Festival Express

Rating:
Summary: Not Again
Review: A great film for its historical footage; especially The Dead playing acoustic guitars. But once again like the Woodstock film and the Isle of Wight festival film WAY to much is made of the gate crashers. Who the hell cares about gate crashers and the mindless politics (music should be free) aaaarggggggg! Do these kids ever think of the money it cost to put on such a traveling show? I guess not! Luckily we are treated to a bonus set list of ten extra songs not originally in the film. Wouldn't it of been better to include them the first time around. And please haven't we seen enough hippie chicks whirling around dancing?

Rating:
Summary: Arrrrgggghhhhhh!
Review: All sorts of people were having fun on this train across Canada... all sorts of people fell asleep in my living room while watching this movie. What happened to the interviews after the first 30 minutes? I think the subjects fell asleep as well.

Rating:
Summary: To Music Lovers...a good addition, to Dead Heads...a MUST!!!
Review: Attention All Dead Heads. This film has something that was missing from "The Grateful Dead Movie". PIGPEN!!! On the main movie, he blows harp on "Don't Ease Me In", and "New Speedway Boogie". On the bonus material, Pigpen sings "Hard to Handle", and "Easy Wind".

The whole thing is that it's like finding a rare gem. Janis singing "Cry Baby", and "Move Over" is worth the price of these disks alone. There is also a mode where you can listen to the songs without the talk, but the talk is also good to hear.

My Recommendation? GET THIS DISK!!!

Rating:
Summary: I love this film!
Review: I have been a collector of rock video for years. Have seen all the 60's - 70's films too many times to count. When I heard this footage was being released, I jumped for joy. When I saw the film, I freaked - I wish I could get my hands on whatever concert footage did not make it into the movie.

If you are not a serious fan of the Dead, the Band, Janis and the like, this movie will bore you. If you are hungry for "new" vintage footage of these great artists - you are in for a wonderful treat.

The Flying Burrito Brothers deserve special mention as does Janis' performances - some performance moments of Janis more special than I have ever seen. She conjures wicked funks out of the air like wildfire.

Seeing The Grateful Dead's daytime performance of New Speedway Boogie I was floating out of my seat, hairs on arms tingling and standing on end (and I wasn't even high!).

Bottom line - if you love this stuff the way I do, you are going to enjoy this immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Extra tracks worth the price ...
Review: I saw the film in the theaters and enjoyed it quite a bit. The Band and Janice are top notch; I was a bit disappointed by the Dead cuts - not quite the monster jams they often delivered in '70. Then I viewed the DVD release with the additional material -- wow, this stuff was great. The two additional Dead cuts are both great Pigpen pieces played to the hilt and the best Pigpen videos by far that I am aware of. The Janice pieces are great, as always. I always liked Seatrain and know of no other video recording of them in existence. But being a bit of a folkie the other fantastic tracks are the Ian and Sylvia and Tom Rush tracks. Both dramatic performances.

I don't understand at all why they bundled these great tracks on disk 1 leaving disk 2 totally worthless. We would have all been happy campers to pay for the two disk set if they just put the 50 minutes on disk 2. Also wish they could have found something from the Band to add to the extra cuts.

Rating:
Summary: What a Train Ride!
Review: Its not just the concert footage, but the train ride itself. Loved to have been a fly on the wall during some of those jam sessions. Being at the Calgary concert and wind-up party I never forgotten Janis's performance. The Dead, the Band, all at their peaks. Great movie, great sound. Good going guys. I've been talking about this concert and waiting for the movie for over 30 years. Good on Ya!

Rating:
Summary: Time capsule
Review: The DVD packaging is confusing, the second disk is just more interviews and a "making of" feature. The additional 50 minutes are on the main DVD, took me a while to figure that out.

The concert performances are hit and miss. Sha Na Na is just awful, looking back I guess they were the William Hung of the 70s, very campy. Janis sings two songs, on "Cry Baby" she's a little off (I think she strains her voice on the first scream), but "Tell Mama" is perfect, vintage Janis. The Dead is dead-on, and The Band turns in a respectable performance. For me, a young skinny Buddy Guy steals the show with some smoking guitar solos.

The best part of the movie is the on-the-train jamming between concerts. "Better Take Jesus' Hand" with Garcia singing is just wonderful. The most unforgettable line is when Garcia says to Janis "I've loved you ever since the day I saw you" and she just cackles.

The touted "never before seen footage" is okay, mainly second tier acts. The Dead do a couple of blues songs and Buddy Guy plays a scorching version of "Hootchie Cootchie Man". But the real treat here is Janis singing "Move over" and "Kozmic Blues", one of her best performances, easily the highlight of the DVD package.

I give this DVD 6 stars for historical value, 4 stars for musical quality, and -5 stars for the DVD packaging.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: To me, this was a sad view of post-Altamont hippiedom in decline, as expressed in the included Dead tune "New Speedway Boogie". The leaders of a mental and music revolution are hitting the skids here. Janis Joplin, drunk again, singing in front of her new Full Tilt Boogie band, excellent players all but lacking the spirit of the less talented Big Brother. The ordinarily highly articulate Jerry Garcia in a slurred stupor. The tunes are mostly mediocre, the sound quality seemed to try to emulate the poor sound at big venues in those days. The mindless gate-crashing pseudo-hip Canadian crowds. The free-spirited joy that we enjoyed in those days is missing here.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome..
Review: Took me back really to the 60's. I got lost in it - wonderful just for Janis and Gerry alone.

Rating:
Summary: Not enough music
Review: Way too much time was spent on the issue of the people who thought the concerts should have been free. DVD contains mostly interviews and few performances. Not worth the money.