Before I go any further, I guess it makes sense to give some background on the band.

The Goo Goo Dolls are:

John Rzeznik – Vocals and Guitar

Robby Takac – Bass and Vocals

Mike Malinin – Drums

Touring Musicians:

Greg Suran – Guitars and Mandolin

Jason Freese – Keyboards, Percussion, Saxophone and Accordion

John and Robby started the band in 1986, Mike joined in 1995.  John grew up in a working class family in Buffalo, New York.  His parents died within a year of each other when he was only sixteen.  He was pretty much on his own after that, he moved into what he calls “the college ghettos”, started playing in bands and living the lifestyle.  Even with his extracurricular activities, John managed to make it through high school and enroll in college (believe it or not, he planned on being a social worker).

In college, he met Robby.  Both were involved in music, but were having limited success.  John was in hardcore punk bands and Robby was “a hippie metal guy” (according to John).  They found they complimented each other well and ended up forming a band together.  In the beginning Robby was the main vocalist, but over the years it has transitioned into John singing most of the songs.

Ok, so now back to the DVD.  It is so appropriate that they filmed it in Buffalo.  They are with their hometown crowd and they seem so comfortable on stage (I guess it’s like having the home field advantage in sports).  The backdrop for the stage is City Hall, it’s beautiful the way it is all lit up (this is a night show).  They perform a terrific selection of songs from five of their CDs (although most are from the two most recent ones at that time). 

Here is the set list:

Big Machine (Gutterflower) – John

Naked (A Boy Named Goo) – John

Slide (Gutterflower) – John

Think About Me (Gutterflower) – John

Smash (Gutterflower) – Robby

Tucked Away (Gutterflower) – Robby

Black Balloon (Dizzy Up the Girl) – John

Dizzy (Dizzy Up the Girl) – John

Name (A Boy Named Goo) – John

Cuz You’re Gone (Superstar Carwash) – John

Sympathy (Gutterflower) – John

January Friend (Dizzy Up the Girl) – Robby

Here is Gone (Gutterflower) – John

What a Scene (Gutterflower) – John

Acoustic #3 (Dizzy Up the Girl) – John

Two Days in February (Hold Me Up) – John

Broadway (Dizzy Up the Girl) – John

Iris (Dizzy Up the Girl) – John

Give a Little Bit (Cover of a Supertramp Song) – John

John is great live.  His voice is just as strong as it is on the CDs.  He also plays well to the crowd.  He gets them involved in singing some of the songs and also gets a hold of some of the signs people brought and reads/comments on them.  There’s a particularly funny bit with a sign that says “Polish Guys Kick Ass” (John is Polish).  Pause for a brief fangirl moment – John is also one incredibly sexy guy (when he takes his shirt off – wow!). 

While I love Robby’s deep/raspy voice on the CDs, it’s not as good live.  His voice isn’t as strong as John’s and he struggles a bit.  However, he is a great bass player and knows how to work a stage.  They make a great team; the two of them together are what make The Goo Goo Dolls terrific.  Interesting side fact, Robby never wears shoes when they perform, he says he likes to feel the vibration of the stage through his feet.  You will notice when they focus on his feet he is only wearing black socks.  There are some great shots of him pogoing in the puddles on the stage.

Speaking of puddles, about 40 minutes into the concert it starts to rain.  Which quickly turns into a downpour that continues throughout the rest of the show.  They continue on and work through the technical difficulties that crop up (electrical equipment and water don’t mix well).  Guitars, microphones and cameras give out at different times but they happily continue on.  John seems especially unfazed by it; in fact he seems to be enjoying himself.  Both he and Robby end up absolutely soaked (since they are at the front of the stage and aren’t under a cover at all).  The audience sticks with them throughout.

While this would have been a terrific performance DVD regardless, the downpour made it extra special.  It’s what you would call a happy accident.  Adding an interesting element to the performance and making it truly phenomenal.  Of course, since it’s the 4^th of July, the show ends with a big fireworks display.

There are a couple of great extras as well.  A 30-minute feature showing bits of the week before the concert; preparation, rehearsals and some interesting things around Buffalo.  John gets taken on a personal tour of the historic train station that is being renovated.  He admits that they were responsible for a lot of the window breakage in the place from when they were kids.  Robby shows off the “Good Charmel Records” recording studio, which he started in 2003.   There is also a lot of silliness and goofing around.

