Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Need a great sounding concert DVD

I am looking for a really great sounding / looking concert DVD.

I need a concert DVD to show off how good my system sounds. I need something with good dynamics, that is recorded very well and that eveyone will enjoy. I have been looking at artists like Elton John, The Eagles, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond etc.

What does the Axiom public recommend?

Thanks

Paul

I know a lot of stores use The Eagle's DVD. I heard a track off it with the epic80/600 5.1 system when I auditioned some axioms.

It sounded great. Not sure exactly which DVD it was, but I would reccomend it.

The Eagles Farewell Tour 1 from Melbourne, The Eagles Hell Freezes Over, both are really good. The first one has just about everything ever done by them as a group or on their own that made it on the radio.

I think it was the Farewell Tour I heard. Very good concert dvd.

Here's a couple I like with great sound quality that *most* folks should enjoy...

Sound Stage 'Chris Isaak'
Eric Clapton 'One More Car, One More Rider'
John Fogerty 'The Long Road Home'
Derek Trucks Band 'Songlines' live
'Concert For George'
Pink Floyd 'PULSE'
Eagles 'Hell Freezes Over' (often used as a reference DVD)

Also, Blue Man Groups 'Complex Rock Tour Live' is one that most everybody should enjoy with great sound....

Of course these will probably be scratched whenever HD/DVD - Blu Ray starts coming out with more music DVDs with lossless sound.

If you like the blues, Eric Clapton's DVD 'Sessions For Robert J' has really great sound. I got the DVD in a CD/DVD package.

If you have HD, the Eagle concert sounds terrific, and looks equally terrific.
If you have BR, the Dave Mathews concert sounds amazing. I haven’t had the chance to hear this with DTS Master and only the core DTS track, but even that’s great. I’m looking forward to watching / hearing this one again as soon as my new BR player shows up that decodes DTS Master.
For SD/DVD, I think the Eric Clapton Crossroads concert is very good. AC/DC’s live at Downingtown sounds good, but the video is pretty grainy. I also have the Rush R30, but can only take so much rush….but is sounds pretty darn good. I found the Pulse concert to be somewhat lacking and not real sure why. Another great CD/DVD combo is KWS’s latest. The DVD has horrible video, but the sound track is very good. If you like old time blues, this is a great disk as he plays with some of real old timers (half of which died before the disk came out).

I wish the Dave Matthew's band concert was on HD-DVD

Damn those CD/DVD combos .... I keep forgetting about the '10 Days Out' and 'Robert J' DVDs whenever I'm looking though our music DVDs for something to watch, I have them in the original CD cases and stored with all of the other Cd's on the CD shelves, makes me now wonder what else is hidden away in there. Looks like I'm going to have to get a couple of extra DVD cases just for these. Thanks for the reminder Mike!

Paul I see you are a flyer ... the movie One Six Right is out on DVD, I bet the HD version is slick.


Terzaghi ... I wish there were a lot more stuff out on HD-DVD that currently isn't.

The Eagles Farewell Tour I is amazing.

Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live DVD (filmed in HD)

It's a different type of thing, but I thought the audio and video fidelity of The Jazz Channel presents BB King was stunning.

I'd agree with Mike about both Donnington and R30; while they are both VERY good disks - especially the audio - that type of music doesn't really give you the same ear-candy "Wow Factor" as something a bit more nuanced. By contrast, I think the ONLY reason to watch Pulse is for the candy; the performances are much too clinical to hold my interest.

It's a different type of thing, but I thought the audio and video fidelity of Green Day's Bullet in a Bible is stunning.

They have mentioned most I would vote for. If people want a speaker demo down in the HT room, I usually start with Hell Freezes Over. The detail is uncanny. It's starts with Hotel California so you hear individual instruments right off the bat. This seems to help get your ears adjusted and they don't have to fight to hear the detail through a big opening rift of multiple instruments. Then some nice echoing hand drums kick in, then everything starts to blend together. It's also a song everyone has heard to death on their crappy FM car radios so the difference is quickly apparent.

