Customer Reviews

Petra Farewell

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great concert. Only a stereo mix but it sounds great. Would have been nice to have had keyboard for the whole concert rather than just for 1 or 2 tracks. Video editing was pretty lame. Tried to do too much, fading, shaking of camera, zooming in ultra close, fast chopping between shots... Needed to be a little less jumpy. Focus is mainly on vocals the whole time when the band are good enough to warrant a bit of coverage. But thats all I can fault it on. Great sound, great concert - could have been a bit longer though, only an hour or so of actual concert here. If you like Petra's music I doubt you will be dissapointed here.

I have to say this was a treat to get. A fan since 1983, I have looked forward to Petra's newest albums every year. It is a shame that THE best Christian band ever has been forced to the sidelines by time and an ever greed filled Christian music industry. But I digress with my rant on the industry.

The DVD, though rated as a 5 stars does have some problems. First, the edit of the two sessions is not seamless. They recorded the concert and then came back and re-recorded some songs. These re-taped songs are obvious during portions of the DVD, most obvious of those being the acoustic portion of the show. During "Love" John Schlitt goes from being soaked in sweat to totally dry back to soaked again. The other technical issue with the DVD is that in some places the synch of music and image is off. This happens with both John and Greg when you see their mouths opening/closing out of synch with their voices. This is for the most part not an issue, but there are times when it is very obvious.

I would have to say the extras are pretty good. I would have liked a more comprehensive history of the band segment, where we follow the band through all their albums, but that is a small gripe in the overall scheme of things. I have to agree with one reviewer who was disappointed the talking between songs was edited out. Petra is first and foremost about the Word, and not having their normal in between song testimonials about Christ really delutes the impact of why Petra is so strong live. It is the music of course, but the message is equally important. I know they had to edit the DVD the way they did for space reasons, but I think fans would have coughed up a little extra money for a double sided or 2-disk release that had nothing but the concert on one disk and the extras on another.

All in all, a must purchase for Petra fans out there.

This DVD could have been great... A farewell concert with alumni present playing music spanning an entire career in a small intimate venue. A special, once in a lifetime event. The producers of this DVD fell into common trap of the "nashville machine". The trendy, camcorder-like filming nearly ruins the concert alone. Jerk the camera, shake the camera, fast zooms, blur the camera... every cliche in the book. More disapointing is that they felt the need to re-record & edit the performance to the point of sounding like a studio CD. The video is also edited, processed & enhanced to the point of looking like a typical vh1 video. To me, it doesn't add energy, it just comes off pretentious & fake. I realize that most concert DVDs are done this way these days. I was just hoping for a simpler, more honest production that captured the event with excellence. I think it would have been more honoring to the band & more respectful to the fans. The real shame here is that I'm sure the concert WAS excellent, & had magical moments throughout. I would have preferred a few flaws here & there... in a word, integrity.

I have been a Petra fan from the beginning (yes I'm and old guy) and was elated when this DVD became available. Bottom line, buy it... you'll enjoy it a lot. The bonus material is nice as well. It does have a few weak spots hence the 4 star rating.
Video:
1. Have some form of sea sickness medication on hand for the first half of the show. The producer suffered from the dreaded "hey, what does this button do?" condition. During sections of Dance, my wife and I both jolted back in unison in an attempt to re-focus out eyes.
2. If you are interested in seeing extended shots of Bob or the new drummer (it was sad not seeing Louie there) forget it. Quick peeks are all you get for the most part.
3. Music and mouths are off a little here and there. Not a big worry unless that sort of thing really bothers you.
4. You need to watch it in 4:3 format... Yuk. HD folks will have to dumb down the resolution. Unnecessary for a DVD with such a recent release date.
Audio: (played through Def Tech Pro 80 sats, pro 100 center and 10" sub driven by a Dennon AVR-1906)
1. I'm not sure why the CD, played through the same system, sounds so much better than the DVD. Same concert, different results. I guess the DVD folks should have hired the CD production staff.
2. My only "real" complaint with the sound is the abundance of bass. Even after dialing the bass down all the way on the receiver, I had to actually physically dial it down some more on the sub. Not that that's a great burden, I'm not quite that lazy, but it's the only DVD I've had to do it with.
Again, let me say this concert is a must have for Petra fans. It's this one or... well, this one. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, a re-release of Captured in Time and Space on DVD would be fantastic. Seeing Greg and John was a treat and brought warm feelings for us older fans.
Thanks to Petra for 30 plus years of great music. I pray God continues to bless the members of the band an all of those who listen.