The other extra is an audio commentary of the concert.  The participants are John, Robby, Mike, Doug (the Engineer) and Peter (the Stage Manager).  It’s fun to listen to, but don’t expect a lot of facts to be learned.  It’s more like 5 buddies sitting around drinking and talking.  With it quickly turning into a session of them harassing each other, telling stories and a whole lot of bleeping out things.  

One of the things I was amused by was John talking about them playing at the Puyallup State Fair (in Washington).  Apparently, Jewel was there and John was hoping to impress her.  Unfortunately, Peter gave them the wrong set lists, so when they started playing, all three of them were playing different songs.  As you can guess, Jewel was not exactly impressed and ended up walking off.  So much for John’s love connection.

John also commented on the confetti gun they had.  He said they had to pay extra to have it and the guys running it knew he’d be pissed if they didn’t shoot it off.  So even though it was pouring down rain they shot it off and ended up covering the audience in bits of red, white and blue paper.  As Robby put it “we ended up paper mache-ing the audience”.

Some interesting trivia:

Robby collects PEZ dispensers and has over 1,000 in his collection.

“Name” was the song that was their first big hit.

John was suffering from a bout of writer’s block when he was asked to write a song for the movie “The City of Angels”.  Being able to focus on the characters in the movie as he wrote helped him get past the block he was having.  The song he wrote is “Iris” and ended up being a huge hit for them.

John has been asked to write songs for other movies; Batman and Robin (Lazy Eye), Treasure Planet (I’m Still Here) and Transformers (Before It’s Too Late).

Jan

 Just so you know the version I’m talking about is the one released in the UK.  I have heard the U.S. version doesn’t have all the songs, however, I’ve never really checked it out so I can’t say for sure.  Supposedly some were considered too risqué for the U.S. market so they were left off.  Which kinda ticks me off if it’s true; I really hate censorship like that.   

Placebo are:

Brian Molko – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboard, Effects, Percussion

Stefan Olsdal – Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals

Steven Hewitt – Drums (at least at the time of this DVD, they now have a new drummer, Steve Forrest)

There are three different ways to play the videos: 

Play All

Play Videos with Commentary (with Brian, Stefan and Steve)

Video Track List – Where you can pick a specific video to play.

Track List:

36 Degrees – This one has the band in or under water throughout the video.  It was filmed in a scuba pool and they had divers that would give them air between takes.  They had to spend a whole lot of time underwater and swore they would never do another video where they had to be in water again.  I thought it was funny when during the commentary Brian said he looks like Marilyn Manson’s younger sister.  I love Brian’s hair when it’s shoulder length like in this video.  I was happy to see in their most recent video “For What It’s Worth” that he has grown it out again. 

Teenage Angst – There is a big black box sitting in a park and when we get to see inside, we find the band.  The inside is completely red and the walls are all stretchy.  Scenes of the band are intercut with scenes of other people inside the box.  I liked how people would throw themselves against the wall and it would stretch out, it looked very cool.   According to the band it was very hot filming in there and there was no air conditioning.

Nancy Boy – This is the first video that Howard Greenhalgh directed for them (he directed five others that are on this DVD).  I get an acid trip vibe from this one.  There are people morphing into other people, a bathtub with a bunch of legs sticking out, doll/people combos, etc.  I especially liked the one that had a regular lower body with large hand/wrist for the torso/head.  This is the first video with Steve in it, but they couldn’t show his face because he was still under contract with another studio, so it’s blurred out.  They wanted Howard to direct a video for them after seeing the video he made for Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”.

Bruise Pristine – Another one by Howard Greenhalgh.  Pretty much consists of the band performing, lots of people kissing and lots of scantily clad bodies with bruises on them.  Also, according to Brian, a lot of gratuitous panty shots.

Pure Morning – I absolutely love this video.  It has Brian standing on the ledge of a tall building with emergency personal, police and reporters all scurrying around below.  I like how he crossed his fingers before leaping off and then the surprise of him walking down the side instead of falling.  The video was inspired by a Grace Kelly movie called “Fourteen Hours”.  Brian said he had to spend about six hours jumping off a small ledge for this one.  I have to add, Brian is just gorgeous in this video.

You Don’t Care About Us – So much for never doing a video in water again.  The setting is an aquarium and the band is being imprisoned there.  Apparently, they are meant to be shark food.  All the little kids there are really evil.  The looks on their faces, when they think they are going to get to see the guys being eaten by sharks, are just frightening.  They filmed at the London Aquarium; however, they were not in the same tank as the sharks.  They had manta rays in the tank with them and apparently they were very friendly.  They liked to come and rub against them.  The guys had to spend about seven hours in the water for this shoot.  Leaving them to swear once again; they were never, ever doing anymore videos that involve them in water.