OK, so I'm playing the physiological game a bit but it is still up to the music and speakers to make the final impression.

Another I'll add is that if you have someone who wants to hear something Kick-A__ rather than subtle, Nine Inch Nails, Beside you in Time DVD has some tracks that that amaze even people who may otherwise hate the group. I wouldn't call it reference but definitely impressive for this type of concert.

I'll start off with the opening keyboard sequence from March of the Pigs because the shirt vibrating bass and authentic sound makes you feel as if you entered the night club from the XXX movie. (The Vin Diesel movie, not porn...) Usually stick to just the opening because many wouldn't like the whole song.

If I can convince them to listen to a few of these, Closer, Wish, Only, Hand that Feeds, and Head like a Hole.... they usually get so wrapped up in the great sound and the energy that they actually become NiN fans. (unfortunately they often go out and by CDS and then get disappointed by all the distortion they add into their CD versions but the live stuff is very distortion free ((well mostly))).

Oh, and it's just been released in HD-DVD with Dolby true-hd 5.1 digital surround sound. I don't have that yet, but I will.

If the listener is a guitar player, the new Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds DVD is a MUST HAVE! Just the two of them, no backup band. Dave in the right speaker and Tim in the left. You hear every scratch and vibration of the strings.


Finally, It's not concert DVD's but some of the classical picks from JohnK and other folks here sound amazing when using multi-channel. Even non-classical lovers will appreciate the sound and dynamics. If it's dynamics you are looking to show off, Classical is the best way to do it. I owe him and others some reviews from their assistance with choices but I bought a bunch at once and haven't had time to critically listen to them all in full. Add in that some were multi-disk sets and I've been overwhelmed.

Sorry for the long post. Place the guy at the other end of this super boring conference call.

Paul I see you are a flyer ... the movie One Six Right is out on DVD, I bet the HD version is slick.

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't even know this movie existed.

Paul

[quote=tomtuttle]It's a different type of thing, but I thought the audio and video fidelity of The Jazz Channel presents BB King was stunning.

For 89$ to over 100$ for a new DVD, it wants to be stunning!!!
I paid less than that to see him 'in person' about 6 or more years ago.

Thank you for every one's thoughts, Looks like a have a few options. Leaning towards the Eagles thing, just becasue I like their music and everyone else I know as heard of them.

Sorry, I didn't mention in my original post that I am still using standard DVD (hopfully on an Oppo DV-981HD, if Santa is comes this year), waiting for the HD/BLU combi players to come down in price (cuz no one seems to know who is gonna win the war).

I have RUSH IN RIO, but the sound mix isn't very good, and although I am a huge RUSH fan it's not everyone's (my parents) cup of tea. I also have Sara Brightman - La Luna, wich is recorded very well in DTS, it's just a little too classical for somepeople (my wife) people. My wife has the Dixie Chicks, which is too Country for me, and Truimph Live - Sport of Kings tour in Halifax, good sound but the video isn't great, not to mention Rik Emmett in 1986 spandax isn't very appealing.

Oh ya, not a concert DVD, but I do have Wird Al's Greatest hits video, sounds great and always good for a laugh.

"cuttin' for the very 1st time, like a suuuuuuurgen"

Paul

Big vote for the Eagles Farewell Tour.

Others with excellent audio I did not see mentioned:

- Alison Krauss & Union Station Live
- Doobie Brothers - Live At Wolf Trap
- Faith Hill: When The Lights Go Down
- James Taylor: Live At Beacon Theater
- Norah Jones - Live in New Orleans
- Steely Dan: Two Against Nature
- Yes: Symphonic Live

I tend to keep my eyes open and chase down the DVDs with the best audio. So far it's paid off pretty well.

Yes, Murph, I didn't realize that the BB King is apparently out of print now. I rented it through Netflix and kept it for about a month.

