Customer Reviews

Portishead - Roseland New York

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just a great concert....nothing like it really and ANYONE will enjoy. Also the DVD has VERY little sound thru the center channel of the 5.1 dolby digital surround mix. I got this email from Fruit who manage Portishead, the DVD is OK...

Dear Mark,

Many thanks for your email regarding the Portishead DVD. Please find below
a report from Jon Underwood the Project Manager for the PNYC DVD. I hope
this helps you with the problem you're experiencing. Should you have any
other enquiries please don't hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks for your continued support of Portishead.

Kind regards
Loren Wright
FRUiT

Reported problems with PORTISHEAD DVD - Response from Jon Underwood

USE OF CENTRE CHANNEL IN 5.1 SURROUND MIX FOR DVD

With movies the centre channel is generally reserved for dialog only.

In most 5.1 speaker setups the centre speaker is one of least quality
(smallest dynamic range). It is designed to handle dialog but not much
more.

When making a 5.1 mix for music there are no 'rules' for how the sound
is assigned to each of the 6 speakers.

It is the engineers job to decide (with the musican) how best to do this.

__________________________________________________________

From talking to various engineers, general opinion seems to be that:

If creating 5.1 from a multitrack master, the engineer may
choose to put some drums and vocal - centre channel.

If creating 5.1 from an existing Stereo master, the engineer
may attempt to use EQ to isolate drums and vocal for a centre
channel.

Use of the centre channel can spoil the stereo separation
(makes it sound mono)

In the particular case of "Portishead Live at Roseland New York",
(for the reasons described above)
It was the decision of the Engineer and Adrian from the band
to minimise use of the centre channel.
The center speaker is used only for occassional bits of dialog
from the band members and audience.

Jon Underwood - The Portishead DVD Project manager

The concert
Portishead, live at the Roseland Ballroom, NYC. I'd consider this a "best of", as well as a live album, as it's the better tracks from both their self-titled and Dummy. There's a 17-piece violin group, trombones, violas, cellos, and a whole pile more instruments playing that gives it a very big sound. This was the first Portishead album I bought (on CD, in late 2001), and the rest of them sound... "weaker" by comparison. I didn't even know that there was a DVD of it until a few months ago, when Xenex told me that JB-HiFi had a pile of them in stock. ...The Portishead one seems a lot less distant, with the cameras wandering though the performers while they play, cutting to closeups of the crowd, but at the loss of a "professional" feel. The video is somewhat grainy, but I don't think it would feel right with crystal-clear imagery. The spaces between tracks are filled with colour washed footage of New York, and there's even an improv hip hop piece about halfway through the set list. If you're a Portishead fan, you'll want this (or you already have it). If you're thinking about buying a Portishead album, this is probably the best one to get.

And hey, it's worth the price just to see Beth sneeze champagne while trying to drink and laugh at the same time.

1. humming

The violins set up a nice theremin-esque sound at the start of this one, with John Baggot providing backing on the keyboards. Geoff Barrow seems to set off the main part of the song with his decks, but you can't see any of the guitarists in the shot, so I'm not sure.

2. cowboys

Synth, guitars (with the chorus pedal firmly pressed) down, and Geoff doing some background scratching. Beth's vocals are radically different than in the last song, managing to sound anguished without being over-done.

3. all mine

Baritone/alto saxophones, trombone, and two trumpets give it a "big band" feel. Beth's vocals, are, as always, excellent.

4. half day closing

Bass guitar intro, with violins just on the edge of hearing (honestly, you wouldn't know if the camera wasn't pointed at them). The vocals are fed through some sort of weird reverb/compression filter, giving them a metallic edge.

5. over

Starts off with just Beth and Adrian on acoustic guitar, before Clive Dreamer starts drumming. Geoff picks up later on with some scratching, and the keyboards kick in.

6. only you

Heavy, plodding bass guitar to start, with Geoff's scratching starting off the other instruments. Beth spends the entire song singing with a lit cigarette in her hand.

7. seven months

Nice violins at the beginning, with a sort of funky guitar. The vocals seem to be fed through the same filter used on Half Day Closing. Excellent distorted guitar work near the end from Adrian.

