Customer Reviews

Live At The El Rey

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

 

 

i am so happy to have seen this show! ...and now to re-live it! the musice is powerful and dreamlike!i recommend this very strongly! ...don't forget their other CDs though!! i have never been disapointed!

This DVD is amazing. I give this DVD 5 stars for the following reasons.

-Collide put out an *excellent performance filled with much excitement

-I love the photos on the DVD

-I love KaRIN's hair and makeup and she looks very beautiful as always

-The lighting and lyrical content is amazing!!!

-There is so much on this DVD and I have watched it over 3 times already.

-After watching this DVD I want to see Collide live in concert

It's not often that studio-only bands go on the road, and when they do, it's to mixed degrees of success. Alan Parsons hired a team of world-class session musicians but couldn't return from his fade into obscurity. Ashlee Simpson was simply laughed off the stage. Few bands are as good or better on stage than in the studio. (Yeah, there was the Dead, and Kiss and Jimmy Buffett come to mind, but for those it's the show and the atmosphere as much as the music.)

Collide has succeeded in both arenas: A recording-booth band went on the road with a crack team of musicians, sounding just as tight and as passionate from the stage as they do from the studio. Fortunately, somebody was wise enough to record it. The result is "Live At The El Rey" (as well as its companion DVD, "Like The Hunted").

Collide's typical style (perhaps a misleading statement, considering the scope of their sound, song to song and album to album) is very precise and constructed in the studio, between Statik's elaborate programming and kaRIN's vocals, augmented as necessary by other instruments. The songs chosen for their 2005 tour were re-arranged to showcase the whole group, and as such every measure comes across like a post-apocalyptic wall of Spector. However, the sound throughout is clean and sharp, every instrument and vocal distinct and precise.

It would be easy to pigeonhole Collide as a goth band, or electronica for those electronica fans who aren't into goth, or darkwave for those who pick nits. However, this album has a much wider appeal. The guitar tone throughout should draw in any metalhead; the heavy rhythm is danceable, but also suitable for fast driving in the middle of the night; the quality of the songwriting can be appreciated by anyone who likes good music. Also, while kaRIN is a stunning beauty who could have made a career modeling or acting, she is no lip-syncher coasting on her looks. She has a lovely voice and really can carry a tune, even in a minor key or exotic time signature. If you want to stare at her, get the DVD too, but the CD alone is worth repeated listens.

I'm going to have to give serious consideration to my list of "desert island discs," to make room for "Live At The El Rey." Ultimately, it's just great rock and roll.

<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/31/8489/640/CollideBand.jpg"></a>Meet Collide...They Rock....You Listen! <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"></a> <span style="" font-family:times="" new="" roman="">The Collide Experience (Live At The El Rey Review)</span> <span style="font-family: times new roman;">by DJ Genocyde</span> <span style="" last="" day="" on="" earth="" tour="" being="" two="" ones="" i="" considered="" exceptions="" great="" thing="" about="" live="" albums="" is="" tend="" capture="" most="" essential="" elements="" experience="" it's="" reason="" show="" dress="" best="" (or="" worst="" go="" wanna="" front="" feeling="" sound="" rattle="" your="" body="" wait="" trepidation="" point="" at="" touch="" fists="" blow="" kiss...something...anything="" personal="" one="" connection="" know="" band="" member="" may="" forget="" but="" moment="" you'll="" remember="" that's="" where="" matters="" doesn't="" it="" then="" there="" are="" the="" rock="" roll="" moments="" you="" look="" forward="" to="" lyric="" gets="" screwed="" up="" maybe="" they="" say="" something="" will="" remembered="" no="" matter="" that="" part="" captured="" forever="" immortalized="" in="" digital="" electronic="" media="" and="" with="" certain="" permissions="" can="" be="" used="" for="" a="" variety="" of="" ends=""> The Collide Camp informed me that their DVD "Like The Hunted" had been sent to me but I never expected "Live At The El Rey" to accompany it. What a pleasant surprise. The only shame of receiving the items when I did was that I had to work. The next morning would prove to hold no moment free for me to properly listen to it either but then came the moment. I woke up for work...my last day of the week to be twisted on Stackers to survive another dull and boring night at work. I took a few spare moments while in the shower to let it spin on my CD player which needs to desperately be replaced. I heard the near-doomlike sounds of the intro flowing in and the music built. The funny part was that I could barely hear the crowd. Normally, the crowd either adds or takes away from the recording but with this particular Live compilation, they added even as far in the background as they sounded. Then I went sideways. kaRIN's vocals came in loud and true, blending and harmonizing perfectly with the music. There was no doubt in my mind that this album was going to be good but now, my suspicions were cemented and forever sealed. kaRIN, Statik, Kai, Scott, Rogerio and Chaz went all out in their performances and nothing was held back...no quarter asked, none given. AND THIS WAS ONLY THE FIRST SONG!!!! I was able to listen to about two or three tracks before I went to work and all through the night I waited and quietly bided my time. I wanted to hear the rest of the disc. I couldn't wait!!! Finally home this morning I finally was able to sit down and listen to the rest of it...I can honestly say that, as a fan, "Live At The El Rey" will join that once-duo of KISS and Marilyn Manson in terms of the best live CDs of all time. Performances never lacked. Nothing was missing. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and much much more than I expected. The live cover of The Fun Boy 3's "The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum" was great, their cover of "White Rabbit" far surpassed the original, Beneath The Skin, Crushed, Slither Thing, Modify, Razor Sharp and Euphoria were done more than beautifully. Collide took away my power over my own ability to describe the performances. I think the whole disc can be brought to two words...Simply Excellent!!!! I walked away from the CD once it was over wishing I'd been AT the El Rey the night of that concert. This disc is a must-have for anyone proclaiming themselves to be a fan of music within the gothic genre or even of Collide in general. I can't believe you're still reading this....GO GET YOUR DAMN COPY!!! And THAT's The Genocydal Maniac's Bottom Line. </span>