Live in Concert: 50th Anniversary DVD and Blu-ray.

[Justin]

When the band were in the Land of Oz, over a few drinks I got to chat with Marc and Mark from the film crew and they told me that they were producing three video productions from footage garnered from the tour. This is release number one, there are more to come.

I'm still holding onto this hope!

[Shady]

When the band were in the Land of Oz, over a few drinks I got to chat with Marc and Mark from the film crew and they told me that they were producing three video productions from footage garnered from the tour. This is release number one, there are more to come.

I'm still holding onto this hope!

If the Red Rocks or Hollywood Bowl shows don't get the Blu Ray treatment it would be a travesty..

I'm holding out hope for The Red Rocks. That show looked incredibe, what a venue

[PS]

First Impressions:

Based on the videography of this one, I am not optimistic about the future releases. While the restless editing and the number of audience shots are, as others have indicated, not nearly as bad as I expected, the camerawork is constantly pushing and pulling, zooming and tracking toward and away from the singer and instrumentalist for no apparent reason other than to "keep it moving". Get out your Dramamine for most of the numbers on this disc, folks, which I do not look forward to re-visiting. Completely unmotivated cutaways all over the joint to try and get a multi-view perspective that adds NOTHING to the musical moment at hand. When the camera DOES pickup the right person at the right time, it works great, but there are so many cuts that prevent you from ever being to settle into it and WATCH the band at work in the moment - no time for any extended groove. There also seems to be a noticeable lack of a stabilizing "center field" camera for much of it (and Mike's cap is down so low that it doesn't really work for him anyway, as we often can't see his eyes from that angle) and they constantly cut back and forth from the nose bleed seats to the laterally roving floor camera in front of the stage, awkwardly looking up, which gets tiresome very quickly. Rove right to left, now back, now back again, etc. Because of the nature of the camera setups, all of the (hand held, from the stage) shots of Brian are basically right next to his (huge) ears, and his constantly focused reading of the piano computer screen is much more distracting and alienating than the BW concerts where he could read multiple prompters as if he's looking out into different parts the audience. Many shots of the band are taken from unfortunate angles (like behind them where you can't see them singing) from the roving stage camera that are sometimes useless, or underlit, and frequently unmotivated by anything organic to the music. When the musical moments are picked up, it suddenly locks in but never stays that way - I watch without confidence, waiting for the inevitable cutaway. Truly, some of the cellphone takes on YouTube have been more satisfying to watch.

Yes, it's not as bad as it could have been, but I'll you that the in-house live video feed at Red Rocks was a MUCH better rendition of the concert that I saw, including having a camera facing Brian directly, rather than just from the side. This feels like a semi-amateur job, quite frankly, from a cinematic point of view. And not a great performance by any means - or at least the rushed editing of the setlist is not helping to convey the beautiful arc of musical pacing that the shows had. The overall editing and constantly rushed pace of cramming the numbers, the lack of intros, even the ellipsis of time between numbers makes the set seem very awkwardly paced and clipped, when the shows themselves were actually perfectly paced. "Marcella" directly follows "Hawaii" (with no intro or context established) and your eyebrows go up. Same with "Heroes" directly following "I Get Around" - no sense that there was an intermission and an introduction, SMILE context, etc.....just jump right in after the lights come back up. I never thought this would happen, but it made me miss Mike's old corny raps and intros from the 70's...No one has any time to talk in this show, which constantly feels like there's a meter running somewhere...

The mix is strange for a live gig, viz: the audience sounds and the tracking - while the band sound is very clean, it truly doesn't capture the excitement and electricity of the sound IN THE AIR I heard, and the 5.1 is mostly negligible. In fact, the best numbers for me are when the pace slowed down a bit, like "All This is That" and TWGMTR. The editing is more focused and stable, and the singing is gorgeous. Because they edited out the real pace and the increasing excitement of the audience in real time, you have a sudden rush of audience sound for Fun, Fun, Fun that again feels "unearned." And something very strange happens to 5.1 mix during the  "You're Under Arrest" part of H &V. Sounded like a patch or punch-in. Have to revisit that.