Every You Every Me – Concert footage which was filmed at Brixton Academy.  They had originally done another video for this song; however, it was banned by management so they had to quickly come up with something else.  This song was used as the theme song for the movie “Cruel Intentions”.  Brian thought he looked rather silly even though he was wearing a very expensive designer dress.

Without You I’m Nothing – Filmed at Irving Plaza in New York City and features David Bowie.  Concert footage of Placebo and Bowie performing together, how cool is that.  Apparently, Bowie called them up and said he really liked their song, he had written a harmony for it and could he sing it with them.  Of course the band jumped at the chance to perform with him.  The footage for the video was filmed by their manager that’s why it’s on the shaky side.

Side Note:  I had the great fortune to see Bowie perform back in 1987 during “The Glass Spider” tour.  I took a chance on seeing him even though my favorite Bowie songs are from 1980 and earlier.  I figured even if he played a lot of his more current stuff I would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to see him.  I’m so glad I went, he was amazing; plus he played a lot of the older stuff (so that made it even better). 

Taste In Men – This video is beautifully shot.  I love the building they used, it looks so elegant.  It looks like a fancy hotel; however, it’s really a registry office.  It has a movie feel to it, with a tarot card reader, an arguing couple, lots of Brian walking down the hallways and an apparent love triangle between Brian and the arguing couple. 

Slave To The Wage – Set in a very modern looking office, with workers doing repetitive and boring tasks.  The main focus is on one of the girls that works there and how she starts seeing things around her begin to shred into strips.  I thought the car shredding was especially cool looking.  This video was inspired by a summer job that Brian had working in a bank shredding documents and also the movie “Gattaca”.

Special K – Sci-fi themed video based on the movie “Fantastic Voyage”.  Steve plays the patient, Stefan one of the medical personnel and Brian is the one that gets shrunk down (along with his spaceship) to maneuver through the patient and try to fix him.  Steve said he really liked filming this one; all he had to do was lay around while being surrounded by pretty women.

Black-Eyed – The concert footage was filmed at the Hurricane Festival in Germany.  The song was used in a movie, about young punks living on the street, called “Engel and Joe”.  The main actors from the movie are the two people featured in the video.  Brian says this is around the time his love affair with white clothing started.

The Bitter End – Shows the band performing inside a big satellite dish (although not really – it was shot in a studio then digitally added).  The heat seeking cameras they used to film the two other people in the video give a really cool glowy effect.  Steve says he lived close by this dish when he was a kid.

This Picture – I always want to call this one “Ashtray Girl”.  There seems to be a bit of a bondage theme at beginning of the video.  Then lots of women with blurred out faces.  It’s meant to be about the loss of identity due to destructive relationships.

Special Needs – The band is performing in an empty pool.  They used lights hanging from helium balloons floating above to light them.  The effect is really soft and beautiful.  We also see a young couple in the locker room interacting with each other, even though the other one is not there.  It’s supposed to represent people making love to a memory after a breakup.  The actors did a great job and you really got the impression the other one was there even though you can’t see them.  

English Summer Rain – This is an all animated video done by Gregoire Pinard.  He is a fan of theirs from South Africa.  He made the video and sent it to the band.  They liked it so they decided to use it.

Protégé Moi – Concert footage from “Soulmates Never Die, Live in Paris”.  There were about 17,000 or 18,000 people in theater.  Once again they had a different video for this song but weren’t able to use it due to its content.  According to Brian, it’s basically a porn film.

Twenty Years – Band performing with acrobatic type circus acts happening around them.   This is the only video that there is no commentary for.

Other Features:

Care in the Community – This is a terrific feature.  It is pretty much just the guys sitting around and talking about various tours, telling funny stories and talking about each other.  I was surprised to find out that Brian is a bit of a Trekkie.  Then he goes on to tell which character in Star Trek each member of the band is and why.   He also talks about getting the role in “Velvet Goldmine” and how it was his first time on stage without his guitar as a security blanket.  It took him a while to figure out what to do with himself while he sang.  The feature is about 40 minutes long.

Extras:

Twenty Years – It appears to be the same video off the playlist.  I’m not sure why it’s an extra.

Spite & Malice – Reading 2000 – Live performance at Reading Festival with special guest Justin Warfield.

20^th Century Boy – Brit Awards 1999 – This was Placebo and David Bowie’s first live performance together.

English Summer Rain Video – Band performance footage intermixed with various backstage stuff.

