Rating: Summary: Care to see some magic? Review: Then get ready for "Touring Band 2000". This DVD not only gives you a front row seat to one of the greatest band's ever, but also leaves you breathless like you were actually part of the concert. Some say the video quality is poor (and it is a bit grainy or hazy at times), but I feel it adds depth and emotion to the overall experience. The audio is incredible. Ed suggests PLAYING IT LOUD and I agree. I can't seem to enjoy it unless my stereo is cranked and the neighbors are complaining. It kicks off with an awesome little song called "Long Road" and never looks back. "Given to Fly", "Nothingman" and "Don't Go" are a few of my favorite performances on this incredible DVD. The special features make it all the more worthwhile. The "Oceans" video is reason enough to pick up a copy. So why haven't you?
Rating: Summary: The best concert you can buy Review: If you got tired by listening to all those bootlegs you bought, now is the time to buy this DVD. This is pearl jam like you have never experienced on a record. All the songs live up to the intense flavour of the live concerts. Touching moments, happy faces, intense rock, beautifull music and the only place where you can get the Oceans video. If you are thinking of buying a live dvd, this is the one to buy. You feel the concerts, each song at a time, this is probably the best PJ release ever. Don't miss out.
Rating: Summary: One of the Great Bands of Rock and Roll Review: A truly great act, doing what they do best, Pearl Jam rocks out with anti-star attitude. Unfortunately, a lot of their angst has ridden away, but they are such a good band, that it doesn't really matter anymore, even though that's what drew a lot of people to the band in the early days. Pearl Jam has not died, and no, they haven't stopped making great songs, and yes, they are one of the few bands at the top of the Rock and Roll food chain, a band that always has something to say and that is imitated left and right. The video has been assembled in a printmaker's or handbuilder's kind of style, so the production is pretty much striaghtfoward--a band, music--what more can you ask for!? But as always, Pearl Jam goes the extra mile. Songs are collaged from their 2000 tour and there are a lot of them. Some highlights include: Long Road, Daughter/Okay tag, I Got Sh**, and the Oceans video. (I love that shot near the end when Eddie is running around in circles!} The Bonuses are really good too--one in particular that stands out is the Cities Montage, which is played to Thunderclap, a classic, cathartic PJ song which should've been in Binuaral. Touring Band 2000 is the first to fall in some other category for music DVDs, and if you like Pearl Jam, even a little, as high a playblack value as it has, you can't go wrong.
Rating: Summary: Awestruck Review: Pearl Jam mezmerizes you as only they can.Once you start watching you can't stop.They are truly my choice for the best crowd pleasing band.
Rating: Summary: Postcards from you favorite tunes. Review: Which show was better, Seattle when they played a monster show to finish the tour or Las Vegas when the band celebrated ten years as an outfit. or just maybe it could have been when they played that one song you always wanted to see live or when Mike infused his 'Ledbetter' outro with 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' or 'Little Wing'.Now with such a diverse collection of favorite moments from a long tour and the obserdity of releasing a DVD from each show, like the Bootleg Cd series, what can a poor band do? Well, get three camera handy road crew members to tape the shows and paste together songs from a wealth of locations across the NA tour and see what they come up with. And that is a superb collection of songs, all played with Pearl Jams trademark quality and a blured, dirty but effective feel to the package that you feel like you are still there in the audience and realy need to "Play It Loud". And as a tribute to the consistantcy of Pearl Jam as a touring band this collection of songs from numerous locations comes of as though it was one hell of a show. As for what songs are on here is a mere trivial point due to their execution, but, all their best songs are included and all the best songs are left out. Such a band Pearl Jam are.
Rating: Summary: You can actually see them while they're playing Review: This is a live show at which they play their music in front of people who are watching. No Hail Hail. What?!!! Pearl Jam still rules though.