R30 is mixed MUCH better than Rush in Rio.

Mark, my attorney will be in touch.

Y'all need to get a copy of the '07 Crossroads Festival DVD. Got mine in the mail today...

Definitely one of *the* best music DVDs in my personal inventory!

SWEEET! Nice Lineup. I'll be ordering that one when I recover financially from Christmas shopping.

Funny, I never thought of Steve Winwood as an accomplished guitar player but he got four spots on the DVD. I guess I will have to watch it and reevaluate. Unfortunately for him, I only remember him for his brief radio play in the pop world.

He has a much longer history than that: Wikepedia.

Looks like he's been working since he was 2 years old.

I enthusiastically second 'James Taylor: Live At Beacon Theater'. Great sound & performance. This was actually the first DVD I bought, back in 98 or 99. Amazing how it’s still one of the best sounding DVD concerts around; the same can be said of the 'Eagles: Hell Freeze over'
I have all of the DVDs you listed there but the Doobie Brothers... definitely going to add it to my collection soon.

I'll just mention the ones I like again:

Tori Amos - Welcome to Sunny Florida
Guster on Ice - Live From Portland Maine
Ben Folds and WASO - Live in Perth
Bjork - Vespertine Live at Royal Opera House

yes, I think the sound is extremely good on the Crossroads 2007 DVD. and, the performances are spirited and from the heart.

I took my 20 year old daughter to that show. I have been to 100's of concerts, but that was one for the ages. the whole day was amazing. MSN streamed the entire day live, and for a few days afterwards. Rick, after seeing pics from your theatre room, I know you are a guitar guy. let me tell you that JB's set was the most powerful of the day. he ended with "a day in the life"...it brought tears to my eyes. the most incredible, emotional live piece of music I have ever experienced. that should have made it to the DVD.

that, and other hightlights left off the DVD can probably be found audio bootlegged somewhere (John Mayer did a killer version of "I Don't Need No Doctor"). Sonny Landreth, John McLaughlin, Derek Trucks, Albert Lee, B.B King, Johnny Winter, and on and on...really too many to go into here.

one more little comment...one of the best parts of the day for me was having a good veiw of stage right. Eric sat there most of the day enjoying the performances of just about everyone that played. they catch some of that backstage camaraderie on the DVD, which is very cool...like Bill Murray picking tiny, 24 year old, Tal Wilkinfeld (bassist for Jeff Beck's set) up in the air after she walked off stage. stuff you just really don't get to see.

Pardon my selection as I know people may laugh but....Yanni Live: The Concert Event has some of the best musicians I have ever heard on it!

STOP LAUGHING!!!!

I used to play in a heavy metal band but I like all sorts of music (with very limited opera...VERY limited) but I also like Andre Rieu too. STOP LAUGHING!

snicker. snicker.

The sound on that Yanni disk might be good, but his swaying and facial expression make it look like he's making love to the piano, and it's thus hard to listen without cracking up.

I would just turn the TV off, listen and try really hard not to envision him doing his thing......ok I can't do it even with out the music

I just purchased the Eagles Hd DVD.

I got it from Amazon for $9.95 before shipping ($12.93 with standards shipping) because I had a $10 gift card. couldn't think of a better way to spend it

And...

and... he's probably waiting for the mailman!

You know what I love about this forum? You guys make me laugh, and laugh and laugh.

I love the Yanni pokes. My father has the Yani live DVD and yes it sounds great, and yes I also crack up when he is trying to procreate with his piano, live, in front of everyone. Once that image gets burned into your brain, your scarred for life!

The only time I've seen Yanni playing was in a Beavis & Butthead
episode... and that was more than enough :P

[Yanni video playing] -- "Hey, Beavis. This guy's your dad."

I come from Lake Titicaca!

Settle down doc, huh,huh :P

Ah yessssss - YANNI!!!!! The only thing I can imagine that would be in the same league might be some John Tesh. I can only hope I live to see that dream realized.