I'm happy to have it, yes, but I will be listening to the Japanese show a lot more often than I will revisit this disc. I am simply so tired of unwarranted restless music editing and needlessly swooping captures. (Swoop John B?)

Wish they had given the job to Demme. This whole enterprise feels a bit cheap (including the disc logo, the packaging, the lack of any text, etc.) and amateur for such an important event. Amateur camerawork, amateur editing decisions. Sound is fine but not exciting, not integrated into the live event, the air...

[Lowbacca]

First Impressions:

Based on the videography of this one, I am not optimistic about the future releases. While the restless editing and the number of audience shots are, as others have indicated, not nearly as bad as I expected, the camerawork is constantly pushing and pulling, zooming and tracking toward and away from the singer and instrumentalist for no apparent reason other than to "keep it moving". Get out your Dramamine for most of the numbers on this disc, folks, which I do not look forward to re-visiting. Completely unmotivated cutaways all over the joint to try and get a multi-view perspective that adds NOTHING to the musical moment at hand. When the camera DOES pickup the right person at the right time, it works great, but there are so many cuts that prevent you from ever being to settle into it and WATCH the band at work in the moment - no time for any extended groove. There also seems to be a noticeable lack of a stabilizing "center field" camera for much of it (and Mike's cap is down so low that it doesn't really work for him anyway, as we often can't see his eyes from that angle) and they constantly cut back and forth from the nose bleed seats to the laterally roving floor camera in front of the stage, awkwardly looking up, which gets tiresome very quickly. Rove right to left, now back, now back again, etc. Because of the nature of the camera setups, all of the (hand held, from the stage) shots of Brian are basically right next to his (huge) ears, and his constantly focused reading of the piano computer screen is much more distracting and alienating than the BW concerts where he could read multiple prompters as if he's looking out into different parts the audience. Many shots of the band are taken from unfortunate angles (like behind them where you can't see them singing) from the roving stage camera that are sometimes useless, or underlit, and frequently unmotivated by anything organic to the music. When the musical moments are picked up, it suddenly locks in but never stays that way - I watch without confidence, waiting for the inevitable cutaway. Truly, some of the cellphone takes on YouTube have been more satisfying to watch.

Yes, it's not as bad as it could have been, but I'll you that the in-house live video feed at Red Rocks was a MUCH better rendition of the concert that I saw, including having a camera facing Brian directly, rather than just from the side. This feels like a semi-amateur job, quite frankly, from a cinematic point of view. And not a great performance by any means - or at least the rushed editing of the setlist is not helping to convey the beautiful arc of musical pacing that the shows had. The overall editing and constantly rushed pace of cramming the numbers, the lack of intros, even the ellipsis of time between numbers makes the set seem very awkwardly paced and clipped, when the shows themselves were actually perfectly paced. "Marcella" directly follows "Hawaii" (with no intro or context established) and your eyebrows go up. Same with "Heroes" directly following "I Get Around" - no sense that there was an intermission and an introduction, SMILE context, etc.....just jump right in after the lights come back up. I never thought this would happen, but it made me miss Mike's old corny raps and intros from the 70's...No one has any time to talk in this show, which feel like there's a meter running somewhere...

The mix is strange for a live gig, viz: the audience sounds and the tracking - while the band sound is very clean, it truly doesn't capture the excitement and electricity of the sound IN THE AIR I heard, and the 5.1 is mostly negligible. In fact, the best numbers for me are when the pace slowed down a bit, like "All This is That" and TWGMTR. The editing is more focused and stable, and the singing is gorgeous. Because they edited out the real pace and the increasing excitement of the audience in real time, you have a sudden rush of audience sound for Fun, Fun, Fun that again feels "unearned." And something very strange happens to 5.1 mix during the  "You're Under Arrest" part of H &V. Sounded like a patch or punch-in. Have to revisit that.

I'm happy to have it, yes, but I will be listening to the Japanese show a lot more often than I will revisit this disc. I am simply so tired of unwarranted restless music editing and needlessly swooping captures. (Swoop John B?)

