaking- a concert dvd. It contains non-performance documentary footage as well. Probably why it wasn't listed.

Marty
Somehow, Shadorne hasn't mentioned "My Name is Maceo" by Maceo Parker. He recommended this DVD on an earlier thread and it has claimed a place in my top four, along with three displays of guitar pyrotechnics:

Jeff Beck PTW (already mentioned)
Richard Thompson in Autsin Tx.
Lindsey Buckingham at Bass Hall.

Thompson's a marvel and his overall performance elevates an otherwise unremarkable video production into something special. Buckingham is a brilliant performer (with an utterly unique voice on electric guitar) and a terrific songwriter, too. The sound/video/production is first rate. Fire these two up up after the Jeff Beck dvd and you will marvel at the range of the guitar as an expressive instrument.

Caution: If you play, you may be forever discouraged at the height of the bar these guys set.
YES - Live at Montreux 2003

Watched on Bluray -what a fine performance.
Sonics very decent.

What impressed me was the (vitually) note-for-note recreation of their hits without the aid of sheet music!

Sure, they wrote and have been playing the music for some time but I find it astonishing.
Huey Lewis and the News "Live at 25" is absolutely awesome sound quality.

I have had the CD for a while and decided to get the DVD. Well I am very impressed. This is an extremely enjoyable DVD and the band is very tight. Bill Gibson (drums) is fantastic. The sound quality is beautiful (although some may be disappointed that it is not the requisite bass heavy mix) - you can really crank this and it just gets better and better - an extremely convincing "you are there" sound!

I'll also take the opportunity (while bumping this thread) to mention that Jeff Beck "Performing this Week at Ronnie Scott's" is another awesome DVD or Blu-ray performance and with pristine sound quality. Another good one is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Soundstage.

Enjoy ;-)
Brian Wilson's "Smile" is really good. It has an available 5.1 DTS surround soundtrack, and the video itself is also great. The sound quality beats the hell out of the CD (which is actually very good for a CD).

I have a live concert of Alison Kraus and Union Station. Also has a 5.1 surround DTS available, which sounds great, as are the performances. I think the video quality leaves something to be desired.

Pat Metheny's "The Way Up" is available in HD DVD, so its video quality is top notch and the sonics are excellent as well.
Has anyone mentioned Pink Floyd "Pulse", live from Earl's Court in London 1994? I just viewed it. All I can say is......WOW !! Disc 2, Dark Side of the Moon, is sensational. This disc set offers two 5.1 SS audio streams: the default 448kbps and an upgraded 640kbps. If your player is compatible, select the 640kbps. Whoa !!
I bought "Lightning in a Bottle" shortly after Dave's suggestion - this is pretty good sound and very educational, GREAT music and FUN - I highly recommend it!

Thanks DAVE!
Joe Cocker in Concert (recorded 10/15/96 in Stuttgart, Germany

John Fogerty, The Long Road Home

Chicago, Live by Request (on A&E from 2002)

The Gratful Dead Movie (2 disc set)

Susan Tedeschi Live from Austin, TX
Joing NetFlix and rent: Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Beatles: Yellow Submarine, Eagles: Hell Freezes Over, Roger Waters, PortisHead, Dave Matthews, The Band: The Last Waltz, Sade, Lincoln Park, Big Head Todd.
I don't have 24 nights, but it made me think of another Clapton DVD that I do have. "One More Car, One More Rider"
Excellent Wide-Screen, DTS production if you have that capability.
Definately Eric Clapton 24 nights. The sound quality is first rate, especially with the orchestra.
1. Porcupine Tree " Anything Somewhere"
2. Peter Gabriel "Secret World Live"
3. Pink Floyd "pulse"
4. Fleetwood Mac " The Dance"
Motorhead: "25 & Alive: Boneshaker" Dolby Digital

Manowar: "Fire and Blood" especially "Blood in Brazil" disc, Dolby Digital

Celtic Woman: their first DVD, this one has some incredible bass, great for sub demo, Dolby Digital

