Customer Reviews

The Paris Concert

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

 

 

This Paris Concert DVD is so so good. Will Calhoun's drum solo at approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes into the set, followed immediately by an extended version of "Flying" are the unrivalled blessings of this collection of great Living Colour Music. The entire concert is great, but all my fellow Living Colour fanatics will understand what I mean about "Flying" after they view it just once. This is a must buy for any true fan. Go buy it!

I have been a somewhat casual Living Colour fan over the years, so I knew Vernon Reid was a pretty amazing guitar player. But I had no idea that ALL these guys possessed such monstrous, EPIC chops! Doug Wimbish on bass in particular stands out with his heavily multi-textured, polyphonic technique and energetic stage presence. And I would never have guessed from just the LC album tracks that drummer Will Calhoun was an absolutely world-class percussionist.

The sheer level of musicianship on display, combined with the incredible ferocity of their performance makes this one of my favorite concert DVDs of all times.

The production values are straightforward and allow you to really see the details of each musician's performance and how they interact. It seems to take them at least a half hour out of the 1:45 minute show to warm up the dour and largely undeserving crowd of white Parisians - except for that one dreadlocked brother in the front row! - but eventually a modest mosh pit develops and the band hits the turbochargers.

If there's any weak spot on this DVD (besides Reid's tendency to noodle a bit) it's the sound quality, specifically the mix. Individual instruments are readily heard but the mix seems to fluctuate with vocals sometimes buried by the guitar, the drums coming and going, the bass occasionally steamrolling over everything...but these are minor quibbles about an otherwise hugely enjoyable show.

This concert is better than all the Living Colour studio albums put together. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to rock out. WOW.

Pretty good show, these guys rock pretty well and they are all excellent musicians. I was a little disappointed that they did not perform more of their song from the VIVID album. However, it was a good show. I saw these guys live in the late 1980's and the show was pretty similar, except they are a lot older. Then again, so am I.