Modern Drummer Festival Weekend 2003

Rating:
Summary: better than being there
Review: If you want to sit back and watch an alot of great drumming, this is the dvd for you. it's better than being at the show because the great camera angles let you see more than you can from the audience. the sound is awesome. so put it in your player sit back and go to drumming heaven. this dvd rocks.

Rating:
Summary: Like The show and more!!
Review: MD 2003 was an unbelivable experience and it is almost even better on DVD in the comfot of your own home! All of the features and footage is excelent! You will want to watch in over and over again! The Modern Drummer Festival comes only once a year and this DVD captures it all!

Rating:
Summary: MD Fest, a must see for all drummers
Review: the annual MD Fest is one of the most expected event for all the drummers around the world, and bring some of the hottest drummer from different genre to show the world how good to be part of the drumming community,

and 2003 MD Fest is just as excited as before, or maybe even more, look at what a massive kit and how agressive Mike Portnoy is, how entertaining Hip Pickles and their drumming can be, and there's one guy that you don't want to miss, Nathaniel Townsley, he's so groovy and in the pocket, check him out!!! and MD once brought the almighty Thomas Lang from Europe, and they once again brought an eye-blowing duo from Europe, The Drumbassadors... not to mention Antonio Sanchez, his the man who definitely bring Latin drumming to the next level....

and for Steve Smith, he's no doubt a great drummer, but i'm kinda tired seeing his "Drumbassadors+Clayton Cameron" performance, please Steve, i'm sure you can come up with something much more original, and please return credit to where it's belong......

Rating:
Summary: Modern Drummer Festival Weekend is out-of-sight!
Review: This dvd is a must have for all drummers. It shows such a wide range of drumming and what the drums are capable of. I learned alot watching these guys play. Some of them I had never heard before. I am inspired to practice and by watching got many different ideas I can apply to my drumming. I have come up with
many new ideas and don't feel like my playing is stuck in one place. There isn't a weak performance among them and at 6 hours long, its like being there only you can watch it over and over. A must have for any serious drummer.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Winner!!!
Review: This Modern Drummer festival 2003 DVD is outstanding!
I was at this festival and what's included on this 2 disc set really covers it well! Every drummer featured puts on an amazing show! Mike Portnoy's Beatles Tribute and "Instrumedley" performance with fellow Dream Theatre bandmates are my personal highlites!
The behind the scenes extras are a nice bonus too!
Both video and audio quality are excellent.
Just a great overall production by Hudson Music...WELL DONE!!!
Highly recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for the Modern Drummer Festival Weekend 2004
Review: Very good picture and sound quality and a good performance overall performed by an elite team of drummers and percussionists...

The highlights of the show might be the performances by Steve Smith, Mike Portnoy and Antonio Sanchez..The performances by Hip Pickles, Nathaniel Townsley, Mike Orris Jr. (winner of the Undiscovered Drummer Contest, under 18 category), The Drumbassadors (Ren‚ Creemers and Wim DeVries), and Louis Santiago Jr(the winner of the Undiscovered Drummer Contest)were also very good.

Steve Smith is....well Steve Smith as usual...His performance with the Vital Ýnformation is worth seeing, tough if you own his DVD "Drumset Technique/History of the U.S. Beat", you might feel like you have seen it before...

Mike Portnoy and Dream Theater's instrumedley was terrific, not only in terms of drumming, but in terms of composition and arrangement as well. It is a must see for every Dream Theater and music fan if you have not seen it yet..The performance with the "Yellow Matter Custard" is fun, do not accept any exceptional drumming tough other than Portnoy playing a simple kit.

Antonio Sanchez demonstrates one of the most complex drumming independence I have ever seen, tough you might get a little nervous after a while as you may need to struggle to understand what he's really doing.. The guy is good...

We can not expect to see Dennis Chambers, Weckl or other drumming gods at this festival every time. But I beleive that a drummer performing for Modern Drummer Festival must at least be inspiring or different if not excellent or top-notch... In that sense, performances by Nick D'Virgilio, Shawn Pelton & House Of Diablo, Airto Moreira and Matt Wilson were uninteresting, and I would have preferred to watch something else instead..