[Originally Published: December 24, 2009]
Making a list of the Best Concert DVDs of 2008 was a struggle, because there weren’t many quality releases to choose from. This year, we have the opposite problem as there were tons of terrific Concert DVD releases.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Best Concert DVDs of 2009…
Arcade Fire fans were thrilled when the band announced they would be releasing a concert film chronicling the recording of Neon Bible and the subsequent tour. Unfortunately, director Vincent Morisset works so hard at not being a typical concert film that the documentary, which appears to be shot by cell phone cameras at points, isn’t all that entertaining. The bonus material makes Miroir Noir worth owning and earns it a spot on this list.
9. Return to Forever – Live at Montreux 2008
Legendary jazz fusion supergroup Return to Forever reunited in 2008 and this DVD gives a good illustration of how good this group of musicians continues to be. Filmed in Montreux, Return to Forever Returns contains a nice of mix of tunes from all of their albums played with passion and verve.
READ ON for the rest of our list of Best Concert DVDs of 2009…
Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Dimeola and Lenny White could do no wrong for the near capacity crowd populating The United Palace Theatre August 6th. This may explain why the quartet known as Return to Forever, acknowledged the roar of acclamation from the audience by immediately striding to the front of the stage, as performers usually do at the end of their show.
Bob Belden’s extensive liner notes for Return to Forever’s The Anthology depict the chronology of the band in such a way that the evolution of the group in its various incarnations becomes very distinct. In the same way, the music on the two-disc collection delineates how the four-man group distinguished itself from its peers during the halcyon days of jazz-rock fusion.
