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Full Review of Concert For New York DVD (long)



Here's the entire DVD Movie Guide for the Concert For
New York. Thanks to Dan B over at alt.music.who for
posting it.

http://www.dvdmg.com/concertfornewyorkcity.shtml

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson

Title:  The Concert For New York City (2002)
Studio Line:  Columbia Music Video - One night. One
place. One reason. Recorded live at Madison Square
Garden on October 20, 2001, The Concert for New York
City was a celebration of the strength, resilience and
pride of New York and America. This 2-DVD set--nearly
5hours long--includes the superstar presenters, the
fabulous short films, and the stunning musical
performances for your repeated enjoyment. 
Short films by: Martin Scorsese, Ed Burns, Spike Lee,
Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Smith. 
Musical performers: David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Goo
Goo Dolls, Billy Joel, Destiny's Child, Eric Clapton
and Buddy Guy, Backstreet Boys, Melissa Etheridge, The
Who, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, James Taylor,
John Mellencamp with Kid Rock, Five for Fighting,
Elton John, Paul McCartney.
Director:  Louis J. Horvitz
Cast:  Various
DVD:  2-Disc set; standard 1.33:1; audio English Dolby
Digital 5.1 &PCM stereo; no subtitles; not
closed-captioned; 79 chapters (40 on DVD One, 39 on
DVD Two); 296 minutes; $29.98; street date
1/29/02.Supplements:  None. 
DVD Picture/Sound/Extras: B+/B-/F

During the weekend of October 19, 2001, events related
to the terrorism of September 11 dominated the musical
spectrum. While the initial public reaction to that
tragedy offered a somber program -September 21st's
America: A Tribute to Heroes - matters tended toward
the celebratory a month later. My weekend started with
the smallest but the best of the concerts. U2 played
Baltimore that Friday and put on possibly the best of
the 27 performances I've seen them give. The terrorism
put their show in a whole new perspective, and it was
a dazzling show that covered all of the appropriate
emotional bases. I offered additional discussion of
the performance in my review of the band's Elevation
DVD, but suffice it to say that it was a virtually
perfect evening. 
That Sunday, I attended a totally different concert.
Here in DC, Michael Jackson organized "United We
Stand", a long, meandering waste of time. The show
plodded along forever and ran more than three hours
late. The stadium ran out of food and the evening
culminated in a lip-synched performance by Michael
during which he actually flung the US flag to the
stage. The day wasn't a total loss, but it was close,
as the concert seemed like an opportunistic chance to
wave the flag, promote new material, and do little
else. 
After the highs of U2's show, this seemed like a cheap
and sleazy attempt to generate some fake emotion.
Chronologically, artistically, and emotionally, The
Concert For New York City fell between the two.
Organized by Paul McCartney and staged at Madison
Square Garden, this show lasted about seven hours less
than "United We Stand" and it offered a much more
satisfying experience. While the show didn't equal the
depth and focus of U2's concert, it still was a nice
way to celebrate the positives that occurred after
September 11, raise some money for charity, and make a
gesture to help folks move forward. New York combines
a myriad of different elements. Most prominent, of
course, is the music. The show includes 18 different
performers. Superstars from the Sixties and Seventies
dominate the bill, as we hear from McCartney, David
Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Elton John, the
Who, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and James Taylor. Many
of the others didn't stray far from that blueprint;
Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, Goo Goo Dolls, Five For
Fighting and John Mellencamp didn't enjoy hits in that
era, but their music matches the same tone. Only a few
performers strayed from this field. Backstreet Boys
and Destiny's Child provided sop for the
teeny-boppers, while Jay-Z added some street
credibility to the evening. Finally, SNL vets Adam
Sandler and Jimmy Fallon each offered comedic tunes. 
Some may bemoan the heavy tilt toward classic rock and
lack of diversity, but I won't do so, for a couple of
reasons. For one, part of the reason the concert
existed was to raise money. New York featured some
very expensive tickets, and the 'N Sync crowd don't
have that much allowance to spend. The show needed a
money demographic, and the artists featured seemed
logical to lure in the big spenders. In addition,
another reason the concert existed was as a "thank
you" to NYC rescue workers. About 6000 got free
tickets for the show, so the bill needed to make sense
for them. That's a pretty blue-collar crowd, and this
seems like a sensible bill for them. And let's not
forget that McCartney organized the event, so it was
logical that his generation dominated. 
Anyway, 11 of the artists play two or more songs.
McCartney and the Who get the heaviest airtime.
Including two versions of "Freedom", Macca performs
five numbers, while the Who put on four tunes. Elton
and Bon Jovi offer three songs apiece, and the
remaining seven -Destiny's Child, Billy Joel, Melissa
Etheridge, Jagger/Richards, James Taylor, Mellencamp,
and Bowie - pump out two tracks each. Obviously, the
other seven performers on the bill get a single song
and that's it. At times, the divisions seem odd. I was
surprised Clapton and Backstreet did only one song
each and Jagger/Richards played just two, while I also
didn't expect Destiny's Child and Etheridge to get the
additional numbers. Otherwise, the balance made sense.

