Kodo: Live at the Acropolis

Rating:
Summary: What a shame...
Review: I'm a big Kodo fan, having seen them perform live on stage and owning all available audio CDs and Laserdiscs, so I was quite excited when I heard this DVD was released. My dissapointment with it is all the more shattering.
About the only good thing I can say is that the quality of video is adequate. The transfer rate hovers around 7 mbit for the most part and the picture is reasonably sharp, colors are rich and shadows deep with good delineation. Unfortunately the presentation is crippled by its 4:3 aspect ratio which is obviously unsuitable for capturing an expansive stage performance. It was filmed with rather dated TV cameras though so that fast moving highlights (e. g. drumsticks) show smearing trace artefacts.
Audio quality stands in sharp contrast to the generally enjoyable image however. We are offered AC3 compressed stereo, which is hard to understand considering there is lots of space unused on the disc (total content amounts to only 3.9 out of a possible 9 GB), so at the very least uncompressed PCM stereo would have been in order. At this day in age a quality music DVD really must offer a decent 5.1 re-mix though. The fidelity of the stereo track is nothing short of abysmal - it lacks even the slightest trace of the great dynamic range that Kodo's CDs are famous for, let alone their live performances. The volume is incredibly low and during many sequences the omnipresent hiss from the inadequate recording equipment, as well as coughs and other noises from the audience, even frequent deep rumble from wind catching in the microphones (it was an open-air performance after all) is much louder than the music itself (e. g. during passages of "Monochrome"). The sound of the O-Daiko drums is mushy, unprecise, reverberated and it lacks truly deep bass. The tonal response of the entire DVD is badly bent out of shape which becomes most obvious during the unnatural-sounding interviews and passages with applause. Any kid in row three with a portable tape recorder would have come home with higher quality audio than this production offers.
The concert presentation is badly fragmented by video-interviews conducted by host and producer, Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead drummer and producer of Kodo's latest masterpiece "Mondo Head"), a fact that is all the more infuriating since these interviews, unlike the stage performance, are recorded in earth-shattering volume. Make sure to keep your hand on the volume control at all times! The DVD authoring leaves much to be desired as well. Your DVD-player's display will reveal neither track number, nor playing time. The sole bonus feature of this DVD is a documentary on the production of "Mondo Head", which is short but informative. The DVD packaging does its own to make this an all-around aggravating disappointment, there is no noteworthy information to be found on either outside or inside, the "booklet" consists of one single piece of paper, half of which bears an advertisement in the guise of a very incomplete discography.
This DVD could have been a true gem, given that Kodo provide an inspired performance in front of the spectacular Acropolis as a backdrop. The way it turned out is a crying shame however.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for the ear and the eye
Review: I'm a taiko player and I think this DVD is excellent. The picture and sound
quality of this DVD are good enough for me. I'm not an audio geek. I care more
about the performances on this DVD than about the technical inadequacies.
In particular, I enjoyed seeing different Kodo members playing different
parts than what was recorded in the 1992 video titled Kodo. This 1995 Acropolis concert
was recorded after Leonard Eto left Kodo and in it, Ryutaro Kaneko is the
leading taiko player of the Eto's song Zoku. Kaneko's performance has a different
flavor than Eto's but is just as great. (If you want to know more about Kodo,
you should also watch the 1992 video "Kodo" and the 1983 video "Heartbeat
Drummers of Japan.")
The performances of Monochrome, Yataibayashi, and Miyake are masterpieces.
No taiko group can play better than Kodo. You can feel their positive spirit
in this DVD.
I like Mickey Hart's interview segments between songs. He covers great
material in those segments for Kodo fans. For example, he asks Kodo members about
how taiko drums are made. He also talks about the different "flavor" that women
bring to drumming. This was really great for me, as a taiko player, to hear
and realize. His interviews make this DVD even more valuable.
The only reason I don't give this DVD 5 stars is that three of the songs are
cut short. It's especially sad that such a beautiful song as Miyake, with such
beautiful form, isn't shown in its entirety. I wish I could see the whole
thing.

Rating:
Summary: Great performance by the best taiko group
Review: I'm a taiko player and I think this DVD is excellent. The picture and sound
quality of this DVD are good enough for me. I'm not an audio geek. I care more
about the performances on this DVD than about the technical inadequacies.
In particular, I enjoyed seeing different Kodo members playing different
parts than what was recorded in the 1992 video titled Kodo. This 1995 Acropolis concert
was recorded after Leonard Eto left Kodo and in it, Ryutaro Kaneko is the
leading taiko player of the Eto's song Zoku. Kaneko's performance has a different
flavor than Eto's but is just as great. (If you want to know more about Kodo,
you should also watch the 1992 video "Kodo" and the 1983 video "Heartbeat
Drummers of Japan.")
The performances of Monochrome, Yataibayashi, and Miyake are masterpieces.
No taiko group can play better than Kodo. You can feel their positive spirit
in this DVD.
I like Mickey Hart's interview segments between songs. He covers great
material in those segments for Kodo fans. For example, he asks Kodo members about
how taiko drums are made. He also talks about the different "flavor" that women
bring to drumming. This was really great for me, as a taiko player, to hear
and realize. His interviews make this DVD even more valuable.
The only reason I don't give this DVD 5 stars is that three of the songs are
cut short. It's especially sad that such a beautiful song as Miyake, with such
beautiful form, isn't shown in its entirety. I wish I could see the whole
thing.

Rating:
Summary: Good semi-documentary, but not a concert film
Review: Like the two reviewers before me wrote, Kodo is/are great and their energy is very evident. I won't repeat the same flaws in the dvd as did the other reviewers, but I will add an additional let down of the dvd.

Obviously the cinematographer and editors didn't know the taiko pieces or the concept of Kodo and taiko playing. There are wonderful close-ups of the various members only, there are an excess of them. I am also an aspiring taiko player and part of the essence of taiko is the beautiful flow of the players and their form. Anyone who has ever seen Kodo or any accomplished taiko group will marvel at the unison of the players' movements. They should be harmonious. In this dvd, there too few wide angle shots of the "whole ensemble". Especially in Zoku and Miyake (which is only about 10 second worth of filming), the essence is the view of all of the performers together. Taiko is not just auditory, but visual as well.

On the plus side, the documentary portions were great. It's always good to see an insight to the performers and their craft. But if you are expecting a live Kodo performance from beginning to end, you will be disappointed. It's geat to see Kodo on film and to have them in your home, but... a little better marketing and honesty go a long way. If you see "live" in a title, it's okay to insert documentary portions, but don't cut short the performances. If memory serves, there's only a couple of songs that are filmed in their entirety. The rest are only excerpts.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for the ear and the eye
Review: This is a fantastic video of one of the most impressive Japanese arts that mixes music and stage. The men and woman that perform here spend years training and the rhythmic and physical drive of this performance is amazing. The video is well edited and the comments useful despite the fact that the interviewer (from the Grateful Dead) lacks any kind neutrality and that the questions he asks are rhetoric. But, fortunately he is not the one on stage, and the music and tradition of Japan survive!
Watch it in a big screen and with speakers.