This DVD is a must-have for Petra fans for 2 reasons. 1-It's the last project from the greatest Christian rock band. 2-There aren't many Petra DVDs.

Petra's performance was great, it was a Petra concert. But the final product is missing so much. It appeared that this project was on a budget. You can tell corners were cut. If you compare this DVD to other live DVDs out there you know it could have been more. The first thing I noticed was that the concert was recorded in widescreen but then letterboxed, so it's not enhanced for a widescreen tv. So I'm thinking, why even film it in widescreen? In the beginning of the concert the video editors show off there skills by doing multiple video fades so you can see mutiple camera angels at the same time. A nice effect, but you shouldn't do it for the whole first half of the concert. I kept thinking to myself, just stick with one camera angle for awhile. The multiple camera effect stopped about the time of the acoutic set. And from there on it was easier to watch. Another problem I had was with the audio. It sounded good in stereo, but it would have sounded better in surrond sound. Doesn't Petra deserve surrond sound? And as someone else commented on here, the audio was off in some places.

The bonus materials were good. You get an interview with the band. An interview with Peter Furler (from the Newboys). Interiews with Petra fans (probably the best bonus feature. It did a good job capturing who Petra was). And you get some Petra rehearsal footage.

I think it's sad that the final project turned out the way it did when think at who Petra was and that this is their final project ever, a tribute to the band, and a thank you to their fans. Maybe InPop didn't think they would sell too many DVDs and didn't want to put too much money in to the project, but Christian music and InPop owe it to the band to put out a quality product - whatever it costs. I keep thinking, what could have been.

Please take the comments from (Mr.) Todd A. Lively(?) with a grain of salt! His non-inclusive CULT doesn't allow but only the "Perfect" people in! (Whereas we know Jesus came to save ALL of us!) Petra was an awesome witnessing tool totally Blessed by God! This video was made at the end of a fantastic run for Petra at a time when they didn't have the money or the fancy production crews to work with. This DVD was made FOR THE TRUE FANS of Petra as a salute to their love for them! I thank Petra for making this last DVD. It was hard to say goodbye, but I still use a lot of Petra songs to witness, and they will surely be missed! This DVD is worth your money in EVERY way!

I agree with the former reviewer about the seasickness pills. The best cameramen are the ones you don't think about during a performance, but there so many extremely fast pans, fades, oddly focused closeups and NYPD Blueish jerky effects that you almost forget you are watching a concert. (Almost.. the music is good enough that you ALMOST forget how bad the camera work is). If they would have stuck with dolly shot smoothness, this would have been 5 stars. I would still recommend it, but I would recommend the CD more.

It was great to have at least a final opportunity to see Petra live. Sound on this DVD is great and the songs outstanding.
I highly recommend it.
Hopefully one day Star Song will think on the fans and will re-release the Captured in Time and Space concert on DVD.

I was REALLY REALLY hoping to see a DVD of this farewell concert come out and thankfully it did. As a HUGE Petra fan since 1983 I wouldn't miss it for anything.
I would like to have seen a good production in the extra's that highlighted Petra's 33 year career, or a few more extra's but I suppose I've been spoiled by those in the past with other DVD's.
The sound on this one was great, a litte too great for a live show (but not surprising considering they released a CD of it) but Petra is great at sounding just like their records, live. So I don't know how much doctoring went into creating the DVD audio recording, but probably not very much.
I loved the DVD and highly recommend it. The only complaints I have about it are the same ones I have for every other Christian Rock concert DVD: 1.They almost completely IGNORE the guitar player, save for a few quick flashes here and there, even during solos! I play too and I want to see what the guy's doing. And 2. They edit out just about all of the talking between songs. I love that personable stuff. It makes you get a better feel for the band and the whole experience. It may be that the guys didn't talk much between songs here. I've seen them 3X in the past and I don't remember a whole lot of that going on other than during the altar call.
That lack of filming the guitarists thing used to really irk me. It's like people filming concerts think the band is only the lead singer and they keep the camera on him or her as long as absolutley possible. The others must be stage filler. :-)
Anyway, if you love Petra, buy this DVD. It's terribly sad that they are calling it quits, but they went out with a great album, and a great show.
May God continue to bless the former members of Petra, and may Christian bands today and in the future share Petra's example and commitment to Christ, and sharing his message with the world.

This DVD has some wonderful elements with Petra past and present. A must for any Petra fan!