Rating: 
Summary: Ah... the 70's - ya hadda be there!
Review: 1976... what a year for rock. The mid 70's were the watershed years for stadium rock bacchanalia. Back in the days before MTV, mega corporate sponsorships and the big business of touring rock acts, stadium shows were the great communions for the unwashed youthful masses. Ripple wine, skunk weed and the megawatts of bands like Kiss, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, & Led zeppelin all partaken under one roof were the highlights of a working class misfit kids existence in those days. The bands that toured constantly built a steady following and soon they graduated from opening act to headliner. This is where Blue Oyster Cult made their mark. In today's musical climate a band that lacks chemistry and charisma like BOC did in their heyday would not have a shot at making the big time touring circuit. A band with such an obvious lack of good songs and a good frontman would sink without a trace. Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser was a passable lead guitarist and his bandmates were not totally incompetent, but with a lack of good material, Blue Oyster Cult were doomed to fade into obscurity. But, in 1976 BOC were at their highest level of popularity and had come up with a classic in "Don't Fear The Reaper". With this song, their legacy would be secure even though the LP that spawned it "Agents of Fortune" would be totally unlistenable for this one song. This DVD was filmed in late 1976 at the Capital Center in Landover, MD. The sound is at times horrifying, but if you're looking for a document that captures a real true 70's rock moment, this is it. Fog, lasers, monophonic analog synths and earsplitting volume they're all here in spades but the music is lackluster sub-Steppenwolf. If you're looking for the world's most boring and idiotic drum solo - it's here. And just when that's over, egad... BASS SOLO! Played by Joe Bouchard, this is, by far, the most incompetent noise I've ever encountered - just plain bad. Following this is the showstopper "Born to Be Wild" with it's everybody on guitar prelude (badly out of tune). Yes, they do "Reaper" as an encore and it's pretty lame. My advice is to rent this and watch it for what it is - a document of the times and an illustration of exactly on whom Spinal Tap was modeled..
Rating:
Summary: Audio and Video as bad as it gets
Review: Although I am a Blue Oyster Cult fan, I have to tell you that this DVD is as bad as it gets. The sound and audio quality are terrible. You should only buy this if you are a really big fan and get a really good price.
Rating: 
Summary: WORTHLESS TRASH !
Review: Anyone thinking they might someday own this model of garbage should probably sit with it. Excuse me people, but this is as bad as it gets! Not only humiliating to the viewer, but a class act insult to the finest rock band to roll out of the Americas! You'll double over and spill with fear a the best lines are deleted. Your spine will tingle when the "artiste" spills paint on the cheap over-head projector. You will wonder in odd amazement as the band doesn't know who the President of the US is (this being an obvious out-take included only to further embarass great musicians)! The worst Itlian-spaghetti lip-synch dubbing project imaginable. Perhaps this is PLAN 9 FROM ... well, its hard to tell where its from. Sobbingly laughable. Truly a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: One Who Was At THIS CONCERT!
Review: Back in 1976 I attended this show. It was a great show that brought alot of BOC Fans truly to their knees. The sound problems were a direct result of insufficent power because of the Lasers and feedback created by the Lasers. This was never intended to be a concert film. At the Capital Center as a service and years before Diamondvision, they would video the Acts and put them on the screen for all to see close up.Why do you think Buck is looking up all the time? He was suprised to see himself bigger than life on the screens. Anyway it is a very faithful archive of a concert, problems and all. The Band blew away so many acts in the 70's. I saw them over 10 times and this was a landmark show. First, Joe Bouchard did an unheard of thing by doing a virtuoso solo which was near unheard of until him. Reaper was just out 2-3 months and the band had been vacant from touring for 8 months; which for BOC is near unheard of due to their constant touring. I loved this band, Buck showed me how to really attack the guitar and Eric Bloom was the attitude. Yea the DVD has flaws but it still is fun to watch and look back. Again thanks needs to go to the person that remembered this performance and found the tape! Buy it if you are a real FAN!
Rating:
Summary: Atrocious!
Review: Boycott this piece of crap. Never should have been released. If you don't have it, get Secret Treaties instead - endlessly rewarding. (but try to find vinyl, sound quality on the Columbia CD is dead.)
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome!!!
