Customer Reviews

The Gorge

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Music: 3.5 Stars; DVD: 3 Stars; Economic Value: 4 Stars

I've lost count but I guess DMB now has 'officially' released about 5 or 6 live albums (not counting those available through its website), and it's getting harder to come up with fresh ideas but, hey, here's a good one: instead of bringing a single show, let's take songs from the three night stand at the Gorge, and even better, let's put some on CD and others on a DVD.

"The Gorge" (2 CDs, 14 tracks, 112 min.) actually has a lot of great music on it. Highlights for me include the opener Rampunzel, The Song that Jane Likes (from "Remember Two Things"), the somber and touching Gravedigger, the pleasant Everyday (check out the crowd's singalong at the very beginning), and the hard charging "Kit Kat Jam". Not nearly as good are the 2 monster tracks Two Steps (19 min.) and Lie in Our Graves (17 min.).

The DVD (120 min.) contains 9 more songs, with 3 mini-documentaries and the video for Grace is Gone. As to the concert clips, this coulda, shoulda been wonderful. Alas, the editor truly made a mess of it by changing non-stop, literally EVERY SECOND, the camera angle. After a while it becomes so annoying, I could hardly stand it anymore. Among the songs, Halloween and Ants Marching are standouts. The most revealing moment actually comes after the credits when the band retreats backstage after one of the shows and comments on that evening's performance.

Because the songs are diced and sliced, this may not be the best DMB live album, but I will say that you get great value for your money. Two hours of music and another two hours of DVD, and all for about $20, that's hard to beat!

Yes, it is quite hard to really sit down and watch this dvd, due to the constantly moving camera angles. It can be confusing, but the dvd is great to just put on as background music. Oh and By the way, the 17 minute version of Lie in our graves is incredible, and worth buying the whole thing just to listen to that one track. Overall a great buy

Alot of other bands could take a cue from DMB and be better about consistently releasing real quality entire shows, particularly WSP, but in this release even the Dave Matthews folks erred a little. Be warned that this is a compilation of all 3 days of the Gorge run, so no show in its' entirety is included here, but you get a nifty DVD. I'd suggest getting the whole run as there are some performances here that are right up there among all the shows DMB has released to date. (The exceptions are Red Rocks and Luther College, but those 2 shows are head and shoulders above almost any live recording ever.)All the music from the Gorge Sept.'02 run is in a nice little box for about fifty bucks at the band website. I am not getting anything for suggesting the whole box as a purchase and I love amazon.com and readily reccomend them for an amazing shopping experience from end-to-end, but you just need to get every note when it comes to inspired music like this rather than just the highlights-it's impossible to condense the great stuff played here on 2 discs and was a little surprised that the widespread official release of the Gorge was done this way. So I rated it 3 stars overall due to the "hacked up" nature of how the songs are presented. The whole box is in the neighborhood of 4 1/2 stars in my opinion. But I'm just a guy who likes to hear the whole deal when sinking into some tasty live tunes, and something of a completist.

And yeah Dave's voice is hurting some places here-the "Satellite"-my fave DMB song always-is pretty horrible when Dave can't come close to hitting those tough high notes-sounds like a 10 pack-a-day smoker trying to rock out at a lame karoke bar or something, but that notwithstanding you get mostly nice prime Dave Matthews Band. 2002 definitely a peak year so far and this deserves many listens. Thanks for your time!

You know you've got an audience full of DMB faithfuls when the crowd erupts as soon as Dave utters the above sentence between songs. As you can tell from the 2CD's and especially the DVD, the band feeds off the crowd as much as the crowd feeds off the band. That is what makes this concert so special (listen carefully for the people who shout "Halloween!" right before Carter's drum solo that eventually leads into the song!).

