Search - Derek Webb: How to Kill and Be Killed on DVD

Some dissapointments, but still a decent pickup.

Shane Bertou | 10/23/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Derek Webb has established himself as one of the most important and culturally relevant voices in the modern Christian church. As a founding member of pop-supergroup Caedmon's Call, and throughout his solo career, Webb's heart-cry for purity and redemption has stood out as convicting, powerful and painfully honest. He has taken this message of reformation everywhere from small house gatherings to summer festivals. It is a medicine that may not always taste pleasant - but is desperately needed.

How to Kill and Be Killed is a DVD that captures one of Webb's performances while on tour to support I See Things Upside Down, his second studio effort. It features a variety of songs from Webb's repertoire, including several Caedmon's tunes and a Woodie Guthrie cover, with the full backing of a band of very talented musicians. The performance itself is solid. It's everything you'd expect from Derek Webb; passionate, challenging and insightful. When it means to rock, it does. The backing musicians include a "who's who" of "hired guns" who compliment Derek's style fabulously. And in its most tender moments it is emotionally transfixing, as you would expect from a Derek Webb offering.

Where this product falls terribly flat is in its production quality. The audio mix is a bit rough and Derek's vocals are often buried and muddled. At times it's downright uncomfortable to listen to. Visually it doesn't do much better either. It does offer a wide variety of camera angles (including the uber-annoying "web cam" view). Unfortunately the camerawork is poor with many shots being out of focus, or of nothing at all.

The "extras" consist of a slideshow and some interview footage. The interviews are a great feature as Webb speaks candidly for nearly a half an hour on Christians in the arts, the role of the church and several other pertinent topics. The only drawback is, again, the production quality. It's often times hard to hear the audio (which sounds like it was recorded on a camcorder) over the music bed that plays throughout.

Even with this product's production woes it is still worth picking up. Particularly if you are a fan of Derek Webb's music. The song selection is great and the performance is entertaining to watch. And it's relatively inexpensive as well. If you can get over some of the visual flaws and other disappointments you'll find this DVD to be a worthwhile investment. [...]"

Webb is truely a master of metaphors.

M. S. Spurlock | 02/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There isn't a musician out there who is able to articulate orthodox theology like Derek Webb. This DVD includes some songs from Caedmons and a lot of his early solo stuff. So there is nothing on here from Mockingbird. I hope that he comes out with a double disc or something that has every song he's ever written on it, but I doubt that will happen.
The camera angles aren't the greatest, and can be annoying at times.
Derek Webb should be heard by every Christian. Most won't like him, but they are probably tares anyways. lol
This DVD is wonderful. Derek Webb is amazing. I own everything that has his name on it. This is a good buy.
"

Great!

Timothy Reynolds | minnesota | 03/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the first person to review this dvd isnt really reviewing the dvd as much as talking about derek's philosophy, but if thats what he wants... Derek has made it clear that he never said that works are a means by which we attain salvation. However if your faith isnt such that it compells you to do such works, then maybe you dont have saving faith. We are to be so grateful and joyful knowing that we are saved in Christ that we should be out proclaiming the kingdom in every possible way. America has really watered down faith and christianity so much that people like the first reviewer cant even understand what it really is. I dont know how we got to this point, but reading the bible on a consistent basis (with understanding and proper exegesis) would clear a lot of things up.

Anyways... great song choices and instrumental performances (especially on lover part 2 and ballad in plain red). Production quality wasnt horrible but it wasnt great either. Derek missed a few notes here and there, but it's not like I could do any better. Overall a great DVD for fans of DW."