Customer Reviews

Skinny Puppy: The Greater Wrong of the Right, Live

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A wonderful 2 dvd set of the band we all love.

Disc 1 is the full concert from 2004's tour. I had the privilege to see the tour, and the dvd does a good job of capturing the band's live act. The 5.1 sound is excellent quality. Very impressed.
One thing to mention: if you were one of the fans that were a bit disappointed with their last albums sharp and clean production, they make up for a lot of it live. The songs tend to have a breath of new life in them live, and it makes the tracks more listenable then the actual album versions.
I will not say anything about the sync issues everyone keeps mentioning, because frankly I could care less.

The show is good, and the sound is great.

Disc 2 is the disc I enjoyed the most.
"Information Warfare" is a very interesting, disturbing documentary about the gulf war, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, chemical warfare, free will and the decline of a democracy. I only wish they would have put a few website links to more of this type of information, because it is important(at least in my mind) and it would have been a nice addition.
In their defense the websites are quite easy to find on the net if you are not feeling lazy.

The Eurotrauma footage is wonderful. Its always nice to see a band behind the scenes. Very entertaining, and to see Dwayne running around and being generally happy is a great thing. Its nice to see the band during the 88 Vivi tour before all hell broke loose during the next decade. R.I.P Dwayne.

The "Too Dark Park" and "Last Rites" footage was good. It is shocking to know that there is really not that much footage of the "Too Dark Park" tour out there. I was expecting a bit more from this part of the dvd, but i guess we should be thankful we got anything. Sadly, the tour looks completely amazing. Damn it!

The "Last Rights" footage is the same. Very limited on the dvd, although if you are like me you have probably TRADED for 4 or 5 shows from this tour by now. No problem finding full shows of this tour. Let the dvd wet your appetite.

All in all this is a very nice set that will not let down any Puppy fan. Even if you've seen them live, have a stock of bootlegs, and own the other dvds, this is still a great addition due to the documentary, lost footage and the 5.1 mix which is truly one of the best 5.1 mixes of all the music dvds out there.
Skinny Puppy works well in the 5.1 realm.

This fan is very happy that there is finally a decent Puppy dvd out there.

Disc 01:
The Greater Wrong of the Right tour live at Montreal & Toronto November 2004. Encore: first brap, convulsion, testure, brap, smothered hope

Disc 02:
Information Warfare by William Morrison
Eurotrauma: Skinny Puppy Live in Europe 1988 by DRG
Last Rights: Archival Footage
Too Dark Park: Archival Footage

Technical Features: Widescreen, All Regions, 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital
Director: William Morrison
Audio Mix: Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall
Cover Art: Fredox
Cover Design: Steven R Gilmore
Inside Cover Photography: Austin Young

Technical: 5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Digital live content. Dolby Digital Stereo only disc 2. SPV USA version is NTSC. SPV.de version in PAL format

"<snip>" The second disc holds the 30 minutes segment titled "Eurotrauma" which revisits Puppy on tour in Europe in 1988. Culled from tapes shot primarily by the late Dwayne Rudolph Goettel and compiled and edited by ogre himself, this thirty minute segment is a day by day log of the tour from the bands point of view. Everything from life back stage and in the hotel to the band confronting the Berlin Wall before it was torn down. Along with a lot of highly entertaining footage of the band is rare footage of the live shows themselves. Also included is a film by William Morrisson who hit the road in America and Europe to shoot this documentary called "Information Warfare". This documentary addresses the key issue behind the project. The butal result of American foreign policy. William visited former Attorney General Ramsey Clark in N.Y.C., he travelled to Capitol Hill in Washington to speak with the Gulf War Veterans resource centre and enlisted the help of Iraqi filmmaker Duraid Mujanim who travelled to Iraq with camera's after the recent occupation began. He travelled to Paris to interview Medicine Sans Frontiers and Kutna Hora near Prague to shoot the famous Bone Church at Sedlec. And finally there are a few more film segments which showcase footage of two more legendary Puppy tours. "Too Dark Park" and "Last Rights". These shows were filmed in 16mm by Jim Vanbebber (Charlie's Family and "Spasmolytic" video clip). "</snip>"

