Search - Butch Walker - Live at Budokan on DVD

Butch DVD

Ben Dugan | Flying Monkey Killer | 12/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So I knew this came out a few weeks back. I was intending to order it when I had the chance, but something weird happened:
At my local record shoppe, a place where I have never been able to find a Butch Walker record on sale, just a blank stare and a mumbled, "well, we can order it for you. I guess", however I came across "Live at Budokon", Butch Walker's new two hour DVD live concert extravagnaza. So yeah, I immediatly purchased it immediatly and headed forth home to watch it.
What you get here is a thirty minute live concert at the Budokon in Japan, obviously from one of Butch's opening dates with Avril Lavigne, and a ninty minute acoustic concert from Atlanta back in '03. Both are made up of material from "Letters", "Left of Self Centered" and some Marvelous 3 songs thrown in for good measure. If you are looking for stuff off of "The Rise and the Fall..." well, I'm sorry.
The Budokon concert is fine, fairly stock. The performance is excellent, as usual for the man, but as it is an opening show, by the time the band reaches their groove and energy level is at it's peak, the show is winding down. However, the song selection is excellent, mostly pulling from the more electric stuff from "Letters", and is defintley worth a look for Butch Walker fans.
However, the acoustic performance from 2003, is excellent. Butch is loose and funny, and his crowd interaction is excellent. The set list is great up and down, featuring some new arrangements of songs from "Left of Self Centered" and some old Marvelous 3 fans. As an added bonus, Jayce and Slug, bassist and drummer of the Marvies respectively, play on "Every Monday" and "Freak of the Week", and for fans this is makes the DVD a must purchase.
The sound quality for both shows is excellent and the editing/ camerawork is never too hectic or overstated. This is the rare live DVD that makes you feel like you're at the show, rather then watching some ninty minute music video.
Why the acoustic performance isn't the main item on the DVD I will never understand. But this DVD is worth purchasing if you are a Butch Walker fan or want to convert someone to the cult of B. Diddy. It is an excellent package for a decent price and will give you many repeat viewings.
One of the best live DVD's on the market right now."

Too Much Rawk for Just one Hand!

Ravenskya | 02/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a fan of Butch's from the mid 90's. I've seen the Marvelous 3 play several times (3 in Jacksonville, 1 in Orlando, 2 in Chattanooga, and 2 in Atlanta). I was among those devastated by the Breakup of the Marvelous 3. When this DVD came out, I ordered it on multiple occasions and every time it was backordered for months. So much love to Amazon for finally getting the DVD into my possession.

Now for the review of the actual DVD:

First, there is no booklet, very little artwork, and no special features. (Not a picture of Butch ANYWHERE!!) The DVD starts out with a few songs of a show done in Japan when he was opening for Avril Levine. I was disappointed that this DVD's sound was made to play over a 2 speaker TV. I had high hopes for playing this over my surround sound and reliving the late 90's for 2 hours, no dice. However the sound quality IS good for a live performance. In the Tokyo show, you cannot hear or see the crowd, so a lot of his talking to them comes across a little strange as there is no response, no applause, nothing. In between the songs there are little bits of him and the band wandering around Tokyo, or getting their makeup done for the show, but nothing really telling about him.

The Budokan show was in my mind, only a so-so performance in comparison to what I have seen Butch do live. The camera shots were often to close to see his "throw the pick, kick it, catch it, and never miss a beat of the song antics). They also spent an awful lot of time focusing in on the other members of the band. As a whole, the set was not as tight or fluid as I was used to seeing from Butch.

Now the "Bonus Live Acoustic Set" was worth every penny I spent on this DVD. Butch in a "living room" type set, with an acoustic guitar talking to the audience, playing the songs I love along with his typical banter and mocking of other musicians. Here he is in his glory, belting out his heart and soul to the audience and sounding beyond incredible. In my opinion, this should have been the focus of the DVD with the Budokan show as a little bonus for those who wanted to hear a few electric songs. The almost orgasmic highlight was Jayce and Slug walking up on stage to play "Freak of the Week" and "Every Monday" with him. In this 90 minutes of the DVD Butch is brilliant, funny, and back to the Butch we knew with the Marvelous 3. This DVD is a must have for any die hard Butch or Marvie fanatic. If you know the orgasmic power of Butch picking up his red white and blue guitar, or know how to show "Too Much Rawk for just one hand" then you need to go ahead and order this DVD.

Rating:
For the Budokan show - 3 Stars
For the Acoustic show - 5 Stars

In the end 4 of 5 stars... sorry Butch but you should have picked one of your better shows for the opening part of the DVD, Budokan was not one of your best performances.
"

Marvelous Butch

P-head | Honolulu | 03/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hopefully if you buy this you're familiar with Mr. Walker from the poorly named (but musically excellent) Marvelous 3, and/or his solo efforts, the rockin' "Left of Self Centered" or the the mellower "Letters".
The Budokan portion of the DVD is a ratty but fun run through of "Radio Tokyo", "Uncomfortably Numb", "#1 Summer Jam", "Last Flight" (a song I didn't kow) "Mixtape", "Best Thing You Never Had", and "Lights Out"--the camera work is good, the audio clear, just not the best BAND, frankly. The bonus concert (Atlanta '03) on the other hand is f--king BRILLIANT. Worth the price of admission. If you've never heard Butch/and/or the Marvelous 3, buy any/all of their albums first. If you're already a fan, watch the Atlanta portion of the DVD and cry that you weren't there...."