As the cost of technology comes down consistently, it's puzzling to
note that few labels are taking advantage of the marvelous
opportunities before them. This is a fantastic example of a music DVD
done properly, despite it being a few years after the album release of No More Shall We Part.
Most of the material comes from that album, but considering other live
videos available from the Bad Seeds, it serves as a fine addition to
the library. Here, the Bad Seeds are captured at a concert in Lyon,
France (2001). It just happens to be the last tour that Neubauten's
Blixa Bargeld is supposed to perform on and here, he, along with Mick
Harvey and Dirty Three's Warren Ellis are just as entertaining to watch
as Nick Cave, himself. Cave may not quite ever become a household name
but he is most certainly becoming a musical legend. Cave's ballads
speak volumes and his stage presence is intense, much like an
evangelical preacher. The experience of seeing the Bad Seeds live is so
intense and dramatic, that it blows away all expectations from merely
listening to the records at home. Even a lukewarm album can achieve a
thunderous accomplishment as the Bad Seeds are all fantastic players
and spend so much time touring. The concert is elegantly shot and
edited with a good amount of inclusion of the entire group, and the
sound is excellent. In addition, Mute thankfully decided not to hold
back on this release and included all three music videos from the album
along with a short documentary on the recording of the album. Coupled
with the album and the experience is complete. I can hope that it's
only a matter of time that labels will release DVDs like this WITH the
CD of said album. (But in all honesty, expect it to be a Japanese
"perk" for about 10 years before the rest of the world catches on.)
