What do you think about concert videos?

This question has entered my mind due to recent radio commercials pushing "qello" as the next best thing for concert videos. The commercial has two guys talking about enjoying certain concerts and eventually leads the listener to understand the guy who has "been to everything" is sitting at home watching the concert on his TV.
I find myself thinking, "where is the fun in that"? If I am going to enjoy a concert I want to be immersed in the total package, which includes physically being at the actual concert. To me watching a concert on video, while sitting at home, seems like a let down and only allows me a very small portion of what was offered at the actual live concert. I know I will find all sorts of opinions on this subject. When you let me know what you think of video concerts I would like some reasons why to help me get a better perspective. Thanks and have a great day.

 

I love concert videos, have been collecting them since the VHS days, sometimes I play them more than the studio albums. In fact these days I'm not really interested in live albums anymore unless they also have a video of the performance. Sometimes I'll watch the concert, other times I'll just listen to the audio from it while working around the apartment. Hi-res audio on a lot of these discs is another bonus aspect, I can either buy a 16-bit CD version of the live album or get 24-bit on a blu-ray? Sign me up for the blu-ray.

There have also been several bands that I've becomes fans of thanks to their concert videos. Sometimes the studio recordings of a band don't really make an impact, but hearing them and seeing them play live (whether on video or in person) will be the deciding factor. A couple of my favorite bands are Porcupine Tree and Opeth, in both cases it was concert videos that really got me interested (Arriving Somewhere by Porcupine Tree, Lamentations by Opeth). Same goes for Rush, back in the early 80s it was the VHS of Exit...Stage Left that turned me into a Rush fanatic.

 

I love 'em !

Especially if the video isn't jumping all over the place and shows a view of the entire stage and musicians in it's editing. Close up's of finger movement for instance are OK if not too long but I prefer an entire musician/instrument closeup. Plus of course, if the concert is available in regular DVD in a lossless sound format without having to by a bluray, which I don't have yet, makes it more intriguing.

Oh and another thing...most of the bands I'm interested in are pretty much in the past...so archive concerts are what I like, not a recent one by the old timers except for someone like Los Lobos that still, to me, have the mojo. I've got their, I think it is, 2004 concert DVD and it's in LPCM lossless sound !

Also, for instance, I have The Who's Isle of Wight in both the LPCM lossless (first DVD release) and the later lossy sound DVD and I much prefer the original. Why they did the 'remake' in lossy sound I'll never understand. You'd think a reissue should be better...ala cd's and how many of the reissues are brickwalled. Unbelievable how producers/engineers/artists believe this sort of thing to be superior. What's wrong with them ?

 

I really enjoy most concert videos. At most big arena shows these days, you end up watching a screen anyway, so why not do it in the comfort of your own home?

 

I would prefer the life experience, but that's not always an option. In that cases a good concert movie can be great (LCD Soundsystem). Or it can be a good way to repeat the event (Prince -SOTT).

 

I think you hit the nail on the head...the editing is a huge factor whether I enjoy a concert video or not. If the cuts are too quick, it can ruin the experience and just become a dizzying mess. I want to be able to watch a performer play for more than 2 seconds at a time.

 

Which is why I did not enjoy McCartney's Space Within US DVD ...

 

I guess it's cleared up now but I didn't like being in a concert hall filled with tobacco and marijuana smoke. Or being in the Bob Uecker seats. Or the prices charged now. But a good concert is far better than a good video.

 

I've seen 40 years of live concerts including most of the biggies and all my favorites, at this point I would rather just stay home and watch it on dvd. I guarantee I won't go to another concert unless I can get a seat in the first 6 rows close to the stage.

 

I love the live experience, but concert videos are very cool too. If I'm at home and I feel like watching some Jeff Beck, I pop in a DVD and enjoy him playing. Of course if he's in town, then I'll go to see him live. Doesn't have to be one or the other.

 

I like being back enough to be near a sweet spot, if there is one. I like the nuances of facial expression etc...being close but the balance of that and sound are what I aim for. Most 'arena' (~ 10,000 seats) shows I've seen I prefer about 12-15 rows back from the front and smaller venues inching in as the sound balances. A few shows I've been to where you can actually put your arms up on the stage have been fun. The last was Sonic Youth and I stood directly under Kim Gordon and took some great pictures and being such a small place the sound was good right there too. Here's how close I was.

 

I enjoy them!

 

They have now gotten to the point that they seem so fake that I just might start going to concerts again. The lead vocals almost always look like they were completely re-done these days. Singers pull away from the mic and you hear no variation etc. A real disconnect, all the way around, from what you see and hear. They do a good job of syncing things up though.

 

Good point, OP. In fact, why listen to recordings at all, when you can just go to the show?

 

I have a few concert videos but rarely look at them. I would much rather listen to a live CD or good quality bootleg CD of a show I attended. But, as the op stated, nothing better than being there.

 

Not as big a fan as I'd expect to be. I have a hundred or so, but rarely watch them.
Why? Most bands aren't very interesting to look at for any extended time. Most videos focus way too often on the lead singer. Too many videos focus on the wrong instrument at the wrong time. Too many videos have way too much rapid cut editing. For many artists, I'd be much happier with a single cam at the mixing board that would let me see the lights and effects I'd be seeing in the hall.

Add to this my hypothesis that the extra activity and expense involved in a video shoot seems to lead to stilted performances, making it that much less likely to catch lightning in a bottle.

 

As I've gotten older I like them more. Super bummed out with concert experience with cost and cost of parking.

 

music videos in general (including concerts) do nothing for me.

music is to be listened to, and seen live, not watched on TV.

it's like a comedy album, how many times can you really listen to it?

 

I'm always stoked when the opportunity to get a concert video from a fave artists appears, especially when it's a vintage artifact, but I don't end up watching them very much. I'll play an artist's live album over 10 times for every one time I'll watch a concert video. I actually prefer artist documentaries for repeated watching over concert footage. When I'm in front of the TV, I want to be told a story. Music's for the ears.

 

McCartney has some of the worst official concert videos of anyone. Every concert of his that is filmed by a local crew to show on TV in those areas (like Quebec, Halifax, Japan, various South American countries, etc.) are always far superior to anything he puts out himself. Sad.

 

Even when I was younger I never really enjoyed "the concert experience". I hate being crammed into a bunch of strangers, straining to see what is going on, rarely having sound that is anywhere above mediocre, and that is with a well-behaved audience. Throw in a bunch of drunks, people around you singing along and dancing to every song, then parking and traffic nightmares on top of it... no thanks.

I would choose a well-done concert video every time over actually going to the live performance.

 

Another concert DVD junkie here.

Bad post-production can sink any concert video and it happens too often. Usually they make it feel like a 2 hour music video and not a document of an even in real time.

I go to lots of concerts, but videos have defunct acts, are a fraction of the price, you get better/varied sight lines of the show and you can revisit it multiple times.