Nancy Boy Tour Visuals – Kind of a strange video.  The band is not in it.  It looks fan made.

Peeping Tom Tour Visuals – The band is not in this one either.  The focus is on a woman being watched while she is in her home.

Soulmates Never Die Live in Paris Trailer

Random Stuff:

Howard Greenhalgh directed the following Placebo Videos; Nancy Boy, Bruise Pristine, Slave to the Wage, Special K, The Bitter End and This Picture.

Brian sure had a lot of different hairstyles throughout these videos.

I really enjoyed the commentaries I though they were a great feature.

Jan

Green Day formed in 1987 in the East Bay area of California.  Billie Joe and Mike are founding members of the band with Tré joining them in 1990.  The three have been together ever since.  “Kerplunk” (1992) became an underground success, which caused major labels to take notice of the band.  Green Day ended up leaving their label and signing with Reprise Records.  Their next CD was “Dookie” (1994) which was their first commercial success.  Their popularity has only continued to climb since then.

I own all of Green Day’s CDs and would say I like them all equally.  Which one I chose to listen to at any given time depends on what kind of mood I am in, do I want something harder/punkier or a bit mellower.  It always bothers me when people call them sellouts. When a band has been together as long as they have, of course the music will evolve over time.  They have to be allowed to grow and change otherwise you risk stagnation and boredom, nothing good ever comes from that (if they also happen to make a lot of money doing it, then good for them).  I know I don’t want to listen to a band that makes the same album over and over again (I won’t name names, but you know who you are).

This DVD has a great collection of videos on it, from four different CDs (ranging from 1994 to 2001).  Throughout the course of their career they’ve managed to continually make interesting/memorable videos.  While their more recent ones tend to be a bit more serious and have higher production values, you will find many on this DVD are humorous and really let their personalities show through.  They are a lot of fun to watch. 

When you insert the DVD it automatically starts playing the videos in the order of release.  However, if you hit your menu button, it will take you to a menu where you can select specific CDs to play videos from.  So if you want to watch a favorite there is a way to get to it fairly easily.  Really the only negative thing I can think of about the DVD is that it is edited for language.  Which always annoys me; it messes with the flow of the song.  Plus it’s not as if you can’t tell what they are saying by watching their lips.

Band Members:

Billie Joe Armstrong – Vocals and Guitar

Mike Dirnt – Bass and Vocals

Tré Cool – Drums

Video List:

Longview (Dookie)

This was filmed in the basement apartment that the band used to live in.  I really love the intensity and rawness of this video.  Look how young they are!

Basket Case (Dookie)

Apparently, this video was shot in an abandoned mental institution.  It was shot in black and white, with color added later to give it that vivid, surreal look.

When I Come Around (Dookie)

The band is shown walking through areas of San Francisco and Berkley.  Intercut with snippets of people’s lives in the city.

Geek Stink Breath (Insomniac)

This one’s a bit bloody.  It has graphic footage of one of their friend’s having a tooth extracted.  It kinda freaks me out, since I’m a bit squeamish about that kind of thing.

Stuck With Me (Insomniac)

Animation sequences (like from the CD cover) intermixed with the band performing.

Brain Stew – Jaded (Insomniac)

This one’s a two parter.  The first part is located at a garbage dump and is in sepia tone.  The guys are on old sofa which is being dragged around by a bulldozer.  When it transitions to “Jaded” it’s now in color with frantic and fast paced cuts of the band performing.

Walking Contradiction (Insomniac)

Watching this always puts a smile on my face.  I love how they are causing so much trouble and are totally oblivious about it.

Hitchin’ a Ride (Nimrod)

Has an old fashioned look about it.  Set in a 1920’s themed club. 

Good Riddance/Time of Your Life (Nimrod)

Features Billie Joe sitting on a bed, singing and playing the acoustic guitar.  Intercut with brief glimpses of people around town.  I love this video and find it to be very moving.

Redundant (Nimrod)

So much happens in this video it’s hard to catch everything that’s going on.  The band is playing while people keep coming in, doing things, leaving and then looping back around again.  It’s fun to watch.

Nice Guys Finish Last (Nimrod)

I had never seen it this one before.  It’s set in a stadium and has a sports theme.

Last Ride In (Nimrod)

This song is purely instrumental.  The video is made up of footage that feels like an old home video.  Includes footage of the guys, a skateboarder, water skier, carnival, dog, etc.  First time I had seen this one too.