Rating: Summary: Great Visual Companion to the Bootleg Series Review: This DVD functions mostly as a video representation of the Pearl Jam 2000 bootleg series, of which I have obsessively collected all 72 releases. While all the songs on the DVD were filmed in different cities, the set list here pretty much approximates a true Pearl Jam concert from the 2000 tour, from the effective opener "Long Road" all the way to Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" which was a surprise closer in many shows. Each track here was apparently selected as the most visually interesting tape of that song available, or at least one of the strongest musical performances. So you don't get the errors and miscues that you get on many of the unedited bootlegs. Therefore it's not totally realistic, but the visuals are a real bonus, especially for this band that doesn't do videos and is hardly ever photographed. Some highlights include a woman doing sign language for the crowd in "Given to Fly" (St. Louis) and Eddie Vedder bringing a kid on stage in "Rockin' in the Free World" (Albuquerque). Included in the catch-all montage that accompanies "Smile" are some moments that are clearly audible in the bootlegs, like the woman with the white umbrella in Pittsburgh, and the plethora of costumed freaks (including the band) for Halloween in San Francisco. Among the best of the DVD "bonuses" is the MattCam, which films Matt Cameron throughout three of his most powerful songs, Todd McFarlane's video for "Do the Evolution" (highly influenced by "The Wall"), and the scenic montage from Europe.
Rating: Summary: Inexcusably poor audio Review: Talk about bootleg recordings: the audio and video on this DVD are less than amateur quality. I can understand using roadies to record the video for something like this, but evidently the roadies recorded and mixed the audio as well. The audio is unlistenable! The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound track is obviously derived from only two mikes (stereo)and is no better than stereo. The music fidelity is not good. The sound track does not even faithfully include all the instruments. Expect from this DVD the sould and video that your buddie might come back after attending a concert with his $300 RCA video camera. It's really no better than that. The DVD medium is wasted on material this inferior. Buy the VHS tape.
Rating: Summary: A Pearl Jam Fan Must Have! Review: Right now there is a lot of Pearl Jam material available, and I mean a lot, from the USA bootlegs to the European bootlegs, Pearl Jam have made literally Hundreds of Cd's available for their fans. And if your a hardcore fan lik myself, you'll want them all but alas the average Pearl Jam fan cannot afford to buy every available bootleg, and Pearl Jams answer to this... a form of best of bootleg Dvd. Touring Band 2000, from a technical standpoint can be regarded as a 50/50 affair, on one hand you have perfectly produced dolby 5.1 surround sound, but on the other hand you have a grainy hand held camera recorded picture throughout. However it must be said that the picture quality does by no means hinder the enjoyment you will get out of this Dvd, 30 seconds into the concert when the lights come on and Eddie, Matt, Stone, Mike and Jeff are standing there on stage, you'll soon forget all else. As with any live album (especially in this format) the choice of tracks is bound to be questioned, If your not a fan of Pearl Jam and this is your first time I would advise that you look elsewhere in order to get used to the band. As is always the way with Pearl Jam they do what they want and not what people think they should do, and the track selection is true to this philosophy. With there close relationship to Neil Young shining through with a cover of 'Rockin' In The Free World' and 'Long Road'. Other more familiar Pearl Jam tracks include 'Jeremy', 'Evenflow', 'Evacuation', ' Given To Fly' and about 23 others. The disc also includes two bonus videos, the fantastic animatic 'Do The Evolution', and 'Oceans'. Along with some additional previously unheard material which acts as backings to fan/band/location features. As an unmentioned bonus the songs 'Yellow Ledbetter' and 'Smile' are also featured on the Dvd at different points. The only reason I haven't given this Dvd the additional star is because of the picture quality, although from a fans point of view I would give it the 5. Basically this is an item that no Pearl Jam fan should be without, this is the 'Ten' of Dvds.
Rating: Summary: Dear god I adore Pearl Jam!! Review: Pearl Jam are one of the most talented bands of the 20th (and 21st) century, and whilst I get the distinct and sad feeling that their time is coming to a close, this DVD captures everything great about their reign as an amazing, heartfelt and inspiring band. Everything is there; the emotion, the sheer euphoria, Eddie's superb moodiness and beauty and the fury of the tunes. The sign language of the amazing 'Given to Fly'. The absolutely stunning version of 'Betterman'. The version of Neil Young's 'Rockin in the Free World' and the child he lifts to his shoulders. Additionally, the inclusion of some Pearl Jam outtakes and tidbits is amazing, as is the sheer power and precision of the 'Do the Evolution' music clip on DVD. It is undoubtedly a near perfect Pearl Jam set, and the best thing is, you can take yourself to any of your favourite song while wileing away the hours and pretending you are you were there. Certainly, it has its pitfalls, like the exclusion of the absolutely quintessential 'Black' and 'Alive', and the strange inclusion of tunes like 'Leatherman' over such songs. The positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot, and this is Pearl Jam at its best, for all those who many never get the chance to visit/revisit a Pearl Jam concert and experience the absolute genius that is this band.
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