Customer Reviews

Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek, Bright Eyes, The Faint, Cursive et al

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember when I was deployed to Kosovo and discovering "The Faint" back in 2002. It was so good, I kept looking in to them only to get a Saddle Creek catolog. I took a chance on a band called "Cursive".... The rest is history... I've seen the Faint twice, Bright Eyes, and the Good Life... This DVD has so much information and is put together so good.. I hate the fact that not alot of concert footage is available, but to just get an insight as to how these bands tick is well worth the purchase of this DVD. Omaha, Nebraska was the last place on Earth I'd expect to explode with musical nobility. I'm still to this days surprised not to many people have heard of these bands... I know I've turned alot of people on tp the label. If you like any of these Saddle Creek bands, trust me... This is for you!!!

This is a good movie to watch if you are a fan of Saddle Creek music. It details how the label built an impressive roster of bands through friendship and mutual support. It is a subject with rich potential because of all the relationships, but there is hardly any mention of interpersonal conflict. Over and over again you're given the impression that everyone is one big happy family, but even happy families disagree.

The label's break out disc is Bright Eyes' Fevers and Mirrors, a concept album centering around Conor Oberst's depression (I'm not here to diagnose, I'll just say it's an intensely personal work that was obviously born from a lot of pain) but you have to go deep into the hidden extras (only a dozen are listed but if you chose "play all", after the last listed one there's another 30 or so) to find Conor discussing how he felt about packaging up his problems for retail.

Any good rock documentary, or any good piece of art for that matter, will delve into some kind of conflict. There is no conflict here. Friends started a record label. They put out their friends' music. People liked the music, so they were able to grow and put out more music. Everything else in this documentary is just details. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story in light of all the terrible music out there released by four music company conglomerates. But Tim Kasher of Cursive and Conor Oberst are very fine songwriters, and I wish there had been at least discussion of how they write songs. The evolution of creative partnerships kind of gets a short shrift too because 20 bands get covered in less than 90 minutes. In this feel good movie you only scratch the surface of fairly complicated of not feeling so good music.

I appreciated getting exposed to Slowdown Virginia, the snowy vistas of Omaha (I'd wondered what it looked like) and the hidden buried extra of Conor stumbling through his first performance of "When the Curious Girl Realizes she's under glass", though his cute rapport with the supportive audience is totally incongruous with the passionately sad song as he flubs his way through the piano chords.

I'm just going to get straight to the point. If you are a Cursive, Bright Eyes, and Faint fan then purchase this dvd now. The three bands I mentioned were primarily covered the most in the dvd. The entire documentary includes the history of Saddle Creek, the formation of the bands on the label, and home videos that will make you feel like you're part of the family. It's informative, witty, raw, and absolute fun to watch. It's not like any other ordinary documentary of a band with professionally recorded concert footage and that is what makes this dvd all the more special.

This DVD was made well and was very interesting. It was cool to see how the bands formed and reformed and how almost everyone under Saddle Creek is connected. My only complaint is that I wish the DVD would have shown more "professional" footages of live performances. I was expecting more music and less talking, but I still enjoyed it.

This film was everything I had hoped for. Every one knows about Conor Oberst the boy genius but it's also good to hear the back stories of the bands that make Saddle Creek a one of a kind record label!

Of the featured artists I was only really familiar with Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Commander Venus, etc.) and Cursive, and I wanted to get the story of the musical scene they came from. Overall I enjoyed this doc, and there were lots of extras, including a particularly energetic live performance by The Faint. My one real problem was that they focused primarily on the bigger bands on the label, and when they got to the "smaller" acts they sort of rushed through them, and I would've liked to know more about them.

This is a must have for a big Saddle Creek fan. If you don't know what Saddle Creek is, there is no point in buying this. However, if you love it already, this will make you love it and appreciate it so much more.

I enjoyed this documentary thoroughly. I had originally bought it for it's Bright Eyes/Cursive content, although now i've started to listen to these other great groups out of Saddle Creek. It covers a wide range of SC's groups and goes into great depth into the workings and histories of the groups. I would liked to have had each groups "section" be a little longer, but none the less, it was very enjoyable!

Most amazing DVD for the best record label. Loyal fans will absolutely love this.

this being in my first 5 band dvds bought, i was disappointed in that thers hardly ANY actual live footage. In fact, not a single song is seen the whole way through. So, be true fans of the bands, to enjoy !!