Minority (Warning)

Shows the band performing on a parade float as it moves down the street.  Apparently, it’s a very small parade; their float, three large balloons depicting them (Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade style) and a small amount of people marching along.

Warning (Warning)

Features a guy waking up in the morning and proceeding to do all kinds of dangerous things you are always told not too (like running with scissors).  While the band plays in his kitchen.  Funny, I used to have the exact same toaster shown in the video, complete with the fake wood grain.

Waiting (Warning)

The band is playing in a house, when they are suddenly invaded by a bunch of teens/young adults, who are there to party.  I really like the way this was filmed, with the slowmo and freeze effects.

By the way, in 2008, the members of Green Day released a CD under the name of “Foxboro Hottubs”.  It’s called “Stop Drop and Roll”.

Ok, I have a question.  On the back cover of the “Nimrod” CD, is that Davey Havok (from AFI) that is next to Mike Dirnt?  I’m talking about the person that is on the bottom row, third from the left.  I’m pretty sure it is, but it would be nice if someone confirmed it. 

Jan

 I made it a point to watch every week from then on and he never failed to deliver an outstanding performance.  Some of the songs he was given to perform, I absolutely hate, but he made me love his version.  For instance they made him do “Hit Me Baby One More Time” (Britney Spears) and he turned it into this intensely dark song; I was blown away.  Marty ended up coming in second place, which in hindsight I think was the best for him (although at the time I was pissed he didn’t win).  He got exposure for his band, could follow his dream without being held back by a pre-existing band that might be a bit set in their ways.

Now back to the band itself.  Marty, Bobby and Dino all went to school together and lived just a couple of blocks from each other.  In 1988 Marty and Bobby started the band.  Dino became jealous of watching Marty and his older brother practice and not be a part of it, so he got a bass and asked if he could join the band.  Billy later joined and now the line up was complete.

Members of the Lovehammers:

Marty Casey – Vocals and Guitar

Dino Kourelis – Bass

Bobby Kourelis – Drums

Billy Sawichik – Guitar

Lovehammers is a Chicago based band, that has quite a following there.  I supposed they would be classified as rock/alternative.  This DVD was self produced by the band and they did a quality job.  The live performance footage is inter-cut with stuff about the band’s history.  They go to the houses they used to live and practice in, first club they played in and stuff like that.

The live performance footage is great, plus it was filmed at a small venue so it creates a sense of intimacy.  The sound is equally as good.  All the guys did a wonderful job and Marty was his usual expressive, intense self.  They used to refer to him as the “Scary Conductor” when he was on “Rock Star: INXS”.

Marty has an incredible voice and really knows how to hold an audience’s attention.  One of his trademark things is climbing up the lighting scaffolding and hanging upside down while he sings (which he does during “Eyes Can’t See”).  He also starts off wearing many layers, but by the end he’s down to only his pants.

This DVD is a great introduction to a terrific band.  You can check out their music and also enjoy some fun behind-the-scenes stuff with them.

Set List:

Straight as an Arrow (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

The Riddle (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Hold On (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Faded Grey

Casualty (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Bulletholes (L’Strange)

Clinic (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Eyes Can’t See (Murder on My Mind and Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Trees (Marty Casey & Lovehammers)

Ultrasound

This Town (Murder on My Mind)

Jan

 For those of you that don’t know, The Goo Goo Dolls are:

John Rzeznik – Vocals, Guitar

Robby Takac – Bass, Vocals

Mike Malinin – Drums

Greg Suran – who is on the DVD, is not a regular member of the band, but was lucky enough to be invited along to provide additional guitar and mandolin.

The band originated in 1986 in Buffalo, New York.  John and Robby are original/founding members.  Mike joined the band in 1995.  At the time of this DVD they would be considered alternative rock.  Although, their most recent CD “Let Love In” puts them more in the pop genre.  They are currently in the recording studio working on their upcoming CD and I desperately hope that they will sway back into alternative rock.

The show is beautifully shot and the scenery is absolutely stunning.  All of the locations are in more remote parts of the state, which is nice.  The audio is great and all of the songs they do are well suited to acoustic.

If you play the entire program (instead of just playing the song tracks) you get songs intermixed with the band doing things around the area, like dog sledding and mud sliding.  Plus at the end, before the credits start rolling you get some extra stuff; such as John & Robby goofing around and footage of what it takes to get the equipment to some of the remote locations.