Porcupine Tree "Arriving Somewhere..." sounds great in DTS!

The Cure - Trilogy

The Disco Biscuits - Progressions http://www.invinciblepictures.com/disco/

Another good one is Shania Twain 'Up'. She puts on a very high energy show, and she's a lot easier to look at than Yanni. Never fails to impress people I play it for, especially on the big screen.

That would be a great choice too, I have the DVD Audio disc. It sounds great and the video for "Forever and For Always" is, well, really enjoyable to watch, even with the sound muted.

And most people can identify her music, I'll def. keep that one in mind.

Thanks

Paul

Picked up the NiN concert in HD-DVD when I was in Ottawa at a MusicWorld, going out of business sale. Both impressed and disappointed.....

When playing the new HD audio track, I definitely believe I am hearing some additional clarity. I've swapped back and forth between the Dolby and the HD-DVD tracks and I have swapped back and forth with the regular DVD that I still own and I even seem to be able to even pick out a few noises that are not there, or very distant, in the Dolby version.

However, It also seems like the vocals are weaker in the HD version. I know it's not a true test, but in switching back and forth, I truly find that I have trouble hearing what Trent Reznor is singing compared to the standard DVD version. This was a big disapointment as the last thing I expected was for part of the sound to degrade rather than improve.

I'd be interested if anybody else picks this up and lets me know if they feel the same way. Perhaps I'm just listening too hard.

It might be that the vocals are slightly compressed on the compressed soundtracks. More dynamic range on uncompressed soundtracks sometimes means turning it up a couple of dB.

Just found this thread. There are allot of great suggestions on here headed out right now to add to my collection.

Gotta throw my 2 cents in for Buena Vista Social Club DVD. Its about the making of the album with Ry Cooder and there are 2 different concert performances (New York and Amsterdam) that are amazing.

But then you have to appreciate Cuban Folk Music, or maybe not. I gotta loan it to Mojo so he can give feedback, but the fact I have been to cuba twice helps.

I can taste the Mojito and cigars when I watch it.

Read through the whol thread. There are a few that I am ready to get but is there any good classical music, preferrably piano, live performance DVD out there?

A quick search through Amazon for Daniel Barenboim (one of best pianist/conductors).
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103...words=Barenboim

A "concert" DVD which has become one of our reference test dvds when comparing HT sound and subs is Eric Clapton's "Sessions with Robert J". The sound quality is about the best I've heard likely because it is actually a filmed studio recording. The opening track with the bassist and drummer warming up is what we use to do comparisons. Exceptional clarity and range especially in the first studio sessions.

Picked up the Nirvana Unplugged in New York Concert. Although I'm not a huge Nirvana fan, the sound quality is excellent - right up there with both Eagles concerts, & Fleetwood Mac - The Dance.

Ones to avoid: Dixie Chicks - Top of the World, and Bon Jovi - Lost Highway. Content is good, but both have way too much compression and sound terrible.

For some reason when I hear "Yanni", I can't help but think of "Zamfir - Master of the pan flute!"

I'll agree with you about the recording quality of Nirvana Unplugged--I was surprised how good it was.

I would like to thank everyone here who recommended The Eagles Farewell Tour 1. I got it for Christmas and finally last Friday night got a few hours to listen and watch the whole thing.

It was absolutely spectacular. I am not the biggest Eagles fan, but for any one who enjoys music, any kind of music has to be impressed with the showmanship, musicianship and quality of the performance and recording. I think Don Henley and the VP150 were made for each other. Smooth and accurate! The M80’s did an awesome job at articulating Joe Walsh’s guitar riffs, and my EP500 was an awesome anchor for the bottom end. Speaking of Joe Walsh, “WOW” that guy can still rock. When he talks he sounds like an old geezer, but when he plays guitar and sings, he just nails it!!

This is shear pleasure to watch and listen to using the Epic80/500 system.