The sound quality here is excellent, despite what others would have you believe. The DVD is crisp and never boring, with some awesome video of the band hanging out on their off-time at the Gorge. The one thing that has been muffed on past DVD releases is the band members' different personalities. Roi's sense of humor shines through, in a particularly humorous statement about a pilot's liscense. ;) You actually feel like you're there hanging out with the band members, and gives the DVD a more laid-back feel. Two other mentionable segments occur in one of the trailors before and after the show, with the band members in their most family-like moment ever to be caught on film.

Now on to the music...phenominal. They, thankfully, kept in some snippets of Davespeak so you really don't feel like you're just listening to a bunch of live performances thrown together. Largely ignored songs get the royal treatment here, including "Kit Kat Jam" (the version with lyrics!) and "Proudest Monkey." A more ghostly version of "Gravedigger," that veteran DMB fans are more accustomed to, is also included. The only complaint I have is that they could've maxed out the CD's (they had plenty of material they could put in). But I'm happy with what I got here.

In closing, if you can't afford to buy the full Gorge run from DMB's website (minus the DVD), this is a wonderful alternative that you will be happy with. If you've already purchased the box set and are thinking about purchasing this for the DVD, you probably won't regret it.

This is a good set to buy. The DVD is made up of songs selected as the best of the 3 nights by the warehouse, Dave's fan club. But if you're a true fan of Dave, I suggest going over to their official website, and buying the 6-Disc version or this. The 6 disc version is all 3 full concerts.
Being the fan that I am, I bought this for the DVD and gave the 2 discs to a friend. Then I bought the 6-Disc version so I can drive for hours upon end with Dave singing all the way.

This version of "Live at The Gorge" is ok, but the 6-disk version is much better. The 6-disk set of "Live at The Gorge" is recorded over a 3-day period and has some fantastic performances. You can only get it off the DMB site.

I went to the gorge for a DMB concert and it was the most amazing experience I have been to. The DVD with this case has some great views of the gorge and some very interesting behind the scenes shots. I play the DVD as background noise it is so good. And the CDs are a must in my car. I highly recommend this CD/DVD set.

I've seen the band in concert many, many times and this album captures the concert feel very well. If you like this sort of thing, I'd highly reccommend also buying the Central Park concert for the flow from one piece to the next. But don't pass this set by either. Sure, the sound quality's different in this album than the other ones, but that's not a bad thing in this case. It's the end of a long tour and Dave's voice is a little different, but that just makes it sound more real. I love the parts in between songs when Dave talks to the audience. With this one, you get songs previously unreleased live, and the killer DVD is just gravy on the delicious mashed potatoes that is the 2 CDs in this set. The people that've said that the DVD's worth the entire price aren't joking. It's gorgeous. Great film quality, camera work, sound, and ideas. I love the music as well as the stuff about the venue and the band off stage. Whether you're listening to the CDs or watching the DVD, you'll be more than entertained. Buy this one, it's the best 20 bucks you'll spend on music in the past forever.

I live very close to the Gorge and every year the band puts on a great show here. I was so excited when I heard this was being released. Being the fan I am, I actually went to their website and bought the full 6-CD compilation, the entire three days worth of music. It's not available in stores, so if you're more intertested in the music than the DVD, get that. But regardless, the band sounds great, great versions of all the songs, and it's really cool hearing some of the songs that haven't been released live so far. Great stuff!

It's easy to see why the Gorge is called "heaven's ampitheater." Though I have never been there, the cd's and dvd are more than I need until I manage to catch a show out west. The sound is perfect, and the songs (chosen by the Warehouse members themselves) make for a wonderful compilation of DMB's memorable 3-night stint. Songs like the Song that Jane Likes, Kit Kat Jam, Lie in Our Graves and Gravedigger make the purchase even more worthwhile. And, the dvd is one of the best concert videos out there. The camera work is genious. My only gripe for the cd's is that I wish the songs were seamless, rather than fading in and out each track, but that's just a personal thing. The only thing better than having the compilation is having the complete set of all three shows (which can be purchased from DMB's website - www.dmband.com - for a reasonable price). The band keeps getting better and better, and they sure know how to keep their fans happy! Thanks, DMB for a killer compilation!