Wish they had given the job to Demme. This whole enterprise feels a bit cheap (including the disc logo, the packaging, the lack of any text, etc.) and amateur for such an important event. Amateur camerawork, amateur editing decisions. Sound is fine but not exciting, not integrated into the live event, the air...

Well, f*ck. This was exactly the kind of (technical) review I was waiting for before buying the DVD. Sounds like sh*t, to be honest. Sounds like it doesn't do anything a live DVD is supposed to do: transport the experience and excitement of seeing an artist in concert into your living room. That's what I found to be disappointing about the Rolling Stone preview of "Little Deuce Coupe": too sterile and zero excitement in the air - which doesn't represent a typical 2012 reunion show at all.


P.S. To all the folks in Germany: have you seen the DVD(s) in store yet? I just talked to German amazon - those guys say they might need 4-6 weeks for delivery...

[the professor]

PS's trenchant and merciless review, full of detailed and technical condemnation, fills me with dread. Amazon has shipped mine, and of course I will watch it 500 times, as I have Doin it again. I did download the live Japan show to iPod and listen to it constantly, all in all, I presume, a truer experience.

Our need for a full, intelligent, majestic DVD that, simply put, does everything fright that this one does wrong (as per PS's review) is all the more urgent.

When Dave was little, he peered through the window to see Brian at the piano: that is, we will do anything we can to see the BB at any angle and at any cost--just a glimpse or a full show. We can't stay away.

Thank you PS; you must be a proper scholar in your field.

[HeyJude]

Interesting insights. I don't think the whole thing was *quite* this bad, but your specific editing/camera observations are spot on. I think I was expecting something so horrendous that this seemed more than palatable by comparison.

Because this wasn't a full show, it isn't as troubling that the songs are out of order and the stage patter is gone. It's already butchered in that sense, so I'm just looking at this mostly as if a nice pro-shot concert excerpt leaked out or something. 

Working on a review myself...

[Pretty Funky]

I did download the live Japan show to iPod and listen to it constantly, all in all, I presume, a truer experience.

Can the professor (or anyone) recommend a safe programme for such?

[PS]

Interesting insights. I don't think the whole thing was *quite* this bad, but your specific editing/camera observations are spot on. I think I was expecting something so horrendous that this seemed more than palatable by comparison.

Because this wasn't a full show, it isn't as troubling that the songs are out of order and the stage patter is gone. It's already butchered in that sense, so I'm just looking at this mostly as if a nice pro-shot concert excerpt leaked out or something.  

Working on a review myself...

I basically agree with you. Jude- I probably come off here as being too critical because I'm a (film) teacher who actually takes this form (the filmed rock concert) a bit too seriously...(http://musings.philsolomon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/rock-on-film-syllabus-spring-2009.pdf). Indeed, I too had a smile on my face during some terrific moments and memory triggers (when Al's voice just cuts right through with Rhonda, the bass singing and blend throughout, Dave and Paul's instrumental breaks, Isn't It Time, the final round of Marcella, Brian's forceful Sailor, even the relaxed pace of Kokomo and Jeff doing his best Carl imitation for the middle, a couple of Cowsill flourishes caught in mid-flight, some of the audience mouthing lyrics, etc.) - but I also did have the distinct feeling that I really didn't want anymore when I reached the end, that another ten or twenty songs would have been intolerable at this pace, with the endless re-cycling through these same unmotivated  and unilluminating camera moves again. This is a mighty hard task, no doubt, to record the multiple parts of this multi-facted group live without interfering significantly with the show. I was also watching the Led Zeppelin Celebration last night as well and VERY into how that looked and sounded - but let's get real -  it's a lot easier to paint a four piece band and one singer than to illuminate the prismatic rainbow parts of the Beach Boys. I just think overall that The Beach Boys, with that classic arched stage setup and historically and sometimes graphically interesting center screen, would have been better served with some central, stable cameras and some longer takes overall - and more precise cutting on rhythm and instrumental color accents. And focus on the lead singer for more than one line at a time. They are interesting to watch work individually and as a group, and we don't need to flyby the work at hand all the time. If everything is "exciting", then nothing is...A lot of it simply ends up being a peripheral pastiche instead of a centered source of sound. I want the visuals to help me hear the sound even better than the audio alone.