Thanks again to everyone, and for those of you that haven’t heard this, you are missing an essential demo disc for you Axiom system.

paul

I agree, that Farewell DVD really makes me want to buy the new sub sooner than later whenever I watch it.

You should watch it more often then, it might make the new sub come faster. Well, it was worth a try!

paul

I had my brother and a few of his friends over just before the superbowl, and I wasn't sure which song to play for them. I could have simply thrown a dart at the DVD cover and pick a song that way, cuz they are all great. I settled on Joe Walsh and Life's been Good, if only because it's the first song on the 2nd disk and it was easy to get too. Not to mention it's an awsome tune and it's extremly entertaining!!

paul

BYW they loved it!!!

Picked up 2 new concerts:

- Elton 60
- Dennis DeYoung (an the music of Styx) Live with Symphony Orchestra

Played the Dennis DeYoung first. I was reasonably impressed - quite clear, and the content and performances are good. Just not up to either Eagles DVD's.

But then I put in the Elton 60. Selected DTS 5.1, and HOLY COW what a difference!! The recording, production, and mastering are right up there with the Eagles DTS "reference" concerts. Every instrument is decernable, clear, and un-muffled. (I don't think I've ever heard a piano sound so good on my system.) Well worth the money.

Thanks fo rthe tip, I will be sure to check out Elton 60 as my wife likes his music.

IMO if you want the best in DVD audio, you should go with Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. The audio improvements are just as significant as the video improvements. In particular, with lossless audio you can have audio quality that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio masters. Hopefully the days of Dolby Digital and lossy DTS will soon be behind us.

I mention HD-DVD even though it has lost the format war, because there are some really good concerts that are not yet available on Blu-Ray.

Some suggestions:

- Moody Blues Live - Lovely To See You Tonight (lossless TrueHD on HD-DVD). Excellent audio and video quality.

- Eagles Return Tour in Melbourne (even though it doesn't say it on the cover, this has lossless DTS-HD/MA, on HD-DVD). This is one incredible sounding concert, and also has excellent picture quality.

- Elton60 (lossless PCM on Blu-Ray). Outstanding picture quality. Audio also very good but I think Elton is losing his voice.

- Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds, Live at Radio City (TrueHD on Blu-Ray). 96KHz/24-bits. Great picture and audio quality.

- Celine Dion - A New Day (TrueHD on Blu-Ray). 96KHz/24-bits. Great picture and audio quaity. I am hestiant in recommending this because the concert is too "cheesy".

Not all Blu-Ray or HD-DVD concerts are good (James Taylor comes to mind), so you still need to be selective. But overall, they are significant improvements over regular DVDs.

-

OMG! a Celine Dion promotion!!! Ban him!!!!

OK I'm just kidding, Kinda.

I'll also add another. It's maybe not audiophile quality but for an older, live recording it was surprisingly good. Bruce Springsteen - Live in Barcelona. Found this one at my local library and was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it. Great sound, good concert. Bruce and the E Street Band have been playing together for so long they are about as tight as a band can get.

Resurrecting an old thread.....

Excellent concert DVD from 2009:

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - Live From Madison Square Garden

I didn't know that Winwood was such an accomplished guitarist...

Tom
Comox, BC

Tom have you seen the Cream Live from Royal Albert Hall ('05 I believe) DVD?

That's good stuff!

But that can be said of just about all DVD discs I've seen with Eric Clapton. And BTW, welcome to the forum fellow aviator!

Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree

Nice thread revival Tom. I started scanning from the beginning and thought the context of the posts was weird - that was when I noticed it was from 2007!

Anyway a couple of my favourite BR Concert discs are:

Dave Matthews and TR at Radio City

and

Chris Botti in Boston . This one is recorded in 7.1 even. Absolutely beautiful audio in this one.

Cheers,

I'll second Dave Matthews and will add Andrea Bocelli live in Tuscany to the mix, excellent SQ and PQ.

Here's a list of some of my favorites for sound quality. (besides the ones mentioned).