In addition to all of the music, New York combines a
variety of other elements. Like America, between the
songs we hear tales of true-life heroism and requests
for money. Originally broadcast live on VH1, New York
tried to raise cash over the air; these bumpers give
the musicians time to set up and also bring in some
bucks. Some of the non-musical bits involve simple
stories and pleas, but others try to lighten the tone.
Billy Crystal does a little stand-up early in the
show, and others like David Spade, Howard Stern and
Jim Carrey provide some laughs. SNL's Will Ferrell
even does his Bush impression at one point. 
Mostly prepared specifically for New York, we also get
a mix of short films. Created by folks with strong
connections to the city, we find movies from Martin
Scorsese, Ed Burns, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Jerry
Seinfeld, Kevin Smith, and Ric Burns. Along with the
bumpers from the actors and others, these act as spots
in between the different performers. Some of the
non-musical material seems interesting, but a lot of
it moves awkwardly. As with most live events, the
evening progresses in a somewhat clumsy way, and
various gaffes occur. 
The DVD still includes the smattering of boos that
greeted Susan Sarandon and Hillary Clinton as well as
Richard Gere's plea for moderation. Among the short
films, Seinfeld's and Smith's are easily the most
entertaining. The rest generally seem well intentioned
but a bland. Many of the non-musical acts come across
in the same way. 
New York includes a few of my all-time favorite
performers, so logically, they should offer my
personal highlights, right? Actually, no, at least to
a degree. Bowie - my absolute favorite among my
all-time favorites, by the way - opens the show
decently well with a subdued solo rendition of Paul
Simon's "America" and then launches into a fair but
unexceptional and predictable "'Heroes'". Bowie at his
worst is still better than most at their best, but his
work here leaves me unimpressed. 
As I've noted in my reviews of other McCartney
projects, Paul's voice went to pot years ago, and that
factor continues to mar some of his performances. He
sounds fine on newer material and some older tracks
that fit his limited range, but "I'm Down" is a bad
choice; Macca strains to reach the notes. McCartney
still has the presence and spirit to make his
performances work, but he's not and never has been a
great live act. 
On the other hand, Jagger's set offers bracing
versions of some classic Stones cuts. When the show
originally aired, Richards was a surprise guest; fans
were unaware that we'd get more than just Mick. The
added energy brings some spark to the proceedings.
>From 1968'sBeggar's Banquet, "Salt of the Earth" used
to be a snotty dismissal of working-class folks, but
Jagger had the good sense to recast it in amore
literal light, and it survives the transition well.
Off of 1978'sSome Girls, "Miss You" has gotten too
many live performances to be anything fresh, but its
New York attitude serves it well, and the song seems
crisper than usual.
The Who don't stand on my list of absolute favorites;
I like them a lot, but they don't make the same tier
as those I just mentioned. As such, their terrific
performance goes down as one of New York's pleasant
surprises. Based on material like their recent Live at
the Royal Albert Hall, I knew they could still crank
out the rock, but I didn't expect them to fire it up
to such a degree. In a roster filled with good
performances, the Who lap the field; their four tunes
blow the others off the stage.
Though their numbers don't do as much for me, some of
the material from Billy Joel and Bon Jovi seems even
more surprising, mainly because I don't like either of
those acts. In regard to the latter, their versions of
"Livin' On a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" lack
much spark, but they turn up "It's My Life" nicely. It
remains a pretty cheesy and generic arena rocker, but
it comes across as spirited and lively in this
setting, and Jon milks it for all its worth.
On paper, Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out
on Broadway)"seems like an odd choice. The lyrics
present a creepy foreshadowing of September 11 and
easily could come across as inappropriate. However,
Joel's tone of insolence and defiance make it an
improbable anthem to represent the resistant spirit of
New York, and he spits it out effectively. "New York
State of Mind" is more predictable and less winning,
but it's still better than I expected.
If I had to pick disappointments, Destiny's Child seem
out of place and bland. Their insistent melismatic
oversinging appears showy and self-indulgent. Jay-Z's
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" also feels like an odd choice, but
it's over so quickly that I won't complain. Otherwise,
New York is short on low-lights; I guess they were all
waiting for the next night here in Washington. (Yes,
I'm still bitter about "United We Stand"!) I'll likely
skip a lot of the show during subsequent viewings, but
I still think even blandities like Backstreet Boys and
James Taylor come across reasonably well in this
setting. 
The Concert For New York City isn't a perfect evening,
and it won't be the time-capsule moment; America: A
Tribute to Heroes is just too powerful to be replaced
by anything else. Nonetheless, the set packs a lot of
amazing talent and presents some fine performances.
With almost five hours of footage, there's bound to be
more than something for everyone.
Footnote: The Concert For New York City presents most
of what we saw broadcast on VH1 last October, but some
small alterations occur. On one hand, we get some