Check out The Zombies 40th reunion (with Darian!) sometime. Many, many fine examples, of course. I want a Last Waltz/Stop Making Sense sendoff for this group I have loved all of my adult life. Perhaps we'll get something like that with the next one, still being edited...but i'm not certain the capture can be significantly improved at this point unless they took alternative strategies in filming the rest of the shows. As I've said, the Red Rocks in-house seemed remarkably apt and well directed.

[Pretty Funky]

Interesting comments about the number camera changes and pace. For the heck of it I counted the switches in the LDC sample.

During a 1.50 clip we get 44 different camera shots! Little over the top I think.

[the professor]

I did download the live Japan show to iPod and listen to it constantly, all in all, I presume, a truer experience.

Can the professor (or anyone) recommend a safe programme for such?

{quote}


I just went to the link: http://www.mixcloud.com/sinlopez/the-beach-boys-2012-08-16-qvc-marine-field-chiba-japan/

provided in that thread and hit download; it took an hour, and then I went to my downloads and "opened it with" Rhapsody and changed the name to BB show and put it on my sansa disk.  I am not so good at all that audio stuff, but somehow I could do that. Hope it helps; it sounds great at the gym and all over down on the headphones.

[the professor]

I just went to the link: http://www.mixcloud.com/sinlopez/the-beach-boys-2012-08-16-qvc-marine-field-chiba-japan/

provided in that thread and hit download; it took an hour, and then I went to my downloads and "opened it with" Rhapsody and changed the name to BB show and put it on my sansa disk.  I am not so good at all that audio stuff, but somehow I could do that. Hope it helps; it sounds great at the gym and all over down on the headphones.

I failed to place this message properly in my last post.

[Lowbacca]

I just went to the link: http://www.mixcloud.com/sinlopez/the-beach-boys-2012-08-16-qvc-marine-field-chiba-japan/

provided in that thread and hit download; it took an hour, and then I went to my downloads and "opened it with" Rhapsody and changed the name to BB show and put it on my sansa disk.  I am not so good at all that audio stuff, but somehow I could do that. Hope it helps; it sounds great at the gym and all over down on the headphones.

I failed to place this message properly in my last post.

You can modify your posts, you know. 

[HeyJude]

Interesting insights. I don't think the whole thing was *quite* this bad, but your specific editing/camera observations are spot on. I think I was expecting something so horrendous that this seemed more than palatable by comparison.

Because this wasn't a full show, it isn't as troubling that the songs are out of order and the stage patter is gone. It's already butchered in that sense, so I'm just looking at this mostly as if a nice pro-shot concert excerpt leaked out or something. 

Working on a review myself...

I basically agree with you. Jude- I probably come off here as being too critical because I'm a (film) teacher who actually takes this form (the filmed rock concert) a bit too seriously...(http://musings.philsolomon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/rock-on-film-syllabus-spring-2009.pdf). Indeed, I too had a smile on my face during some terrific moments and memory triggers (when Al's voice just cuts right through with Rhonda, the bass singing and blend throughout, Dave and Paul's instrumental breaks, Isn't It Time, the final round of Marcella, Brian's forceful Sailor, even the relaxed pace of Kokomo and Jeff doing his best Carl imitation for the middle, a couple of Cowsill flourishes caught in mid-flight, some of the audience mouthing lyrics, etc.) - but I also did have the distinct feeling that I really didn't want anymore when I reached the end, that another ten or twenty songs would have been intolerable at this pace, with the endless re-cycling through these same unmotivated  and unilluminating camera moves again. This is a mighty hard task, no doubt, to record the multiple parts of this multi-facted group live without interfering significantly with the show. I was also watching the Led Zeppelin Celebration last night as well and VERY into how that looked and sounded - but let's get real -  it's a lot easier to paint a four piece band and one singer than to illuminate the prismatic rainbow parts of the Beach Boys. I just think overall that The Beach Boys, with that classic arched stage setup and historically and sometimes graphically interesting center screen, would have been better served with some central, stable cameras and some longer takes overall - and more precise cutting on rhythm and instrumental color accents. And focus on the lead singer for more than one line at a time. They are interesting to watch work individually and as a group, and we don't need to flyby the work at hand all the time. If everything is "exciting", then nothing is...A lot of it simply ends up being a peripheral pastiche instead of a centered source of sound. I want the visuals to help me hear the sound even better than the audio alone.