I actually am only writing this review now to answer the question of some reviewers about the hidden track. Wait till the end of Eurotrauma, and leave it on and the video will come on. The Pro Test video is the only part of the DVD that I hate. It has a very MTV feel to it. All it is is a bunch of Goths and Jocks break dancing. Skinny Puppy have made so many great music videos in the past. Convulsion, and Warlock are classics. Anyways the actually concert is top notch. It starts off not bad, but it ends up brilliant. Even if I wasn't a fan this would still be a entertaining live show. VX Gas Attack has to be one of my favorite parts. It is really awesome to see a band that focus's on real political issues instead of all the phony left vs right crap. If you read the screen during that song you will learn more about what is really going on than if you were to watch 5 Micheal Moore documentaries. Aside from that every song has a awesome theatrical show going on. I have only been a puppy fan for maybe 6 months, so I had no idea that they were so good live. The whole show reminded me of a Cradle of Filth concert. Only I still think that Cradles "Heavy Left Handed and Candid" is a better DVD. The bonus features are also top notch. The documentary is good. If Skinny Puppy doesn't show it the corporate controlled lap dog mass media wont. The Eurotrauma footage is great. It was shot on a hand held video camera. Aside from that it was my first time to see the late great Goettel before his untimely demise. Pretty much the whole time they are getting stoned at hash bars in Amsterdam. I don't blame them. The footage of Last rights and Too dark park is almost as good as the live concert itself.

The live show from last year that is on disc one does have its editing problems and that is a disappointment. But I am glad to have gotten to seen it either way(even though I saw them live on this tour). I dont believe for a second though that they lip sync. You would have to pay extra attention to the fact that the audio doesnt quite sync up with the video cause for the most part it is on key. They are for the most part a very professional, if not theatrical act. The real treat was the footage from the Last Rights, Too Dark Park, and ViViSectIV tours. That was great. Lots of travels and backstage stuff...the boys also knew how to party heh. It was good to see Dwayne Goettel too before his untimley passing. Skinny Puppy was a trio, and it was good to see the original band playing and touring together so this footage was much appreciated...aside from all the camera spinning/time warps, but I attribute that mostly to the fact that they were partying most of the time(I mean come on, they were in Belgium, Amsterdam, and such so they had the opportunity heh). But yeah enough of that. Bottom line, this performance was nowhere near as good as Aint It Dead Yet, so if you dont have any Puppy DVD's yet then start with that cause that show is a gem. That and I really wasnt fond of their latest album and hearing the songs live from The Greater Wrong Of The Right wasnt all too impressive...the rest of the song selection was good though, a lot of songs from ViViSectVI, and even two from The Process. All in all a great performance and a welcome return to the forefathers of electronic/industrial. Buy it if you have their other two DVD's. Skinny Puppy are still a great band even today and I hope to see another album done in their classic sample-ridden distorted glory!

In 2004 this group became infamous in online blogs and political message boards as people from a conservative boycott group called PABAAH launched an attack against the band for some controversial onstage antics. It's interesting to see that SP didn't shy away from what they did during this show on this DVD release. The staged decapitation is here as well as the singer pointing that toy gun at the video of the president as he stepped off the plane. Because of what they did during this tour homeland security started watching them. In Atlanta someone from the homeland security taskforce left them a card. When word got about about the boycott group and the e-mails stared being sent out to radio stations several college stations decided to put their catalog in heavy rotation in protest. It's nice to see that this PABAAH group have the complete opposite effect of what they intended and that free speech is still alive and well here in the good old US of A. If you want to see what the fuss is about and you like confrontational Industrial music similar to the group, Nine Inch Nails, I suggest you pick this up.

Before their reunion tour last fall of 2004 it had been a while since we heard anything from Canadian industrial legends Skinny Puppy. Their 1996 release "The Process" flopped and was all but forgotten by anyone but the most ardent Puppy fans. Simply put the band had not released anything worthwhile in 13 years, since 1991's "Last Rights". Then came 2004's "The greater wrong of the right". It was admittedly a different Skinny Puppy, more polished, dancey and catchy this time around but still undeniably the SP sound and a welcome return to form. On the strength of that album, the band went on their first tour in years and wowed a new generation of Puppy fans who were too young to see them in their halcyon days.

Disc one of this package combines the best elements of the tour's Montreal and Toronto shows in a 110 minute DVD. The show opens up with "Downsizer", frontman Nivek Ogre strangely absent from the stage. Then on track #2 "L'immortal" Ogre finally bursts on stage in an absolutely insane-looking costume and the fun begins. From then on the band rip through classic track after classic track such as "Warlock", "God's Gift Maggot", "Tin Omen" and closing it out with the most classic track of all, "Smothered Hope". Ogre is truly a sight to behold throughout the whole show, drenched in sweat and mud and blood and puss, screaming his head off like a mad banshee and looking no less energetic than he was in the band's prime years.

I attended the Toronto show myself and I can honestly say this was one of the best shows I've ever seen. What really struck me was the band's ability to put the audience in a trance, hypnotizing us with eye-popping images on the projector screen, flashing lights and creative stage theatrics. I know all of Skinny Puppy's material and was sober (relatively so) that night yet it wasn't even about the music, the whole vibe of the show and the histrionics involved made me feel like I was having some sort of out-of-body experience. If you were there too, you know what I'm talking about.