Celtic Woman: "A New Journey: Live at Slane Castle, Ireland" this one is in both Dolby Digital and DTS
I just watched Peter Gabriel's "Secret World Live" in DTS and it sounded pretty darn good, Paula Cole was featured as backing vocalist and she was very good akso.
The "Strat Pack" is highly recommended. A dedication to the Stratocaster. Gary Moore's version of Red House alone is worth the price of the disc. Brian May and Paul Rodgers do quite a few songs, and Joe Walsh and David Gilmour are excellent too. The back-up singers are easy on the eyes.
Nine Inch Nails - Live - Beside You in Time
It is in DTS and it sounds and looks incredible.
Sure would be nice to see them all together again.
hmmm, I saw a news item last week that Genesis is getting back together. Sadly, I believe it's the version sans Gabriel and Hackett. Wouldn't it be nice to see the Original Genesis (actually the mark II unit with Hackett) do a reunion show?

Since there's been interest in Prog bands - I'll mention a DVD I picked up at the Tower records closing: Nektar "Pure" (Live in Germany 2005). Worth getting if you're a Nektar fan.
I saw a segment on A&E's "Breakfast with the Arts" on Genesis that included old footage with Peter Gabriel. They had several cuts during his "costume" days but I don't think there were any complete concerts. Even if there were it looked like the production values would be pretty bad. Sure would be nice to see them all together again.
I would like to have Maze featuring Frankie Beverly,CAMEO @ PARLIMENT-FUNKADELIC DVD LIVE CONCERT
I have to second bdgregory's nod to "Concert for George", great musicians, great music, great man (good video & sound too.)
Bdgregory:

I'd like to applaud your listing existing posts on this subject.
This is SO much better than merely whining about what is already there (as if we have time to wallow in the AGon matrix of posts to find them).

For me, I really like Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" DVD (still trying to decide if the music was actually made during the show or if some "Milly Vanilly" monkey business going on).

Also really like the Zep' double set.

Still waiting for an extended Humble Pie performance.
Dave,

Thanks. I saw your post and I decided I must have "Lightning in a Bottle" - you convinced me. It is one of the 50% on this thread so far that I don't have, and it really caught my interest.

I also have Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Down & Dirty arriving shortly. I have been impressed by the natural uncompressed sound of Dirty Dozen's CD recordings (although this indicates nothing, as BEP's last CD is quite compressed and yet their DVD came out so good...

I'll report back if Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Down & Dirty DVD is any good...but thanks again for the lightning recommendation!
Shadorne

Have you watched (and listened) to the "Lightning in a Bottle" dvd I mentioned above? If not, check it out when you get a chance...good blues by some old masters.

Dave
Blue Man Group - The Complex Rock Tour Live
The Australian Pink Floyd Show - Live at Liverpool Kings Dock Waterfront Arena 2004
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant - No Quarter
I played last night again; BEP Black Eyed Peas - Live from Sydney to Vegas (Sydney has amazingly good sound for a concert, Vegas sucks!).

I compared it to Pulse ( a highly rated DVD in these and many threads ). While I prefer the music of Pink Floyd, there is absolutely no comparison to modern 5.1 recording techniques from this Floyd 1994 concert re-mix to last years BEP concert tour (with multiple Grammy award winning engineering behind it).

I also got my sound meter out to figure out what was going on. It was such a startling difference and I am not one easily given to hyperbole!

While you may not like Pop-rap you owe it to yourself and to test your sound system with what engineer Tal Herberg has achieved on this BEP DVD; a new gold standard in concert recording...absolutely astonishing dynamics and clarity!

The sound SPL meter was all over the place (I could not find a comfortable position for the ratshack meter, as it was consistently indicating either too Low or too High!)