Check out The Zombies 40th reunion (with Darian!) sometime. Many, many fine examples, of course. I want a Last Waltz/Stop Making Sense sendoff for this group I have loved all of my adult life. Perhaps we'll get something like that with the next one, still being edited...but i'm not certain the capture can be significantly improved at this point unless they took alternative strategies in filming the rest of the shows. As I've said, the Red Rocks in-house seemed remarkably apt and well directed.

I really enjoyed your intricate breakdown of the camera work. I think I'm so traumatized by so many horrendous concert films (the McCartney items from the last decade or so, for instance), that this was a relative pleasant surprise. It looks better than the St. Augustine footage from "Doin' it Again" at least.

I would definitely love to have something that looks more like the in-house video feeds at some venues. I've seen some in the past, and some on Youtube, and the simple but effective editing and direction on some of those are just right.

I'm always hoping we'll get a BB video presenation of this tour that is something more like "Concert for George" (very slight irony considering the kick-ass 61-song set the BB's did at the same venue this year!), but that's probably not going to happen. It makes too much sense.

[Pretty Funky]

I just went to the link: http://www.mixcloud.com/sinlopez/the-beach-boys-2012-08-16-qvc-marine-field-chiba-japan/

provided in that thread and hit download; it took an hour, and then I went to my downloads and "opened it with" Rhapsody and changed the name to BB show and put it on my sansa disk.  I am not so good at all that audio stuff, but somehow I could do that. Hope it helps; it sounds great at the gym and all over down on the headphones.

I failed to place this message properly in my last post.

Yeah I also have it from the link but am wondering if there is an easy way to put it on my ipod. I'm the same as you with the audio stuff. Basic 101 all the way!

edit...Just read on wiki that Rhapsody is US only so guess that is out for me.

I'll also move this over to the Audio/ Chiba thread.

[bossaroo]

where is the link to download the show? i'm not seeing it 

[Pretty Funky]

where is the link to download the show? i'm not seeing it 

From this thread.

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14608.0.html

The stream15 version seems to be the recommended version.

[Lowbacca]

I'm getting the feeling I need to see more clips than just "Little Deuce Coupe" to be able to shell out 22€ for the technically sterile light version of a BBs 50th reunion show..

[HeyJude]

I'm getting the feeling I need to see more clips than just "Little Deuce Coupe" to be able to shell out 22€ for the technically sterile light version of a BBs 50th reunion show..

I dunno, this Blu-ray/DVD is far from perfect, but if you liked the tour, I can't imagine how you would not like this release. Some of the camcorder/camera phone stuff shot onto jumbo video screens seen on YouTube may have better editing and whatnot, but this is a pro-shot 70 minutes worth of the reunited BB's. I'm not one of those "let's just not complain and be thankful for anything we get" types of fans. But as someone who loathes shortened, chopped up concert video presentations, I still quite enjoy this Blu-ray.

[HeyJude]

I put a little review up. I may expand upon it upon additional viewings. http://beachboysopinion.blogspot.com/

[The Shift]

I'd be delighted if I was wrong!

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

This DVD is terrific (think "Shine a Light" if Scorcese was in the middle of a major coke binge) and anyone who won't spend a measly $11 on 70 minutes (21 songs) of live (though well-polished) Beach Boys music really has no business hanging out on a Beach Boys message board in the first place.

[Justin]

Just finished my first viewing of the DVD.

Picture: A
Sound: B-/C+
Overall: B

Highlights:  "All This Is That" hands down.  Probably worth the price of the DVD alone...perfectly performed and my guess is that it's probably the only song with hardly any flown in vocals by Mike or anyone.  It sounds true and organic to the original performance.  Splendid performance!

The greatest hits stuff--starting with the car medley--really jump starts the show into second gear.  The crowd comes alive and the energy picks up significantly.  From there on out, the rest of the DVD flows pretty quickly with ease. 

