Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Someday he'll come out ... God Is In the House, September 1, 2004
Perhaps the greatest example of a true showman. Nick Cave stomps around stage pointing and screaming at the audience one minute, then gently caressing the mic the next. He's a charismatic cross between an early 1950's crooner and a mid-1970's minister - somehow he makes it all accessible and brilliant. For those into masochistic entertainment, please apply here. It's lyrically brutal music, but transforms into an artform once Cave delivers in his Jim Morrison/Elvis/Johnny Cash baritone while proclaiming to the audience, "All of God's children will have to die."
This is, of course, a DVD of a show Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds performed in Lyons, France around 2001 (just after the recording of the album, `No More Shall We Part' - my favorite Cave release by the way). It showcases the mad, frantic, masterful way Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds can direct emotions and coax the audience into applauding even though he's bringing to light all their flaws (well not just them, but humans in general).
But I've gotten caught up in describing only one half of his musical persona. The other half consists of the brooding crooner (think David Bowie, Tom Waits, or Lou Reed) singing lines such as, "We've bred all our kittens white so that we can see them in the night ... God is in the house." - any songwriter who can compare forced Christian individualism and seclusion with cats, has my vote as one of the greatest lyricists of the 20th century.
It is rather terrifying, because if it wasn't for the documentary (more on that later), you'd think that Cave actually meant every lyric he pronounced - he's that good of a performer. Pure emotion and visceral honesty. After you hear him shouting, "Do you love me?" after describing his lover's bleeding thighs with complete conviction, you wonder, Is he talking from experience?
Now the crowning achievement (both of Cave and whoever produced this DVD), is the documentary which shows Cave and his cohorts recording the `No More Shall We Part' album. It shows Cave in a different light than what most people are used to. You think you'd see a brooding madman, berating and ranting (like his live shows), but here in his natural persona (I've used that word again), he is surprisingly normal. Quiet, encouraging, and sarcastically funny, he seems like someone worth knowing in real life. I was worried `cause, as entertaining as it is, his live personality is something I'd rather watch from a distance.
While Cave and his band (the Bad Seeds) aren't at their absolute best on this particular show (performing wise), they still have the energy they had back in the `80s (impressive, considering that there's not a person in the band younger than 40). Hopefully there will be another live performance released on DVD, but for those who need more, check out the album `Live Seeds' - a flawless performance - perhaps one of the greatest live albums of all time.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
God Is In The House...and Nick is as well..., June 24, 2004
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds would have to rate as one of the all-time great line-ups of musicians ever to grace the stages and stereos of the world, and thus its fitting that their first DVD be suitably impressive. The main extravagance of "God Is In The House" is a concert recorded in Lyon, France on the 2001 "No More Shall We Part" tour. Featuring a Bad Seeds line up of Mick Harvey (guitars), Blixia Bargeld (guitars), Conway Savage (piano), Jim Sclavonous (percussion), Warren Ellis (violin/organ), Tomas Wylder (drums) and Martyn Casey (bass). This is a truly spectacular line up and they deliver a very good concert. The curtain raiser, "Do You Love Me?", is very good, but the pace doesn't let up - nearly every song is a highlight, except (oddly) the title track, which personally doesn't do anything for me. Maybe other people get something out of it that I don't. The extras are very impressive as well. All three "No More..." videos are included - the very abstract "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side", the incredibly hilarious "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow" and the beautifully emotional "Love Letter", which brought tears to my eyes. A forty-minute film of the band recording "No More Shall We Part" provides a great insight into the recording of an album (and the bit in the middle featuring the recording of "The Sorrowful Wife" is brilliant). Ultimately, if you're a Nick Cave fan, there's simply no excuse not to own this (unless you don't have the money). It's not perfect, but damn it comes close. "The Videos" should be great, too.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Go see them live!, January 7, 2004
I have seen Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds live in Lisbon, during the "No More Shall We Part" Tour. It was one of the best live shows I have ever experienced. This concert belongs to the same tour and although the set list is similar and the energy of the performance is extremely high, it fails to deliver the magic of a live show. Maybe it is impossible to capture such unique and intense shows. Nevertheless, it is a good musical dvd, due to the excellency of songs. The set list is very varied, with classics ("Do You Love Me?", "Red Right Hand", "The Weeping Song", "The Mercy Seat"), new songs ("Lime Tree Arbour" and "Into My Arms" from the album "The Boatman's Call"; "Oh My Lord", "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side", "God Is In The House", "We Came Along This Road" and "Hallelujah" from the album "No More Shall We Part") and even a surprise: the long and wordiest "The Curse Of Millhaven" from the album "Murder Ballads" for ending the show! I don't pay much attention to the quality of sound or image as I'm generally more interested in the quality of performance and composition, but it is a fact that the sound quality is bad at least using my TV speakers (it is not that bad in other concerts), especially the vocals' sound. Maybe I should buy a good a stereo system and connect it to the dvd player!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