8. numb

Quick fly-through of the stage, before cutting to footage of the equipment being placed. This track doesn't seem to have been an actual concert one, as the band are mostly focused on individually ... and you can't see an audience. Jumps to piano/double bass bit and some hip hop at the end.

9. undenied

Some backstage footage here, descriptions of the audio setup, before moving on to concentrate on the performers. Somewhat, anyway. There's some grainy footage of some New York streets thrown in, too.

10. mysterons

The annoying "ticking" drum beat on the album version, while still present, doesn't sit in the foreground and distract you from the rest of the song. There doesn't appear to be a theremin lurking anywhere on stage, so I'm guessing that the creepy alien noises were done with a combination of violins and some samples scratched by Geoff.

11. sour times

A fast, upbeat, almost jazzy version of the track. I prefer this one to the album version. Both Geoff and Clive play drums on this (with an excellent solo at the end), while Andy Smith (their other DJ) does the turntable work.

12. elysium

Geoff jumps back on the decks, Beth picks up a guitar, and they start playing again. The closeups of Beth's vocals look so serious until you notice Adrian chewing gum in the background with a huge smile on his face.

13. glory box

Nice and mellow; the crowd seems to love this one. Beth's vocals are less extreme than on the album version, which seems to work better.

14. roads

Initially feels quite sad, but picks up at the end.

15. strangers

The band really get into this one, and the crowd is up and bouncing around. A great song to "finish" with. Lots of nice footage of the crowd, and a few words from Beth right a the end.

16. western eyes

Run backstage to have a beer and a smoke, then break out the champagne and hit the trombonist to up for a quick solo. The song starts playing just as the credits roll.

Beth Gibbons: vocals, guitar - Geoff Barrow: decks, drums - Adrian Utley: moog, guitar, kabassa - John Baggot: keyboards, piano - Jim Barr: bass, double bass - Clive Dreamer: drums, percussion - Andy Smith: decks - and others. ...

* road trip

Looks like they put a camera on a motorbike and rode it around for a bit, fading to a new scene when the old one got boring. The music is a very, very scratched-out instrumental version of Only You, and it gets annoying very, very quickly. As much as I like scratching, I can't stand five minutes of the same thirty seconds played over and over again.

* wandering star

Concert footage from their 1995 Seattle show mixed with stuff from inside a tour bus and some shots of buildings. Kinda cool.

* to kill a dead man

I can't really say much about this one without spoiling it... Basically, it's a spy movie about an assassination, and what happens afterwards, starring some of the people from Portishead (mostly Beth and Adrian). The song is called, funnily enough, 'theme from "to kill a dead man" '.

The video clips
I've only watched these once each, and only because I've never seen them on TV. They just seem more like filler material than anything else.

I have quickly gotten into Portishead in the past week, buying their two studio albums, this DVD and also the CD that was put out with 11 of the 15 tracks from the DVD. I watched this DVD last night and it was absolutely mind-blowing. It made me want to vomit it was so good. I can't believe I didn't know of Portishead before. While I watched it (and then the extras also), I couldn't believe that a band could be so good, so cool, so dark. There's not one happy song and every song is darker than black and just DIRTY. No modern band can touch this music. This DVD is insanely good. A must for anyone who knows good music.

Portishead certainly know how to entertain their legions of eccentric fans. Instead of playing a "normal" concert at a typical venue, they instead took a nod from Miles Davis, and gave a more creative show to a sold out crowd at New York City's Roseland Theatre. This video show cases the entire performance, along with a short (approx. 10 min) home movie entitled "Road Trip". While the visuals may get a bit bland, the DJ Andy Smith mix definitly makes it a must see. The concert (15 songs) is a very interesting twist from Portishead's albums, being that instead of using mostly samples and loops (aside from keyboards and turntables), they have a full orchestra behind them, along with the common bass / drum / guitar arrangements. Adrian Utley (turntables) gives a captivating performance, with plenty of different scratching techniques which seem to get covered up on many of their album tracks. Songs such as "All Mine", "Only You", and "Over" shimmer mysteriously with a sophisticated elegance, and the newly reworked "Sour Times (nobody loves me)" has a much more dark, typical PH feel to it now. The only disappointment I can see on this video is the misleading track listing for "Western Eyes". This isn't a concert version of the song, but simply the track from the PH CD included as exit music. Over all, this video is a must-have for any and all PH fans, musicians, or for people who just aren't impressed by the same ol' thing.