During the program the following songs are played:

Black Balloon  (from “Dizzy Up the Girl”)

Acoustic #3 (from “Dizzy Up the Girl”)

Broadway (from “Dizzy Up the Girl”)

Here is Gone (from “Gutterflower”)

Big Machine (from “Gutterflower”)

What a Scene (from “Gutterflower”)

Slide (from “Dizzy Up the Girl”)

Areas of Alaska That They Visit:

Lake George

Punchbowl Glacier

Knik Glacier

Hope

Kotzebue

Some of the places you get to see them perform are; while standing on floating chunks of ice in the glacier melt, in a small town bar, on a train going between Seward and Portage.  In addition to seeing the band and the amazing scenery, you also get to see people that live in the areas they visit and a bit about their culture.

I have to say my favorite part is when John and Robby go mud sliding with the kids in Hope.  They look like they are having a blast and the kids were just thrilled to have them there.  It’s fun to watch John and Robby just goofing around and having fun.  They seem like nice guys and that they would be fun to hang out with.  Side note:  a friend of mine is a flight attendant and he had them on one of his flights.  He said they were the nicest most down to earth guys.

If you check out the “Just the Music” section you will find two additional songs:

Sympathy (from “Gutterflower”) – sung by John

You Never Know (from “Gutterflower”) – sung by Robby (it’s mislabeled on the DVD)

In the special features section you have more footage of the townspeople in Kotzebue and more about the train trip.  There is also a nice written biography for the band.  I thought this was a great DVD.   Not only were the performances themselves great, it’s also fun to watch them inter-act with the people and do fun activities.

A few months before this program was filmed I was lucky enough to see The Goo Goo Dolls perform at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.  They were fabulous.  John sings most of the songs when they play live and he is a great frontman.  He has a good strong voice and also has a great stage presence.  Robby usually sings two or three of his songs and while I love them on the CDs he isn’t as strong live.

Jan

With that being said, it looks like for now I am going to have to get my Placebo concert fix vicariously through DVD.  They did a wonderful job putting together this DVD.  The footage and sound are both terrific.  I also like the stylistic way the footage is shown; some straight concert footage and some with added effects (static-y/blur effects, some black and white shots, etc.).

Placebo are:

Brian Molko – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboard, Effects, Percussion

Stefan Olsdal – Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals

Steven Hewitt – Drums (at least at the time of this DVD, they now have a new drummer, Steve Forrest)

Touring Musicians:

William Lloyd – Bass, Guitar, Keyboard

Xavior Roide – Keyboards, Additional Vocals (who also happened to be in the movie “Velvet Goldmine” with the guys from Placebo)

Here is the set list:

Bullet Proof (Sleeping With Ghosts)

Allergic (Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing)

Every You Every Me (Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing – Once More With Feeling)

Bionic (Placebo)

Protégé Moi (Sleeping With Ghosts (English version) – Once More With Feeling)

Plasticine (Sleeping With Ghosts)

Bitter End (Sleeping With Ghosts – Once More With Feeling)

Soulmates (This Picture)

Black-Eyed (Black Market Music – Once More With Feeling)

I’ll Be Yours (Sleeping With Ghosts)

Special Needs (Sleeping With Ghosts – Once More With Feeling)

English Summer Rain (Sleeping With Ghosts – Once More With Feeling)

Without You I’m Nothing (Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing – Black Market Music – Once More With Feeling)

This Picture (Sleeping With Ghosts – Once More With Feeling)

Special K (Black Market Music – Once More With Feeling)

Taste in Men (Black Market Music – Once More With Feeling)

Slave to the Wage (Black Market Music – Once More With Feeling)

Peeping Tom (Black Market Music)

Pure Morning (Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing – Once More With Feeling)

Centrefolds (Sleeping With Ghosts)

Where is My Mind? (This Picture – cover of a “Pixies” song)

Placebo was formed in London in 1994.  Brian and Stefan are the founding members of the band.  Oddly enough they had both attended International School of Luxembourg, but were not friends at the time.  It seems that fate intervened when they bumped into each other at the South Kensington tube station and Brian invited Stefan to come to one of his gigs.  After hearing Brian’s performance, Stefan decided they should form a band.  Thus Placebo was born (well actually the name was originally Ashtray Heart but was quickly changed).

“Nancy Boy” from their self-titled album, which came out in the beginning of 1997, became their first big hit.  The success of the song also helped to get the band small roles in the movie “Velvet Goldmine”.  On June 8, 2009, Placebo released their sixth studio album “Battle For the Sun”.

