Customer Reviews

Blackfield - NYC (Live in New York)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you think about it, Steve Wilson does something that no one else that I can think of does in these times. He somehow manages to write some of the most amazing and beautiful songs (without becoming sappy or silly) and the most intelligent, deeply felt lyrics of our time as well as rocking out and staying current with the times, blending pop music, sophisticated progressive rock, grunge, metal, and more. It is an experience for the senses and the mind, like diving into a pool of everchanging sound and emotion that is truly unique and solid. I would definately compare him to any of the Beatles in his unlimited creative abilities. It is however unfortunate that he is not more well known. I also have to say that when I first listened to (and reviewed) the second Blackfield CD it sounded very poppy. But over the months since its release it has really been absorbed into my being and I came to realize that it is much more than a really good pop CD. It is pure genuis. It has great depth and spirituality. Now the DVD has really sent the message home. The live performance is fantastic. I absolutely love the drum parts that drive these songs. I have already watched the DVD five times since I received it from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. And blending the songs from the first Blackfield CD with the songs from the new CD made me realize that the new CD is also a masterpiece. In these days of bland, pointlesss, ghetto -minded, dance, crap music this is a total awakening. Like a deep breath of clean air and a drink of pure clean water. I was also fortunate to have seen Porcupine Tree live on the Deadwing tour and I love the power and performance of the band which also displayed on the DVD Arriving Somewhere... My first Porcupine Tree CD was Stupid Dream back in 99. I have been hooked on Steve's work ever since and Blackfield has only added to his genuis.

Just in from the official B.F. UK web site...let me be the first to cast some light on this release to the "world's marketplace", Amazon. (Shocking there are no reviews already). I was at this show, so I'm a bit partial. HOWEVER...this is sonically stunning. What a wonderful keepsake from an unforgettable evening. Although BLACKFIELD features our guitar~driven Steve, the man makes no effort to steal this show with one-ups-manship solos, riffing or posing. To the contrary, this is a well mixed (by Steve) and beautifully recorded outing. A TRUE document of the night. Not to rub it in, but those folks trapped on international or domestic flights that could not make this show due to severe weather in NYC are gonna kick themselves (or the airlines) for missing this! We almost did not make it either!

When I heard that Lasse Hoile (major respect here) was directing this, I sort of expected an "Arriving Somewhere" part II with Super-8 scratchy film footage, bizzare imagary, video screens, huge lighting, and the like. Nope, not here. The focus in the Blackfield world is on harmony, lyrics, choruses, instrumentation, and brilliant, dark but wonderful songwriting. How fantastic that this captured the moment at that small, almost clastrophopic club. I'm so thrilled that this was not portrayed as a "look at our grand show" concert. The grand show here is in your head, as soon as you open your ears and LISTEN TO THIS.

The mix is so, so solid. Drums and bass will bouce your balls around throughout, and, the keyboards perfect (thankfully, not in a prog-rock "look at me player" style like some others. Steve and Aviv balance singing their parts wonderfully. Oh yeah, there's lots of KILLER guitar too and stellar showmanship (more glitter, Aviv!!!).

With only 2 releases and a few singles, you wonder if you need a "back-catalogue" to back up your performance? No sir, not here. Behold the sonic tour-de-force that IS Blackfield.

As someone present at the show, I will say this: If anyone thinks "It's all done in the studio"....not so! This sounds real because it was real. Trust me. The Bowery Ballroom was screaming for more. Amazingly, a highlight is the cover of "Thank you" by Allanis (not someone I follow..) Powerful vocal work there, Steve. When it's time to rock, they rock, when it's to chill, they chill. There is a sense of perfection here...

In the age of "let's go download it for free" ....don't bother. You NEED to own this release. (Gee, I should get a commission, huh?)

Let's see more reviews on this as the domestic release becomes available, ok? Fans worldwide will go crazy for this, critics will awake, and life goes on. It's all in the BLACKFIELD! All hail.

Cheers.......

