Customer Reviews

The Cult: Irving Plaza, New York City

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Let me preface this by saying I am a huge fan/supporter of this band and have been for over 20 years. I own all the Instant Live concerts released from the "A Return To Wild Tour" and have reviewed some of them here on Amazon.

Now onto this dvd. I purchased the download of this show from Instant Live's site months ago. Even though the download was at a lossy 192 kBit mp3, the Irving Plaza show is arguably the best show of the entire tour. The performance was killer and the sound was phenomenal compared to the other Instant Live recordings. I have been listening to this show on and off for months, eagerly awaiting the release of this dvd. Well the dvd finally arrived yesterday. Very "Spartan" artwork on the front cover with only the track list & band members on the back. Upon opening the package, the silver dvd has no artwork other than the word "CULT" stamped on it. There is no supporting artwork or booklet included. I almost thought it was a bootleg! So I popped in the dvd I have been waiting months for: waiting to see Billy Duffy's balls out solo on "Wildflower", waiting to see the emotion on Ian's face during his vocals on "The Revolution", waiting to see John Tempesta's pounding intro to "Electric Ocean". Waiting...for a huge disappointment. The low rent production values are right up there with the cheap packaging. The most disturbing is the "switch the camera shot ever second" editing. The shots switch so fast, the dvd should come with a warning for producing seizures. Seriously, not one shot is held for more than 2 seconds throughout the entire performance! I did not get to see any of Billy's solos for more than a second, the camera is never on Ian's face for more than a second, and rarely do you even get a shot of John Tempesta behind his drum kit. The concert experience is totally void; there is barely any shots of the entire band from the "front row" perspective (and you guessed it, the front row shots last maybe a second). It is arguably the worst editing job of any of the 100's of concert dvds I own. I felt like Malcolm McDowell in the scene from "Clockwork Orange" where his eyes are forced open. Not only do the scenes switch fast, but some camera shots are at weird angles and the color footage is interspersed with black & white shots. Maybe there were colorblind fans viewing the show while standing sideways?
The sound however is fantastic and the performance is first rate. The dvd does omit the songs "Star" and "King Contrary Man" (one of the best songs of the show and the only time the band performed it the entire tour); both of which are included on the download/audio only version of the show from Instant Live's website. I guess Instant Live did not want fans with a dvd audio ripping program cutting into their sales by simple ripping the audio off this dvd.
My total rating of three stars breaks down as follows: 5 stars for the music and 1 star for the video. Die hard fans need to purchase this for the music alone, even though you may only watch the video once or twice. Hold off for a few weeks and search Amazon's used product sites for a better price. If you are new to the band and interest in viewing a live performance on dvd, I strongly suggest the dvd "Music Without Fear" over this release.

****FYI - I have been comparing the sound on this dvd release to the Instant Live download of the show which is available from the Instant Live website. The download is mp3 only @ 192 kBit (and yes, I did rip the audio off the dvd for comparison also). While the dvd is a bit "clearer" and "cleaner", the download version is more full and vibrant with the guitars right up front in the mix. The Instant Live version has much more of a live vibe and feel. The dvd has Astbury's vocal's upfront in the mix and the instruments tamed down (while also toning down the audience). I much prefer the audio on the download version even though it is only mp3! To me, the comparison is not even close. For die hard fans you have to get the complete download of the show from Instant Live. "King Contrary Man" kicks @ss and is worth it for that song alone.****

This is amongst the worst directed DVDs I have ever bought. The music is fine and, for us in Oz, there is always interest in Cult concert footage. They were here .... when? But crikey, despite a pretty good live performance, this DVD is virtually unwatchable. I'm not an epileptic, but just about became one. No shot is held for more than 3 secs and I am not exaggerating. A damned shame! Try the earlier DVD from 2001/2002. Maybe, this one could be re-cut, because otherwise it is quite a good gig. I would buy the live CD.

Before I go on, let me say this: I really love love love the Cult and ALL their music, past and present. All of it! I love Ian's voice and Billy's guitaring and think they are the absolute Best. They seem to be really interesting and unique people.

The first thing I noticed was that Ian seemed really perturbed during the first part of the concert stating that he was there to please only himself. Also saying something to someone like "I know where I am, Bit_h." I'm sorry, but it bugged me to hear that. Just before that he said something that led me to believe that maybe he had a bit too much to drink, which could explain the behavior. Who knows. Maybe he had a good reason for coming off that way. Maybe some people in the audience were unusually rude or rowdy. At one point, he tells someone, "Sir, calm down. It's okay.", which was fine. In the 2001 Los Angeles recorded concert, his presence is SO commanding that you can't take your eyes off.

As the concert went on, he seemed less irritated, and at one point, made a comment about all the testosterone in the room. He was very gracious when someone through a bouquet of roses onto the stage. As someone else said, Ian and Billy did seem closer than I've seen in the past, and that was a pleasant part of the concert.

There was some type of error in the DVD where some words briefly flashed up saying something about the DVD. I can't remember what it said, but it clearly wasn't meant to be there.

The sound was really good and after the incidents I mentioned above, the mood seemed more relaxed and less angry and I did enjoy it. For the most part, the songs don't sound like they do on the record (not all the lyrics being sung, etc.), but there is SO MUCH MORE ENERGY in a concert environment that why would you expect them to sound the same. It's more enjoyable and exciting to see a live performance. I especially enjoyed "Spirit Walker," which sounded Fantastic, and the acoustic version of "Edie."

