Live’s new live concert DVD and CD are now available. Just go get it and you won’t regret it. It’s live, loud and raw. It’s must have for anyone who likes, or ever did like, Live!

I have been eagerly anticipating my copy of the DVD and CD in the mail. I preordered mine through Friends of Live in order to support the band’s fanclub. Well yesterday it came. I couldn’t wait to open it and pop it into the DVD player.

I’ve got a high-end 10 foot movie screen with a high def 1080p projector in my media room at home. A Blue Ray player that upconverts. And an audio system that would make audiophiles drool.

I ran into the media room and fired the system up. Let me just say that the DVD experience was awesome. The digital 5.1 surround is fantastic. I love going to concerts, but getting to experience a bit of the concert experience in the privacy of my home allowed me to feel the goosebumps and emotion of the experience moreso than I would in a crowded room full of drunks. I lost my mother a few months ago and I listened to some Live music along the way in the process. After a decade of being devoted to the music, it just meant that much more to me to after that and it stirs emotions inside of me.

I always get goosebumps when I hear the crowd at a concert singing the songs along with Ed and he turns the microphone over to them. There’s a bunch of that on this DVD, like in I Alone, Lightening Crashes, and Overcome. It’s really special stuff and highlights not only the connection of the band to its fans, but also the fans to each other. It’s like “Hey, I really get this and you all get this too. We’re responding as one.”

What am I not crazy about on this DVD? It took me a little while to get used to the rapid switching of the camera angles and the zooming and out of focus shots as the footage is rolling. It creates a somewhat frenetic feel to the footage, and I get it. I get that they are trying to capture the moment and the energy by washing it all over you. But there are times when I would have liked a long shot of Chad doing the stomp, of Ed dancing around, of Patrick grooving – like you would do as you stare onto the stage at a concert. I wanted a little more of that on this DVD.

Then I have the obvious complaint, and I feel the same way about every concert I go to. It ain’t done till I get to hear White Discussion. I don’t feel ridden hard and put away wet unless I have heard Ed, Chad, Pat and Chad squeeze every last drop out of White Discussion. I want jumping, screaming, stomping, pounding and thumping just before the lights go up. When it’s over, I want to look at the guy next to me and say “Wow, WTF just happened?!”. I don’t want to walk out of a concert venue or push “eject” on my DVD player after Dance With You. That’s a lullaby and White Discussion is a grenade between the ears. Just my two cents.

The CD seems to be mixed just right. I loved listening to it in the car this morning. Man, this CD is the best capture of a live performance I have ever heard. Ever. Just brilliant.