Musical polymath Steve Wilson seems to have the Midas touch with just about every music project he puts his mind to when he is not busy with his day job as frontman for Porcupine Tree. Blackfield appeared on the scene several years ago as a Wilson side project that features a collaboration with Israeli Aviv Geffen. Now, two CDs and one DVD later, it is clear that the project has taken on a life of its own.
I like both Blackfield CDs a great deal but did not appreciate them nearly as much as I do now since I've seen the DVD. As with Porcupine Tree, Wilson still contributes the lion's share of the music and the lyrics but Geffen's involvement adds a new dimension that is absent with Porcupine Tree and the songs he contibutes are qualitatively on par with Wilson's. These songs often plumb the depths of despair yet are so beautiful that the listener comes away in reverie rather than in depression.
Blackfield NYC is essential to any fan of the band because you get a chance to see up close just how talented each of these guys are. I was especially impressed by the drumming of Tomer Z whose evident skill serves as the glue that keeps the performance tight. I like the whole DVD to some degree, but the best songs are: both renditions of Once, The Hole In Me, Pain, Epidemic, Someday, a thrilling End of the World, and a soul-stirring Cloudy Now.
There is more than enough great music here to make the DVD a good value, but buyers also get a bonus with three promo videos featuring Hello, Pain, and Blackfield. That portion will remind PT fans of the videos that accompanied the special edition of In Absentia. With Blackfield NYC you get great sound, great visuals and some darn good music. What more could you want?

Being a huge fan of Porcupine Tree I kind of stumbled into hearing Blackfield for the first time while trying to find more mind blowing music from Steven Wilson as did many others I know of.

When Porcupine Tree released a live DVD last year I knew it was a must have. I still watch it to this day as it is the best live DVD I own. Luckily I have been able to see the band twice this year in Ohio and can't quite figure out how the manage to actually be better live on most parts than the many albums they have put out.

Enter Blackfield. I don't like to compare bands all that much but as you have read above it's very difficult to not throw in a small percentage of comparison to Porcupine Tree. Some may even call Blackfield "Tree-Lite" or something along those lines but one thing that really amazes me about Blackfield is the music gets to the point much quicker than many Porcupine Tree songs. Blackfield is more of a "singles" type band but that's not a bad thing. The mood they have created with their two CDs is unmatched. I quickly fell in love with the music of Blackfield and never looked back. Seeing them live was one of those things I wished for but considering they don't tour in these parts very often I knew I would have to either rely on seeing horribly compressed live bits online, listen to reviews of people that have seen the band live, or wait for a live DVD. Luckily the DVD was created and I have just spent the better part of almost two hours checking out everything it has to offer.

The concert is amazing. This is not one of those live DVDs where you should skip around to check out the songs. NO NO NO! Just put the DVD in, hit play, sit back and prepared to be amazed at the show. Don't expect a lot of flashy visuals as that's not what it's about. It's about creating a mood via music. As a matter of fact, the only thing I would even consider flashy is Aviv Geffen's glitter. Don't worry though. It doesn't take away from the performance as about a whole 5 seconds of the opening of the drum intro section will more than prove that you are about to witness something truly amazing and intimate.

The audio quality is top notch as with everything Steven mixes (listen to it in DTS 5.1 for maximum effect). I watched the concert via a Blu-Ray player which enhanced the standard DVD picture rather well. I believe they shot the show in HD so it would rock if someday they could release a true HD version. Hey, I can dream can't I?

Seeing Blackfield live via DVD really made me believe in this band even more. The one thing I was kind of surprised at was the band used a sample for the opening acoustic part on "Open Mind" rather than play it live. At least I believe it's a sample as I didn't see anyone on stage playing it live. That's not a gripe. I was just surprised to see it as everything else they actually played sounded just as good as the studio recordings. The drums, keyboards, and guitars, are all A+ in quality. Also of note is the stunning version of Alanis Morisette's "Thank You" performed only by Steve and Aviv.

The bonus material contails three music videos which are all done incredibly well minus the support for DTS 5.1. There is also a photo gallery.

I don't care if you are 'only' a semi-Blackfield or Porcupine Tree listener, you MUST own this DVD. I seriously doubt you will be dissapointed. It will be sitting proudly right next to my "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" Porcupine Tree DVD and I plan to play it just as often.

Great job guys!

I wanted to give this a 5 star review like so many others but can't bring myself to do it. Especially not after watching this just after the amazing Eels with Strings - Live at Town Hall concert album. It is just not on the same level.

I am a huge Porcupine Tree and Blackfield fan, and I guess I watched/listened to it with too many expectations. As far as the good goes, the music it top notch and the performances good, if not great. It is a nice, straight forward concert album with 3 good bonus videos. But after viewing it once, I will probably play it as background music and not bother watching it again...there is just not a lot going on visually. I'm not sure why a glittered up Aviv felt the need to remove his shirt, but okay, he was going with the moment, heheheh.

Overall a good purchase, but not one I will "watch" again soon, though I will be playing it like an album. Here's hoping they put a little more into the next DVD.