Disc#2 opens up with a 30-minute documentary entitled "Information Warfare" about some of the devastating effects the war on Iraq has had on the Iraqi populace, as well as the American soldiers involved. It's an interesting and well-made segment supported by eye-popping images and statistics although some of it comes across as Michael Moore-style propaganda. I also couldn't help but wonder why it's even in there in the first place. Skinny Puppy has never been an outwardly political type of band so why would they assume that its fans would be interested in watching something like this in the first place? Plus let's not forget Skinny Puppy are Canadian so their constant Bush-bashing rings a bit hollow. But then again maybe that's just me, I've never been a fan of musicians, movie actors and other celebrities force-feeding their political opinions on fans.

The highlight of the second disc (and perhaps the whole package) is the 15 minutes of rare archival footage of the Too Dark Park and Last Rights tours, filmed by Jim Van Bebber (The Manson Family, Deadbeat at Dawn) and friends. Although disc#2 is overall a bit of a mixed bag, this set remains absolutely essential for fans of the band. It's about time we were treated to live Skinny Puppy on DVD, aside from the excellent but unfortunately almost impossible to find "Ain't it dead yet" DVD. Brap on!

Not so much a review, I just picked the DVD up during my lunch break, I just have to say: "Skinny Puppy has never been an outwardly political type of band"? Ummmm, as a loooooongtime fan, I must strongly disagree.....actually they were KNOWN for being one of the more poltical bands within the industrial genre back in the day. If there is anyone else out there who thinks they weren't political or made music that made social-commentary then they need to go back and listen to Cleanse, Fold&Manipulate, Vivisect VI, Rabies, Too Dark Park and Last Rights. I also saw the most recent tour for the previous cd Greater Wrong of the Right....they were clearly making some anti-Iraq war statements with the imagery they were using which was great. They were back in true form and it was awesome.

I for one will be looking forward to seeing the documentary on this dvd and as a fan of SP, do not find it strange in the least that they would think I might be interested in seeing it!

Personally, I think it's better than Ain't It Dead Yet. The video and audio is so much better and I like the more energetic performance and theatrics throughout. Peeking at the Litany forum today I noticed people talking about some of the editing choices in AIDY. It appears that when they show Dwayne doing his thing it's not even footage that's taking place at the same time as the performance. So pretty much both live releases suffer from some of those same oddities. Anyway, onto the extras. The documentary, Information Warfare, is a bunch of info I already know such as some of the testing that goes on with US troops who are shot up with experimental vaccinations such as the anthrax vaccine. It also deals with some of the issues of depleted uranium and how this material is being used in Iraq. It also deals with how the government and the media just aren't giving a very good picture of the harsh realities of war and its effects on Iraqi civilians. They try to present this information in a less left or right wing sort of way that networks such as Free Speech TV are guility of doing so I applaud them for doing something that's a little less hyperbolic than others that deal with the issues. Problem is it's just nothing new to me and I wish they would have presented some shocking tidbit I've never heard before or just left the documentary out entirely and provided more live footage. Eurotrauma is basically footage of the band on tour in 1986 and shows them goofing around, getting cheated out of money by venue owners, and going to the local hash bars in Amsterdam. The last two bonus features are the Last Rights and Too Dark Park tour footage. Basically, this footage runs for only a few minutes. TDP only lasts as long as one song, Spasmolytic. LR only runs as long as the song, Love In Vein. I was kind of disappointed in this because I really wanted to see a lot of footage from these tours but what footage was in there was really cool nonetheless. Disk 1 uses up about 3.65 gigs of data. Disk 2 uses 2.80. They could have fit a little more on disk 2 since a DVD can hold up to 4 gigs. Sadly they didn't. Regardless of that it's a great buy and I think the best of the two live DVDs.

Disc 1 -- the actual tour footage -- is garbage. Half the songs sound worse than they did on the original albums, or even on Doomsday. What the hell happened to the over-the-top stage performances? Most of the time it's just Ogre in front of a screen smearing crap all over himself and trying really hard not to screw up old classics, and failing at it. Skip it. Oh, and the audio/video desynchs frequently, which is not what you'd expect to pay any decent amount of money for.

Disc 2 -- the "Information Warfare" piece is interesting, but I wouldn't say that it added to or detracted from the release. he real gems, though, are the "Eurotrauma" footage and the "Archival Material." Those are what saved this release from being a one-star affair. Often hilarious, "Eurotrauma" is a really cool look at how things were in the glory days, behind-the-scenes. The other footage shows what a SP concert is supposed to look like -- classic. It looks even better when viewed after the abortion of a show on the first disc.

Anyway, I suppose it's worth it for the extras, preferably if you can get it cheap.

Well, almost. The seats were good and I drank straight out of the bottle. The DVD wasn't what I thought I had purchased but I'm not at all unhappy about getting it. Very, very, very good quality audio/video and I don't mind watching it often.