profanity chopped from the TV version; Sandler says
"shitting", while "Who Are You" reinstates its
original "who the fuck are you". Jagger reminds us
that "you don't fuck with New York", and he also
curses once during "Miss You". On the other hand,
there's a weird fade between Destiny's Child's numbers
as well as another later in the show, and a technical
gaffe that occurred during Melissa Etheridge's set is
nowhere to be seen. (I taped parts of the broadcast
but not these, so unfortunately, I can't compare
them.) These changes are small, but I thought I should
mention them.
The DVD: The Concert For New York City appears in an
aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on these single-sided,
double-layered DVDs; due to those dimensions, the
image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions.
Although the picture showed its TV-concert roots at
times, overall it offered a very satisfying piece of
work. Sharpness generally looked positive. Wide shots
betrayed a modest amount of softness, but these didn't
become problematic. For the most part, the program
remained detailed and accurate. I saw a touch of
shimmering and a few examples of jagged edges, but
these didn't occur frequently, and the image usually
stayed solid. I saw no problems related to edge
enhancement, and the videotaped program seemed to
offer no source flaws or artifacts. Colors provided
the DVD's strongest elements. We saw a mix of hues
from clothes, lighting, and backdrops, all of which
appeared wonderfully rich and vivid. The tones
remained tight and vibrant and showed no concerns;
they really came across terrifically well. Black
levels also seemed deep and dense, and shadow detail
was appropriately heavy but not excessively thick. 
Overall, I thought New York looked quite good; were it
not for the minor softness at times, this would have
been an "A"-level image. Note that my comments above
reflected the quality of the live segments seen in New
York. I didn't include the short films for that didn't
seem to make sense. They ran the gamut of different
looks, such as the intentional soft appearance of the
Ed Burns piece, so I didn't feel I should factor them
into my ratings. In addition, some of those films
featured different aspect ratios; for example, the
Spike Lee clip looked to be about 1.78:1. However, all
of the concert footage was 1.33:1. Just wanted to
clarify matters!
For the most part, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of
The Concert For New York City offered a satisfying
experience, but it wasn't quite as strong as the
picture. As one might expect, the soundstage remained
oriented toward the front. In the forward spectrum, we
heard reasonably satisfying stereo imaging. This
seemed somewhat muddy early in the show - Bowie's
"'Heroes'" offered a surprisingly mushy presence - but
the mix improved fairly quickly. For most of the
program, the audio showed good spread across the
front, and instruments were well defined and clearly
delineated. We even got some split vocals at times;
for example, each member of Destiny's Child got her
own speaker from which to sing. Like many concert
presentations, New York used the rears for minor
ambience. Crowd noise filled the surrounds at
appropriate times, but otherwise, those channels
largely stayed with general reinforcement of the
music. The sound spread well to the rears to provide a
good sense of atmosphere, but they didn't do anything
special. Audio quality seemed good but unexceptional.
Again, it started somewhat badly but improved as it
progressed. "'Heroes'" sounded fairly poor, as it
lacked depth and presence; it came across as somewhat
harsh and thin. Bass response remained a moderate
weakness of the mix throughout the show, but it picked
up after that point. For the most part, the mix
provided decent low-end tones, but these elements
could have been stronger; the track never appeared
anemic, but it failed to deliver a great sense of
warmth. Otherwise, the audio showed good clarity and
accuracy. Vocals seemed natural and distinct, and the
mix placed them appropriately within the spectrum for
the most part. At times, they dominated too strongly;
Roger Daltrey's lines during the Who's set seemed too
loud when compared to the rest of the track.
Instruments sounded clean and crisp throughout the
show, and they balanced well across the board.
Overall, the audio of The Concert For New York offered
fairly positive sound, but I've heard better. 
Not surprisingly, The Concert For New York City
included no supplements. It has a booklet with various
song and performer credits, but that's it. Actually,
New York does provide one helpful option: a selection
to play only the musical segments. Considering how
much of the DVD features non-musical bits, that's a
thoughtful feature. (For the record, with just the
songs, DVD One lasts 95 minutes and 25seconds, while
DVD Two goes for 76 minutes and 24 seconds.)
While not my favorite of the benefits related to the
September 11th tragedies, The Concert For New York
City still offers a very entertaining and compelling
event. The show packed in almost five hours of
material from a myriad of well-respected musicians and
actors, and it managed to appeal for money with a fair
amount of class; the show seemed to celebrate the
positive without becoming too sappy or maudlin. As for
the DVD, it offers very good picture with decent but
somewhat muddy sound. Though the set includes no
extras, it still is a fine package that should find a
place in the homes of many music fans.


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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