Living where finding singles is hell, P:NYC has kept me totally satisfied for as long as i've had it. Although the five minute intro of what looks like a camera in the tour van driving around is boring, they finally arrive at Roseland and IT IS BEAUTIFUL, from the first second. Seeing the orchestra and the turntables all going at once, and then Beth and her like no other voice, is an experience you want to have on tape. It lets you see what makes the hundreds of original Portishead sounds in each song and gives you a perspective on Beth that you wouldn't pick up from the CDs. The concert was a fabulous representation of their talents. It is completely worth the buy, and is a long performance that I wish I had the opportunity to see. DON'T DENY YOURSELF SOMETHING THIS GOOD!

This is a beautiful look into the music of a fantastic band. What makes this DVD worth every penny is the presentation. The menus, the concert sound quality, the manor in which the concert was filmed, and all of the fabulous extras are done very well. It's impossible to watch this DVD without falling deep into that fantastic "Portishead trance".

Whether you're a new fan of Portishead, or someone who's been around since 1993, this is a must have. For new fans it provides an in-depth look at the band and how their wonderful music is created. For verteran fans it's the perfect tide over piece between albums.

I was introduced to Portishead a few years ago and became an instant fan.

But let's talk about this DVD.

I also own the CD for Roseland NYC Live, and believe me when I say that these (DVD and CD) are true masterworks; songs are performed flawlessly, but I do have a compalint to make.

I love the live version of "Sour Times" on the CD which is not the same on this DVD, which is a let down. But don't let that bother you, this is something for your collection.

Some of the reviews are quite good, so all I'm trying to do is to warn about "Sour Times". I truly wanted to see/listen Beth screaming "nobody loves me, not like you do" in that almost achingly way.

I finally got around to picking up this dvd about a year ago. I had been aware of it a couple years prior, but just never got around to picking it up. I had been a fan (about 7 on a scale of 10) of theirs since hearing their first album a few years before that. When I got around to their second album, I thought it seemed too much like a rehash of the first, but eventually, I began to enjoy it on it's own merits, wondering how I ever dismissed it in the first place. Strange how that happens, isn't it?

So, flash forward to last year, as I was looking for a new Portishead fix, given the sparsity of material they've provided us with. Because the reviews I had seen had been favorable, I decided to grab this dvd (Christmas gift, actually), even though there wasn't really new material here, so much as a different context to hear the same songs again.

Upon viewing it the first time, I thought it was very good. I played it several times in that first couple of weeks. Even now, a year later, I still have the urge to pull it out and play it. I always succumb to these urges! To put it simply, I ADORE THIS DVD!!! I know how we are all individuals, with different tastes, backgrounds, blah blah blah, but I simply cannot fathom anyone not finding something to enjoy about this dvd. It's got drama, it's got beat, it's got strangely beguiling soundscapes, it's got a torchy, twitchy, tortured vocals. Of all the music performance dvds I own, a mere 25 or so, I must say this is my absolute favorite. As has been repeated, well, repeatedly here.. if you are already a Portishead fan, and not even necessarily a diehard-type, you really MUST OWN THIS DVD. There is not a "NO" option for you. Beg, borrow, steal, if you must, but must is the key word here!

A WORD OR THREE ABOUT BETH - Beth's vocals are spot on. I was pleasantly surprised by how good she sounded in a live environment. And she is a joy to watch. You can tell that in her personal, non-performing life, she is probably quite insecure, shy and just generally uncomfortable with the whole "famous artist" thing. That hunched-over posture of hers, frail demeanor, chain-smoking countenance is quite amusing to me. But watching her sing, the way she gets into the songs, her face contorting itself to mirror the personality of the vocal, well, it's terrifically entertaining to watch.