I preordered this dvd and I was thrilled when it arrived in the mail today. As soon as I got home from work, I plugged it in to check it out on my new and first hd lcd Sony Bravia. I became glued to the screen in awe with the first visual with killer sound. I am a huge P.T. and Blackfield fan and there is no dissapointment here. The balance of play and the quality of musicianship makes this one of the best concert dvds I own. I put it up there with, 'Pulse', 'Gilmour at Albert Hall' and 'Arriving Somewhere'. The interplay between Steve Wilson and Aviv Geffen is pure stage perfection. This show from this year will pull you in to an hour and a half of realization that Steve Wilson is the best out there and he brings out the best in those talented musicians he grooves with. Peace.

Very impressed! Great performance!

Just some general good and bad comments from me:


Pros-
-Outstanding performance
-Sound sounded great! (some people mentioned some keyboard hits and voice recordings were off from the actual movement of the artists, I didn't notice it all during the several times I watched, it must be very slight in that case)
-I like Thank You with Steven and Aviv. Glow was also a nice change of things
-Overall I was very impressed I consider this performance extremely entertaining. There really wasn't anything wrong with it! (in my opinion)

Cons-
-The bass player bounced around a lot, nothing wrong with it, just got annoying when everyone would be doing their thing and in the corner is that dude bouncing!
-The cameras on the floor looking up always would be shaking (very subtle) when the film was shown through that one. It shakes whenever the kick drum is hit. I believe the film crew did address this problem saying because of the large snow storm that took place that day, they did not bring all of their usual equipment. Which is their reason for why the camera was shaking. This is in no way distracting, it's not easy to pick up, but if you sit right in front of the screen you will notice it on those lower cameras.
-I hate to say this, but I know some people will agree, Aviv's voice live sometimes seems to sound like a goat/lamb baaahaaa baaahaa call sound that they make. Aviv sounds fine on the CD recordings, but live seems a bit off, but with practice he will get better. I assume his accent is maybe causing it?


Great DVD! Assuming Blackfield does at least one or two more CDs, hopefully they will do another DVD and they can play their new songs on it, as well as older songs they didn't play like This Killer, Scars & Summer. Although it'd probably be better if they do make another DVD after they release two more CDs so that way they will have more new material to play and it won't be much of a rehash of the previous DVD.

I highly recommend this DVD to all fans of Blackfield!!!

I own about 100 concert DVD's including Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, Rush, ACDC, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Pink Floyd, etc. and this is my all time favorite. The sound quality is fantastic. I bought tickets this morning to see them at Park West in Chicago in May. It's a pity that more people don't know about this fantastic band. But that is a good thing because I get to see them live in a 900 person venue and tickets were only $25...I cannot wait!!!!

I became a fan of Blackfield through Porcupine Tree, as many of their fans have done and I did not know what to expect from them live. Typically, when I think of Steven Wilson on stage, I get images of all those flashing images and the things that go on behind him on the screen. You don't get that with Blackfield and that is a breath of fresh air. Now, I love both bands, but variety is fantastic and this surely has it. Though they have only released two albums thus far, the quality of the material exceeds the expectations by far. How many artists do you know that only have two albums, but almost all their songs are fantastic - worthy of repeated listening?

Many of the songs work really well live, though there are spots where Aviv Geffen's voice doesn't work so well. And by no means is that his fault. His first language is Hebrew, so his accent can cause some strange sounds when he sings in English. Despite that minor flaw, Geffen and Wilson work fantastically together. The setting and the mood that the show itself sets is absolutely lovely. It's very mellow, with just the right amount of good old fashioned jumping about in songs like Once, which is ever so good live.

This definitely isn't for everyone, but if you like Porcupine Tree's shorter, more pop-oriented songs, then this is definitely a band for you and live music can be a fantastic place to start. Can't go to a concert? A DVD makes an alright substitute.

Once again, Steve Wilson creates another side project with Aviv Geffen and the two very creative artists meld their styles into an extraoridinary result. The music came before the DVD for this person, but after anxiously awaiting the arrival of the DVD just after the holidays, I can honesty say the video coverage perfectly compliments the incredible song writing of these two little known titans. Their voices throw off some of the most passionate songs I have heard in some time. The slow shrill of Aviv voice resonates beautifully with either guitars or pianos filling the waves. And Steve Wilson continues to blow my mind with his genius. Both albums are in my permanent collection and I cannot wait to share the music and video with only the closest family and friends who appreciate such a rare collection of songs and coverage. Please continue the collaboration and tour the Motor City or Chicago. I will be there!