Keep in mind that this concert is in Paris and Brian speaks French fluently.  Which means, many times when he speaks to the audience it’s in French.  There is an option to select English subtitles, but it doesn’t seem to work with the concert footage.  So, since I don’t speak French, I had no idea what he was saying.  However, I didn’t find that it hurt my enjoyment of the concert.  Although, if someone speaks French and wants to tell me what he said, I wouldn’t say no.

Both Brian and Stefan have terrific stage presence.  They make good use of the stage and are able to keep the crowd excited and involved.  When you see the crowd shots, you can see that it’s quite a large venue.  However, they seemed to be able to keep everyone drawn in to their performance.

I love Stefan’s dancing at the beginning of “Pure Morning”.  He has that really tall and lean body that is just made for dancing, plus he has some great moves.  I was so surprised when shortly after that a fan managed to run up on stage and grab a hold of him.  Of course, he wasn’t up there long; security quickly pulled the guy away from Stefan and got him off the stage.  Stefan did a good job of taking it all in stride.

The selection of songs was great.  Coming from four of their studio albums and one of their singles.  Twelve out of the twenty-one songs performed are on their singles compilation CD “Once More With Feeling”.  My one minor complaint is that they didn’t perform “Nancy Boy”.  I love that song, plus it was their first big hit, so I kind of expected it (I guess you can’t have everything).

They have a special guest for the last song of the set “Where is My Mind?”.  Frank Black from the “Pixies” joins them.  Which is only appropriate since it is their song.

I like how the DVD is set up so you can play the entire concert or go to “Set List” and pick specific songs to play.  That’s a nice option.  There is also an approximately 25 minute long documentary from their “Sleeping With Ghosts” tour.  During that tour they played to crowds ranging from 605 up to 75,000 people.

The documentary is fun to watch.  It shows some of their stops on the tour; Seattle, Las Vegas and Mexico City.  The band members talk about the tour some, but a lot of it is them just being silly.  Stefan making up crazy stories about how he got the scratch on his face, Brian doing an homage to “Blair Witch”, etc.  Brian also tells the story about how at one place they performed; he was standing on the barrier between the band and the crowd, when members of the audience started unzipping his fly.  He was afraid he would end up getting arrested if they succeeded (since he didn’t figure the police would care who “got it out”).

There are two “Easter Eggs” on the DVD:

The first one is Brian getting his B-12 shot.  Yes, he gets it in his @ss, so if you always wanted to see it, here’s your chance.

On the main menu go to Subtitles then press enter.  Select Francais then press enter.  After that, return to the main menu, move the little square to Set List.  Then press the UP arrow.  A French Flag will now be visible, press enter.

The second one is called “Chicks with Dicks”.  Which basically involves Brian and Stefan wearing women’s wigs while performing “Where is My Mind?”.  The sound quality is not very good, but it is kind of fun to watch.  I can’t believe how the crowd was groping Brian when he was at the edge of the stage.

On the main menu go to Subtitles, then press enter.  Select Francais, then press enter.  After that, return to the main menu, select Audio, then press enter.  Move the little square over to Stereo, then press the UP arrow.  A French Flag will now be visible, press enter.

All in all this is a terrific DVD.  The band is fantastic and the DVD showcases their talent well.

As a side note:  Brian is bi-sexual and Stefan is gay.  They are both out and open about their sexuality.  Hopefully more gay/bi celebrities/public figures will follow their lead and do the same.  While I truly believe that a person’s sexuality shouldn’t matter and really isn’t anyone else’s business.  I also know that isn’t the way the world currently works.  So until things change, it’s wonderful when brave individuals are willing to be honest about their orientation and not treat it like a dirty secret.  Hopefully, in time and as more people come out it will become a non-issue.

Jan

 
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 They also happen to be one of my favorite bands.  I discovered them in 2003 when they released “Sing the Sorrow”.  I happened across their “Hard Rock Live” performance on MTV, found I loved the music and I was absolutely mesmerized by Davey’s stage performance (not to mention his gorgeous long black hair he had at that time).  When he did a forward flip from the stage into the crowd (yes, they caught him) I was completely hooked.

I eventually checked out their back catalog and discovered that I liked the earlier stuff too.  So I am the proud owner of all their studio albums to date.

Current Members of AFI Are:

Davey Havok – Vocals

Adam Carson – Drums

Hunter Burgan – Bass

Jade Puget – Guitar

AFI was formed in 1991 while the members were still in high school.  Davey, Adam and two other guys they went to school with in Ukiah, California decided to form a band.  They had one small problem though; nobody knew how to play any instruments.  Davey could sing so at least that was covered; now everyone else had to pick an instrument and learn how to play it.

