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I managed to watch the first set of the DVD this evening and.....
it was absolutely captivating. This is not a biased comment because I happened to be at that same concert but somehow the whole production of the dvd creates the intimacy of the evening. No fancy wizardry with visual effects or split screens or 'over the top' lighting effects or frequent close up shots of the audience, which for many concerts on DVD are there to hype up the occasion and which can be annoying because you have to put up with them every time you watch the dvd.....this is how it was..this was Leonard and his band at their best.... nothing to detract from the sincerity of the occasion. Because of this, this is a special DVD. I don't want extra features and bonus material (I don't usually watch them anyway).... having a full concert with no gaps or clumsy editing between songs is very welcome.
For those who watch this dvd and did not get to see a concert this is as near as damn it to being there.... for those who have been to concerts it's a perfect memento.

I didn't watch the second set...the football started...too much excitement in one evening isn't good for me...but then again it probably is
Pete

I went to Best Buy today to pick up an IHome as I did download and listen to the CD from Itunes.

But for the hell of it, I went into the CD section to wanting to see what the album
packaging looked like. It was CD was sold out! They even had a sign for it in LC's section that said "Live in London on Sale $14.99"

There were two copies of the DVD above the CD's. I will wait to rent it.

The only CD's they had were The Best of.., The Esstential, Songs from A Room, and New Songs.

I loved the new CD! Very spiritual and emotional at times. Seems like LC sure hates the thought of being old.

Was not bothered by the intros one bit and thought they were fitting. To me LC was paying respect and excited about his bandmates.

In contrast, there is a Van Morrison Live CD from 1994 called "A Night in San Francisco". He shouts the name of each band member twice each time "Candy Dulfer, Candy Dulfer"..."Teena Lyle, Tenna Lyle" etc.

On this recent VM tour, he did not mention even ONE band member's name at any time of the show and they didn't intro themselves either.

Hi Pete,

I agreed with every word you said until the last line. How can anyone in their right mind prioritise a bunch of men in shorts kicking an inflated object round a field over the new Leonard Cohen DVD? (I wouldn't have even known about the "f word" if it hadn't been mentioned, here!).

Cheers, John E

I get to watch this tonight in about 20 minutes on CBC--last night I watched the first episode of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency downloaded from HBO. --what a great week for shows.

Just received my "Live In London" CD and DVD - am listening as I post this message. It's a wonderful reminder of the thrill of attending the Montreal concert last June. Boston next.....

i finally watched the dvd last night

my initial concern was the 4:3 aspect ratio, but the shoddy camera angles and editing were even worse

10 out of 10 for the concert, but the DVD quality is a big disappointment for me

i'm now wondering if the mooted "best of tour" blu-ray disc will also suffer from shoddy camera angles and editing?

What does everyone expect? The DVD is afilm of a concert, not a specially filmed production. Also I don't remember the cameras being too much of a nuisance for the audience. Personally, I think it's excellent and amazing value for money.

All good things, John E

I hadn't really thought about the camera angles and the aspect until I saw the complaints here, they didn't affect my enjoyment of the disc. The only thing I did notice is that poor Charley Webb was out of shot for a lot of the time, which is a shame, but overall I thought the disc was a fantastic record of the concert, and the best quality performance footage of Leonard I've seen.

John Etherington wrote:What does everyone expect?

I was hoping the DVD would at least be on a par with the quality of most other concert DVDs released these days.

As I said before, 10 out of 10 for the concert, but the filming and editing is shoddy, and 4:3 aspect ratio looks dated on widescreen TVs.

I'll treasure the DVD, but it could (and should) have been so much better.

I´m really happy with this DVD.

Both sound and editing are up to my expectations. Having recently watched other DVDs from artists from Cohen's generation (Juliette Greco...), I notice they all choose a quite simple editing. I have to admit that I'm glad they do it this way as, after all, their music and poetry is what comes in the first place.

Personally,I would not like LC paying huge amounts of money to film editors, producers etc..Instead, I prefer that this goes to his musicians.

Given the ongoing concerns about the filming of the concert maybe a repeat of my thoughts of Tuesday last wouldn't go amiss.

I received my CD/DVD yesterday afternoon from Amazon. Listened to the CD in the afternoon and watched the DVD last night. I am not a great fan of cardboard covers but what really counts is what is inside. I thought the CD was well recorded though I have no technical reasons to give, just a reasonably good pair of ears. I have always liked "live" CD's/LP's and it goes to prove, if proof were needed that real musicians can reproduce a studio sound in a concert hall. How refreshing when so much of today's music is merely a studio creation.

I have read many comments about the technical quality of the DVD and whilst it may not possess the technical wizardry of some music DVD's is that what we really need from a Leonard Cohen concert. I was pleased with the close up shots as it was the first time I had seen the concert close up. Unfortunately our seats were much further back, though at Manchester I sat right beside the mixing desks so the sound was excellent. Maybe this is a "taster" and an even better recording will be made available later, though personally I find it hard to believe that the concerts so far will be bettered. It is difficult to make something better when you have reached as close to perfection as possible, which, in my humble opinion is what Leonard Cohen and his incredible band of musicians have done.

Dave

dharma wrote:i finally watched the dvd last night

my initial concern was the 4:3 aspect ratio, but the shoddy camera angles and editing were even worse

10 out of 10 for the concert, but the DVD quality is a big disappointment for me

i'm now wondering if the mooted "best of tour" blu-ray disc will also suffer from shoddy camera angles and editing?

Seconded.

Well, at least that saves some of us having the "letter-box" effect when we watch it!

I watched the DVD.... I think its great!!!

I have really enjoyed remembering the show, But I am not sure why they did not put the following songs on the DVD...

1) The Partisan
2) Chelsea hotel
3) Famous blue raincoat

These are great songs that I really wish were on the DVD.

Goodfella213 wrote:I watched the DVD.... I think its great!!!

I have really enjoyed remembering the show, But I am not sure why they did not put the following songs on the DVD...

1) The Partisan
2) Chelsea hotel
3) Famous blue raincoat

These are great songs that I really wish were on the DVD.

Probably because he did not play them at the O2 that night. Not sure about The Partisan, but I am sure he did not play the other two on July 17th.