This is one of very few recordings WITHOUT compression. Microphones sound just like live microphones do at a real concert (no doctoring). Normally compression is always used in Rock/Pop to even out the dynamics of drums versus guitars, so music never sounds anything like it does at a real live event. Not so in this case! You are there.

If you go for it and crank it just be careful....this BEP DVD has the type of dynamics that can easily BLOW speaker drivers if you are not very careful. Unlike the usual compressed stuff, it will not sound loud or harsh even at high volume levels (I found that an average of 95 db SPL at the listening position was best for this concert with peaks about 20 db above this).

I have over 50% of the DVD's already mentioned in these threads. I also prefer Classical, Rock, Jazz, Blues, country, you name it to pop-rap....but a great live recording is a great recording so I feel I must spread the word about the BEP's...especially given how BAD normal pop recordings are these days.

Is there a glimmer of hope that sound engineers and artists might once again begin to give us decent uncompressed music? I am pretty doubtful when it comes to CD's ...but DVD's, well perhaps, finally, after years of frustratingly bad DVD's, there are some signs of hope...
Standing in the Shadows of Motown is the best I've seen or heard. James Taylor has a few great ones to offer.
as already mentioned, there are multiple threads on this topic, but I'm going to list mine here also since there are some new ones since I last posted. It's obviously subject to music taste - but there may be something for everybody. Some of these are nostalgic for me.

For reference - here's a few of the existing threads:
What concert or music DVD's are worth having?
Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD finally
Best Concert Film

Some from my current line up:

Best:
Concert for George (this is an unbelievable concert)
Pink Floyd - Pulse " "
Allison Krauss & Union Station Live
Peter Gabriel - Growing Up Live
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Crossroads Guitar Festival
Simon and Garfunkel - Old Friends
Diana Krall - Live in Paris

Excellent:
Cream - Royal Albert Hall
Steve Hackett - Somewhere in South America; and Once Above a Time
Camel - Coming of Age

Very Good:
Mark Knopfler - A Night in London
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere
Cowboy Junkies - Open Road (this is only Stereo/Pro-logic)
Neil Young at Red Rocks
Metallica S&M
Mike Oldfield - The Art in Heaven Concert
Julia Fordham - That's Live
America - Live at the Sydney Opera House
Guess Who - Running back thru Canada
King Crimson - Eyes Wide Open
Procol Harem Live
Nektar - Pure - Live in Germany 2005
Nanci Griffith - Winter Marquee
Al Dimeola, Stanley Clarke, Jean luc Ponte, Live at Montreux

Doro Pesch- Fur Immer
G3 Live in Denver
Dream Theater- Live at Budokan
Eric Claptons Crossroads Festival
Dokken live at the Sun
Try Rush Replay 3X.
It has Exit...Stage Left,
Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984,
And A Show Of Hands Tour 1989!
Just bought "Last Traffic Jam" Traffic (steve winwood,jim capaldi and session musicians)recorded live on a re-union tour of sorts 1994. Sound quality is very good and excellent performances, one of the best versions of "Low Spark" I've ever heard. Video editing and "concepts" leave a bit to be desired. I'd recommend it on the music and the sound.
Steely Dan - Two Against Nature, James Taylor - Pull Over, Fleetwood Mac - The Dance, Luther Van Dross - Live at Wembley, Eagles - Hell Freezes Over.
Best sound I've ever heard on concert DVD, and I have most of the ones mentioned above is Cream, Royal Albert Hall, 2005.

Oh, and the video is superb too.
Wow six recommendations for Gilmour/Waters/Pink Floyd DVD's...all done by James Guthrie.

Either this is age related (Floyd peak period fan effect) or James Guthrie has indeed become a great surround mix/mastering engineer, as indicated by the audiogon votes so far...

...it is worth paying attention to who does the console work when it comes to DVD audio quality!
Up - Peter Gabriel
David Gilmour in Concert

The sound on the David Gilmour concert is especially well done. Very realistic 5.1 mix. Demo material for my system.