As far as the filming or editing goes, I didn't really like the way they would focus on something for a split second then cut away too fast. Too jumpy as someone else pointed out. It didn't flow as well as the concert DVD from 2001 LA, which I really liked alot. Especially the high-def version on Voom.

Of course I recommend getting this dvd, since it is them afterall. Another aspect of them to watch, but still the Cult.

****Another reviewer here clued me in that you cannot hear all the audience banter in this dvd that you can hear on a downloadable version. Apparently Ian had recently had surgery and mentioned that the stage was like being on black ice~that would certainly explain the attitude. For more, read the comments.****

In some of my other music DVD reviews, I take the tact of applying a set of standards to a release and establishing how the DVD in question measures up. Let me say in advance that when I take this tact, it usually means that I was disappointed in the release. Such is the case with The Cult: Irving Plaza, New York City .

A memo should go out to all bands and music DVD producers that says at minimum: "1) Music DVDs should be produced to the highest standards. 2) The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell. 3) Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music."

Let's break it down then for The Cult: Irving Plaza, New York City :

1 - "Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards." - The picture quality in The Cult: Irving Plaza, New York City is great. It's recorded in high-def. Unfortunately, the director has chosen to indulge in what he feels is "cool production" versus giving the viewer a front row seat to the performance. The visual often jumps around similar to the music video format of "4 seconds then cut to another view". In fact there are segments where I couldn't count 2 seconds off before the camera angle switches. At times it was like staring at a strobe light. (Strobe-induced epileptics steer cleer!) Further, the picture frequently changes from color to black and white. The black and white effect was kinda cool for song 9 (Edie), but, c'mon...I don't want to see some producer's self indulgent videography; I just want to see the show. All this made for a viewing experience that ruined the illusion of having a front row seat to the concert.

As a consolation, the sound is great in Dolby 5.1.

2 - "The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell." - The guys prior to hitting the stage certainly didn't commit to each other to go out and play the music true to the studio versions of the songs. Look...I'm a big fan of The Cult, but Ian Astbury really screwed this up. First of all, he comes out in this heavy fur hat (the same one he's wearing on the cover of Electric ) that clearly overheated him by like song 3 (of 17); by song 10 (Fire Woman) Ian was ready to be taken out on a gurney; he couldn't breathe let alone sing a song. He often has only enough breath to sing a portion of a verse. I.e., in Fire Woman he was supposed to sing. "Fiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrerrrrrrrrerrrerer...smoke she is a risin'!" But he sang, "Fire...she is rising." Okay..."the guy gave it his all," you might argue. But a pro isn't supposed to fail midway through a show; otherwise, we could all be rock stars.

Billy Duffy (guitar) was on. The other hired-help (including the talented drummer John Tempesta of White Zombie fame) were quite good. But I don't know what Ian's problem was; at one point in the show he even proclaimed that, "I'm here to do what I want to do" or something very close to the like, and he asked the audience several times if they could handle that.

3 - "Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music." - After all my complaining, it's not a terrible performance. The Cult just come out and play their songs; there really are no theatrics.

If you are or ever were a Cult fan, and you've been waiting for a high quality audio/video release from the band...this is it. Again, if you have strobe induced Epilepsy, by all means skip this. And if you're looking for Ian Astbury's greatest performance...I'd suggest putting Sonic Temple in your CD player and imagining it.

Awesome! The Cult still rocks after many of their peers have gone by the wayside.

Black Light
Ian and Billy are back! Fantastic energy on this live show. The sound is excellent as is the set list. The only disappointment was the fact they cut two songs: Star and King Contrary Man. "Rise" and "Love Removal Machine" are the most explosive tracks on the DVD. The chemistry between Ian and Billy is the best it's ever been. All in all, a great disc from a great band.

I have tried this DVD in 3 different DVD players and with two different sound systems, and the sound is just awful. Why are the drums so loud, I can hardly hear the rest of the band? And why do the drums only come out of the right speaker, infuriating. The worst music DVD I have ever bought. I am not anti cult as I also have Music Without Fear which is brilliant. The shot editing is terrible as well, you barely get 1-2 secs of the same shot.

First of all im a big Cult fan, and I loved the last DVD but this one, when I first put in my machine the sound was out of sync to the picture, and any fast movement on the screen like the drummers arms or billys arms became a blurr, I too have the letters DVD pop up during the dvd, I thought I had a duff copy and sent it back to amazon, getting a new copy back .......its the same, ive tried it in other players and its the same, I will keep it, because I can see from other reveiws it appears they are all like this, the sound isnt bad very drum heavy, and being a drummer myself i dont mind that, but the guitar is quite low in the mix, I also agree with the other reveiws about Mr Astburys stage behavour!!! worth getting if your a big Cult fan but be warned its not perfect, and not worth the money as it is..... the last DVD was, get that instead if you havnt got it.....KR

Hey, I for one hate over indulgent editors. Remember that movie 'Any Given Sunday' by Oliver Stone? I never watched the whole movie due to the fact that there is an edit every 2-3 seconds. This show is not as annoying as that, but I do understand the complaints. I guess I have been conditioned since most shows these days are edited like this. But all that aside , if you are a Cult fan ,I suggest you buy this dvd and be your own judge, also buy a tambourine and be in the show with Ian and Duff, cuz after all.... its all about the music baby.... Salt Shaker ...OWWW.

Excellent video - highly recommend it. I saw The Cult 4 times now and this is a great reminder of those nights.