RANDOM NITPICKS:

1) While the street scenes video cutaway during the performance of 'Undenied' is compelling in it's own way, I really wish we could have gotten to see more of Beth's anguished vocal performance during this song. As it is, they only show her for a brief amount of time at the beginning and the very end of the song. I also liked the slightly different lighting used during this middle interlude segment, which included this song, as well as other live rehearsal performances, mixed in with stage setup video. The rehearsal lighting was more flattering to Beth than the concert lighting. Not that the concert lighting was bad, per se, just that I liked the different lighting ambience provided during the rehearsal segment more in this one respect, plus, just as a "change of pace".

2) A couple of their promo song videos don't make for very compelling viewing. Still, it's nice to have a bunch of them all collected in one place.

3) As someone else mentioned, it's a cheat to include the song 'Western Eyes' in the concert setlist, as it's only the studio version heard over the end credits. What a great song though! Even though I can listen to it on cd anytime, I often just let the dvd end credits roll just so I can hear this song.

4) What the hell goes on in their short film, 'To Kill a Dead Man'?!?!? Ok, so this isn't a complaint so much as, goshdarn, I wish I could figure out what the plot was. I have a few ideas, but more concrete info would be nice. (yes, this is a pitiful plea for some subsequent reviewer to fill me in!). Getting this back to more review-like commentary.. this is an interesting little film they've put together, however, I suspect, unlike the dvd concert portion, it will only be of interest to already confirmed Portishead fans. The last 30 seconds or so of the film, the look on Beth's face just slays me for some reason. I cannot properly articulate what I like about it, but I keep coming back to view this film short for this reason. Well, the way the music builds toward this ending is a major attractor as well.

5) A couple of the shots centered on the audience members were annoying to me. The guy holding his drink, eyes closed, emoting along with the song, for example. I could go into a long analytical thing as to why this bugs me, but I won't bore you with THAT. :P

PS: Thank you for allowing me to meander on your time. Hopefully you enjoy this review of mine. If not, you know what to do. And I will accept your withering judgements with all the anonymous resentment I can muster.

The only thing sadder to me than Beth's mournful lyrics is the realization that, in all likelihood, I will never get to see Portishead in concert, as it is unlikely that they will ever return to the U.S. to tour. But, hey, a guy can dream, right?

So, the next best thing to being in the audience is this DVD. One of the most amazing things about the performance is how well the NYC philharmonic complements Portishead's music. So often, symphonies that are added to musical acts seem out of place and add an air of pretentiousness to the performance. But somehow, the orchestra blends into the instrumentation so well, this performance would have you believe that Portishead started out with a 30 piece symphony backing them up. And, as anyone who is reading this knows, the music stands alone so well on the albums that you would scarcely think the synergy in this performance would be possible.

Although seeing the entire band together along with the symphony is thrilling to see, Beth's performance is definitely the highlight. Obviously, not enough can be said about her vocals, but the surprising thing is that her stage presence is every bit as captivating as her voice. Her eyes are shut tight from start to finish of each song, and her face is a mask of anguish that matches the lyrical content. But at times, that mask breaks into flashes of anger during songs like Cowboys or Seven Months, or a bitter smile on Glorybox. The DVD is worth getting for this fact alone, not to mention the fact that the CD only has 9 of the 15 songs from this performance.

I'm a little ambivalent about the production of the video itself. The attempt seems to have been to make the recorded performance into its own work of art, instead of trying to reproduce the experience of the show. Hence the cutaways to rehearsals and street scenes during Numb and Undenied. It is an interesting idea, and adds a kind of surreal quality, but the street scenes during Undenied don't seem to have anything to do with the theme of the song (and what's with the headless guy?). I would have preferred a less stylized and more raw version. The scrubbed audio is fine for the CD, but something that approximated the sound of the live show would have been better for the DVD.

I'd heard of Portishead after seeing the then-just-released video of "sour times" and was immediately in love. No band has succeeded in touching the dark brooding depths that this band can reach while still avoiding cliched whining so rampant in today's music (staind anyone?) The only complaint I could honestly come up with is that many of the songs seem almost TOO close to the original, as though they're so flawlessly done that the DVD version is simply an orchestrated version of the original with less nuance and improvisational punch of other live recordings I've heard. Overall this is a powerful performance by Portishead and I highly recomment it to any fans of intelligent music.