Review: By "Awesome" I mean to see the original line-up! In my opinion that's worth the price alone! For what it lacks in overall quality; it makes up in pure listening enjoyment!! Long live B.O.C.!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: Don't even think about listening to Ol' Dave McCoy's review above! This guy's doesn't know what he's talking about! This is a very enjoyable concert! In my opinion it compares to many bands and their videos of the 1970's. Don't expect a modern, high quality performance and you will love it! Their laserlight show looks great in concert, it just doesn't transfer well to videotape! B.O.C. is amazing; they have to be, how many bands are still around that started back in the sixties?!! Check out their lastest,"Heaven Forbid".
Rating:
Summary: General comments
Review: Even BOC has admitted to the equipment problems of the mid 70s. The performances of that era (and I've seen several) were stellar. It's good to hear a review from someone who was actually there. I haven't seen this video but I own the CD. Disappointing. I don't expect the video portion to any better. Even if you consider the technology of the time, I'm upset that a band of BOC's stature allow thier name on such a bad product (no matter what format). Besides, John Fogerty wouldn't allow CCR's "Woodstock" performance on the soundtrack or film because he was unhappy with the sound. Integrity vs cash I guess.
Rating:
Summary: Some folks just don't get it
Review: Folks like "Mr. McCoy" from above that is. The fact is, this recording does have some technical gaffes. The performance is (at times) somewhat sloppy but that's just how BOC performed at this stage of their career. For someone who is obviously a punk fan like Mr. McCoy to complain about this is very strange indeed, as sloppy performances were not only common with punk bands, but were practically the rule! Haphazard, sloppy performances were what punk fans wanted and it's what they got! Even though BOC had just released what some of their older fans might consider an over-produced album,("Agents of Fortune", with "Don't fear the reaper") didn't mean they had to play the game and try to recreate the over-production in the live environment like some other bands did. The performance quality is fine for the most part. The technical problems obviously degrade the performance value, but anyone who is old enough, should know recorded shows from this era were likely to have some problems. To say BOC were already five years past their prime is ludicrous, as they enjoyed another five plus years from 1976 of being a major headliner with many great shows which I and many others enjoyed greatly. If you're a punk fan, why bother with this disc at all? Espescially when you know you'd rather just spin your Sex Pistols disc and continue to complain about the evils of Pink Floyd and ELP. If you're a BOC fan, realize this was not as good as it could (and should) have been, but it still has some redeeming qualities which can be realized even through the troubled recording.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Oyster Cult -- Live 1976
Review: Frankly, I'm surprised so many people have dissed this disc. I'm glad I bought it before I read the reviews -- the sound quality is poor, sure, and the video could be better too, but remember, this was recorded in 1976! Before MTV, before the digital revolution, back when you actually had to be a good musician to have a career playing music. This is BOC in all their Don Kirshner's Rock Concert glory -- Eric preening in a leather jumpsuit, Albert going absolutely nuts during one of the great heavy metal tunes of all time, "Cities on Flame." And Buck is simply one of rock music's great guitarists -- he moves from beautiful melody to dissonant noise in a heartbeat, without a single cliche in the entire show. Contrary to Amazon.com's reviewer above, Buck is very alive and well here ... you just have to be paying attention! Plus, if BOC is five years past its prime here, as McCoy says, then their prime would have been roughly a year before their first album came out! Get real -- this is good, honest rock and roll, performed with skill and love for complex, intelligent music. I've never liked the typical heavy metal band, and I hate prog rock, but somehow BOC rises above all that, all the while staying charmingly within that same context -- drum and bass solos and all. Sure, "Don't Fear the Reaper" is a little hurried here, but this was before the song had acquired its full anthem status. It could be compared to Nirvana hurrying through "Teen Spirit," before the song had taken on its real meaning. On the down side, the song choices could be better -- I'd like "Last Days of May," personally, and Eric's rock star stage persona can get tiresome, but the disc is not nearly as bad as some people have said. Obviously these people have never heard the poor sound quality of bootlegs, where the performance is more important than 16-bit digital sound. Frankly, I'm glad to have this disc, and I hope more people buy it, so distributors will have an incentive to put out more -- hopefully better recorded -- material. BOC deserves a better reputation than they have received of late, and it's no coincidence that they are one of the few bands of this era still going. They are a classic rock band and this is a classic performance.
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