MVD Visual
Jeez, how to start off this review?!? I'll just say that I've been collecting live music from the Jesus Lizard for nearly a decade now and I've yet to come across something quite this well put together. It's understandable, many tapers don't have a multi-cam setup and soundboard capabilities. But on 04 October 1994 in Boston they did, and it came out great. The setlist is:
Destroy Before Reading/ Puss/ Bloody Mary/ Nub/ Horse/ One Evening/ The Associate/ Killer McHann/ Mailman/ Boilermaker/ Mouth Breather/ Gladiator/ Fly on the Wall/ Chrome/ Interview/ Seasick
The video on this disc is excellent considering the source and the equipment used. The only flaw I could see was from the camera at the rear of the venue used in the long shots. The 'grain' of the video combined with DVD compression causes noticeable artifacts, but I stopped noticing it after a few scenes. The close-ups are fantastic. We get great footage of all band members, each getting a decent amount of close-up time, though Duane's may be a little on the short end. Finally seeing Sims and Mac featured prominently is a real treat. Despite what you may have seen in the 'Boilermaker' youtube video, there's really only one other instance of that horrid zoom-in-and-out-as-quickly-as-possible camerawork and a couple quick series of cut-shots. We get nice fades and cuts between cameras, with steady shots. The production made great use of the multi-cam footage.
The audio is very well done. It's soundboard sourced and quite clean. I personally could have used a little more crowd noise, but it is what it is. All of the instruments are present and Mac's kit shows up well, something that typically gets sacrificed in other live videos I've seen. During some portions, it seemed that Sims' bass dropped from the mix a bit (especially during louder guitar passages and the wailing of Yow), but it could just be the way I have my levels set. The audio is presented here in both a stereo and 5.1 mix. The stereo is not PCM (uncompressed) audio, but I doubt I would be able to tell the difference. I don't really get the need for a 5.1 track, though. I did not detect any special mixing done to use those extra surround channels. It appeared to me that the surrounds were just pumping out the same sound as the front channels (as this may recreate the effect of being in a venue that has speakers at the back to pump through a mix of the show). This did provide a 'fuller' sound from the surround speakers than my amp simply utilizing those speakers with the stereo track. Again, the audio is well balanced and is a great example of their live sound. The tracklist is fantastic, a nice mix of all their releases up to that time.
The included interview is genuinely interesting and once the interviewer is done asking the typical introductory questions, Yow seems at ease. Finally we can learn why, but never truly understand, the video for 'Nub' was never shown on that major television channel that is supposed to be concerned with music.
The bonus material from 29 August 1992 @ CBGB's in New York is a nice contrast to the Boston show. It's pretty raw and is representative of most live video recordings of the Jesus Lizard. This one gives you some songs from a little earlier in their career. These five tracks are a great song choice for that period.
The cover, insert, and disc art are all well done and not too busy. The menus are nicely laid out and easy to navigate. This leads me to my first gripe, the liner notes. I'm clearly not a professional writer, but all I will say is that the last time I read metaphors that trite, it was in the football section of my high school yearbook. And Mac joined the band in 1989, though the first album he played on, HEAD, was released in 1990.
NOTE: THIS SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH INFO FROM THE PRODUCER
The astute reader will notice that the setlist for this disc is incomplete (compared to that provided in the recorded performance guide on the website), and 'Seasick' led off the set, but is the last track on the disc. The band played an encore consisting of 'Wheelchair Epidemic,' 'Glamorous' and 'Monkey Trick.' It turns out, Seasick had some audio problems at its start, so it was decided to move that song to the end to have the best possible quality at the outset. The encore was, sadly, not recorded. But this is good news, as nothing has been cut from this release. This concert was recorded for a segment of HYPE TV, which would have been 3 songs plus the interview, it was not intended to be a full concert release. So, it's rather good news all around that the full first act was recorded and we get to enjoy it. The only other item of concern is that in the bonus material, the menu indicates 'Then Comes Dudley' but when selected, 'Mouthbreather' plays. According to the person that chose this material for the bonus, it was always intended to be 'Then Comes Dudley' as it's a great live version. It is unknown why it was changed and if subsequent pressings will fix this error. My copy also had a couple hiccups during 'My Own Urine,' but a video I have of this full concert does not display any problems.
The band is energetic, as is the crowd, and it makes for a great performance that has been captured. Yow is up to his usual antics & crowd interaction and all the guys are at their best. A disc like this will remind you why they're considered such a fantastic live band by those who've been lucky enough to see them perform. And if you never had the chance, this is as close as you can get. If the parts of this review that 'criticize' seem longer than the parts that don't, that's only because everything else is as perfect as it can get and I can't fully describe how well this disc accomplishes what it set out to do: give the home viewer a thoroughly enjoyable live experience. I really can't say enough nice things about how well this disc turned out. Do yourself a favor and buy it. Then be sure to check out the security guy, especially during 'Puss' and 'One Evening,' That's worth the price of the disc alone.