They were originally a hardcore punk band.  Now they are more mainstream punk, with some hardcore undertones.  The evolution of their sound came from experience, as well as, changes in the line up.  The current members have been in place since 1998.  With Davey writing the lyrics and Jade writing a lot of the music.

Here is the set list:

Prelude 12/21 (Decemberunderground)

Girl’s Not Grey (Sing the Sorrow)

The Leaving Song Pt. II (Sing the Sorrow)

Summer Shudder (Decemberunderground)

Kill Caustic (Decemberunderground)

The Days of the Phoenix (The Art of Drowning)

Endlessly, She Said (Decemberunderground)

A Single Second (Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes)

The Missing Frame (Decemberunderground)

Bleed Black (Sing the Sorrow)

Silver and Cold (Sing the Sorrow)

Dancing Through Sunday (Sing the Sorrow)

This Time Imperfect (Sing the Sorrow)

Death of Seasons (Sing the Sorrow)

Totalimmortal (All Hallows EP)

Love Like Winter (Decemberunderground)

God Called in Sick Today (Black Sails in the Sunset)

Miss Murder (Decemberunderground)

They performed songs from six of their CDs. However, the majority are from “Sing the Sorrow” and “Decemberunderground”.  AFI knows how to put on a show, they get the audience involved and it ends up being a big group sing-a-long.  They pay attention to the details of stage presentation also.  For example, having a color theme.  In this case, almost everything is white, including their clothing, instruments, microphones, risers and confetti. 

Davey, Jade and Hunter all know how to work the stage and are in almost constant motion.  With lots of jumps, spins, kicks and microphone twirling.  Hunter and Jade also have some interesting playing techniques.  During “God Called in Sick Today” Davey even does a crowd walk, something he is known for.

Nick 13 (singer, songwriter and guitar player from Tiger Army) makes a surprise guest appearance during “A Single Second” and provides backup vocals.  Nick 13 has done backup vocals on some AFI CDs and Davey has done the same on Tiger Army CDs. 

Let’s see if I can get the story straight.  Davey, Adam, Jade, Nick 13 and Geoff Kresege (the current bass player for Tiger Army) all went to High School together in Ukaih, California.  At one point Nick 13, Jade, Adam and Geoff were in the band Influence 13.  Geoff used to be the bass player for AFI before Hunter.  Adam played drums for Tiger Army’s debut album.  It’s all a bit confusing, but the friends shuffled around a bit before they settled into their current arrangements.  Davey and Nick 13 both attended college at Berkley for a while until they decided to make music their full-time careers.

As long as I’m on a bit of a tangent, I should point out that Tiger Army is a terrific band.  Their music falls under the category of psychobilly.  I had the good fortune to see them perform live a little over a year ago at The Seattle Tattoo Festival.  It was a fantastic experience.  I was lucky enough to be standing right in front of Nick 13, probably only ten feet from him.  They sound wonderful live; both Nick 13 and Geoff have a great stage presence.  It’s also great fun to watch Geoff play the standup bass.

Ok, back to AFI.  I really enjoyed the DVD.  The band sounded great and kept the show interesting.  There are quite a lot of quick video cuts made, but I thing it really suits the style of music.  The lighting effect when Davey is doing the screaming bit towards the end of “Death of Seasons” is pretty cool.  Everything is black with a white light shining on him where he is crouched down, so the only thing you see is Davey (it’s almost like he is glowing).

The extra titled “Familia” is great.  “Despair Faction” members (name of the fan club) and the band members talk about various songs, lyrics and other assorted things.  There is also an “easter egg” extra that you can find by using your right arrow button until you see the moth, on the lower right corner, highlighted, then press enter.  The four videos you see were some of the clues needed to help unravel a secret.  It ended up being a very elaborate scavenger hunt that resulted in tickets to an exclusive secret concert.  They really go above and beyond for their fans.

Interesting Trivia:

AFI stands for A Fire Inside.

One of the songs they performed called “This Time Imperfect” is actually a hidden track on the “Sing the Sorrow” CD.  It’s hidden after the end of “But Home is Nowhere”.  There is some dead space between the two songs, so you have to fast-forward a bit to get to it.

Jade’s brother, Smith Puget, is their tour manager.

Davey and Hunter are vegans (me too!).  Jade and Adam are vegetarians.

Both Davey and Jade are “Straight Edge”.

Davey and Jade have a side project, called “Blaqk Audio”.

Davey was also the vocalist for “Son of Sam”.

Jan

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