Cons:  Mike's vocals are so painfully flown in and/or overdubbed over the performance.  Not sure which of the two or a combination of the two.  But I have a feeling that very little of the vocals we hear are actually coming from the performance we're watching.  It's slightly distracting but there's nothing we can do about it, so it's just something to get used to.  Hardly noticeable to the naked eye or casual fan but for anyone who cares to notice you'll notice that what you see on the screen doesn't always match what you hear.  Sometimes you'll hear Mike hold a note long, but on screen you'll see him obviously pull away from the mike and close his mouth.  Small slip-ups like that.  You don't really see the issue with any other member although there is definitely something fishy going on when Brian takes lead; either they're doubling up his vocals with another or something but you definitely hear something off there.  Something is off during the quiet part at the end of "Heroes" it almost sounds like their in a studio.  No reverb, no atmosphere...just real upclose so weird.

As someone mentioned, you'd never guess this was a live recording had it not be the picture giving it away.  All audience noise has been practically removed.  What is left behind is the band and members in all their glory.  Unfortunatley, the mix is waaaaaay too sterile for my liking.  Vocals were slightly too processed and the drums were removed of all personality and power.  Guitars sounded alright--Dave coming through nice and clear but the whole sound was very bland...just completely evened out and dumbed down.  It's noticeable throughout the entire show but it gets better on certain songs. 

The cinematography was engaging enough and modern but completely impersonal.  Some good closeups throughout the show but the overall feel of the show through these cameras made me feel very distant from the occasion.  The only time I felt connected to the proceedings was during "All This Is That" or "Help Me Rhonda" when the crew seemed to recognize the emotions on stage and in the crowd. 

Overall, the DVD is good.  It works for what it's designed to do which I guess is provide a CliffNotes version of a typical 50th Anniversary Beach Boys show.  It's a deli sampler of the 3 hour show they did night in and night out.  Is it a fair representation of the tour?  Obviously not, but it's  a wonderful way to relive the memories of being there.  Two years ago, we would never have dreamed we'd see these guys together again so we should probably remember that when we watch this.  There were moments like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that sucked me back to being there and singing along with the band.  You'll find one or two moments throughout the DVD where you'll go right back to the show you attended.  So, for that, I find the DVD important.  Everyone should get it and just enjoying seeing them together again and relive your concert memories of being with the band.


A complete Royal Albert Hall gig would blow this out of the water.

......or would it?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Justin, your review is fair, balanced, and right on the money.

[the professor]

As I said to PS, I was armed with his detailed technical critique of the show and I was primed for disappointment.  But I was in tears by "Catch a wave" because, despite any concerns with the visuals (my ignorance of production serves me well as a fan here), I was simply overwhelmed by the quality of the songs in themselves, the excellence of the performances, and the chance to see so many things that my pounding heart and shaking binoculars prevented me from seeing in concert.

I concede that there is a Platonic BB concert film in our imagination somewhere and perhaps even in the realm of earthly possibility, if the very best (which would include some of our own contributors) were in charge of every production detail.  But in its absence, I will watch this over and over; I find it intimate, detailed, bright, present, optimistic, tight, loving and warm.  I love the opening sequence of the workers building the show, the song selection, the directness of the performances, and tons of Dave playing monster licks, and the reality of the BB performing together.

As for the critique that Brian's ear is too prominent in many shots: the filming here makes sense if we interpret the grand ear as synecdoche, though I fear many of you have already come to this (obvious) conclusion as well.

So, dear friends, disarm your plastic Apollonian senses and give yourselves over to the Dionysian intoxication of the BB music.

Got to get back to the show. . . .
best to all

[hypehat]

This DVD is terrific (think "Shine a Light" if Scorcese was in the middle of a major coke binge) and anyone who won't spend a measly $11 on 70 minutes (21 songs) of live (though well-polished) Beach Boys music really has no business hanging out on a Beach Boys message board in the first place.

Nice edict from on high, oh Lord. If you think fandom is a pissing contest, the MLP thread is in the Sandbox.