Search - Catch the Men on DVD

A disappointing introduction to front 242 live

anarch | dallas TX | 11/27/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"i own quite a few front 242 CDs, so maybe i expected too much...but i was really disappointed. the vocals were too prominent and abrasive, to the detriment of the music. the DVD contains no special features, but the video quality is good (although somewhat dark). i did not find this DVD entertaining."

A fair but unaccurate live showcase

0=0 | Earth | 05/02/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing Front 242 live in late 2005 brought back lots of great memories, as they did classics from their "Back Catalogue" years--performed with all the zeal and energy of a band basking in the glory of their accomplishments, whose sound was finally matched by the stage technology to fully realize their vision. Unfortunately this dvd, filmed at some European festival where many of the audience don't seem to be fans, or familiar at least, act like idiots. I'll never get why dvds like this get released--these festival dvds, unless its geared towards showcasing the festival itself. I want to see Front 242 live, with their "tribe", their true, actual fanbase--that's part of witnessing the live experience. Here we see a band not delving deep enough into their vast and varied catalog but instead keeping with the faster-paced, newer, uptempo stuff, to keep the clueless crowd dancing, or whatever. At one point some moron throws a bottle onstage and it was Richard 23 who actually called the person on it, offering to fight him (or her)--nobody really seems to know who did it--an unexpected, somewhat entertaining moment. Anyhow, I bought this dvd shortly after seeing 242 melt some faces in DC, where the small venue was packed with fans who "knew"--knew the classics, the mysterious, atmospheric, downtempo masterpieces like "Don't Crash" as well as the more recent , fast-paced stormers like "Modern Angel". The peaks and valleys, the old and new is what made the show so special, and 242 delivered, feeding off the crowd's energy and vice versa. Hopefully Front 242 soon release another live dvd showcasing this excellent tour, because frankly, this is OK, but doesn't represent the true Front 242 live experience, believe me."