The Moody Blues Live, "Lovely to see you".
Shakira, "Oral Fixation Tour".
Celtic Woman Live DVD, "Songs from the Heart".
Jethro Tull Live at Montreux.
Madonna "Sticky & Sweet Tour".
Elton 60, Live at Madison Square Garden.

Yup, I have the Cream DVD.

The reason that I like & respect Clapton is that he has really matured as a top notch, professional musician. No flashiness, gimicks & needless jumping around the stage. He just stands there & plays, and oh does he play! Furthermore, he & a few other British artists were largely instrumental in saving 'The Blues' from extinction in the 1960s. Thank gawd, as I luv 'The Blues'.

Clapton's extraordinay attention to detail in the recording, mixing & production of his CDs & DVDs makes his recent releases exemplary WRT sound & visual quality. Furthermore, in the past few years he has made a point of performing (jamming?) with many other extraordinary musicians such as BB King, Robert Cray, JJ Cale, Steve Winwood, etc, that makes these sessions quite special.

These qualities apply to the following DVDs that I own & really enjoy, espcially if I get into the sauce, ha!!:

Live in Hyde Park (1997) - this concert kicked off a world tour that I was honoured to attend in Vancouver several months after Hyde Park. One of EC's best efforts IMHO with wonderful content;

One More Car One More Rider (2001);

Sessions for Rabert J (2004); &

Crossroads Guitar Festivals (2004, 2007 & 2010) - lots of performers playing in different genres.

Another wonderful concert - Carlos Santana playing his older material that I like better than his recent stuff:

Sacred Fire Live in Mexico

I have a many others but the above are really superior IMHO.

Tom
Comox, BC

Ref my last post, that should read:

Sessions for Robert J (2004)....

Tom

Tom it looks like our music collection may mirror one another!

Ack. A doppelganger. I wonder if Tom also lives inside a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat?

Yes, I have a SRV hat, & western boots as well, ha!! Sad that he was taken from us too soon.

I'm a rank amateur 5-String Electric Bass player. Blues is the only genre that I can jam along with 'by ear' after I figure out what key the tune is in, ha!!

I personally know a local blues player here on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo) - David Gogo (his real name!) - who is a simply stunning blues guitarist.

Check out a sample of his prowess with the bottleneck slide in YouTube:

David Gogo Plays the Blues - Live HD.

His CDs for the most part are outstanding for those who like electric & acoustic blues. Google 'David Gogo' & look for the following CDs (the tracks mentioned are the highlights of his overall great blues material):

'Halfway to Memphis' - Tracks 08 'This is a Man's World' & 11 'Blues Medley' are simply outstanding guitar work;

Skeleton Key - Track 10 'It don't make sense';

Live at Deer Lake - Track 08 'Hoochie Coochie Man';

Acoustic - good renditions, many on a vintage National Resonator guitar.

Different Views - Track 07 'Where the Devil Won't Go'.

He remains mostly unknown due to the fact that he resides so far from Toronto.

Another under-acknowldged blues guitarist is Walter Trout - absolutely exceptional.

I have a wonderful collection of Blues VHS Tapes; however, I recently retired that format from my system so I'm now trying to rebuild that collection on DVD; however, it is difficult to find some of the older content now.

BTW, I like older material from 'SADE' as well; however, her newer stuff has kinda lost its way IMO.

Tom
Comox, BC

If It’s only DVD then the best I’ve seen/heard is:

Jethro Tull “Live at Montreux”

For Blue-ray its:

Toto: “Falling in Between Live”
Within Temptation: “Black Symphony”

I've never heard of Within Temptation, but it's now in my Amazon wish list. Very good music.

If you like Within Temptation you may also like other Symphonic/Gothic Metal/Rock bands like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dys1_TuUmI4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejnck_pnS...lf=results_main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raFCA-39bm0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZQ7rgAq-I&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LapknbGS7Os&feature=related

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthre...true#Post308147