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Better Than Ezra has been one of the
best kept secrets in the area of live performances. Their show is
entertaining and original. Most importantly, their live music is very well
performed as they faithfully recreate their music live. Alas, this
shouldn't be a well kept secret. If more people knew just what an
incredible band this is, they would be infinitely more popular.
Therefore, the most important thing Better
Than Ezra needs to accomplish in a live album is successfully
communicate the quality of their live performance and energy. In that
regard, Live at the House of Blues, New Orleans is quite a success,
and its clear from the opening track, Misunderstood. One of the
highlights of any live performance is the opportunity the artist has to
talk with the audience. A few of these moments are provided on disc, such
as Kevin's introduction to Live Again and Porcelain and
during Desperately Wanting.
Speaking of Porcelain, another joy that
comes from live performances is the opportunity for the band to perform
alternate versions of favorite songs. As Kevin says, Porcelain has
become on of the most requested songs at a BTE concert for years.
This is because of the incredible "voodoo" version that made its debut
during the How Does Your Garden Grow? tour. This version is
presented and archived here for our joy.
The final aspect of live concerts that is
important come from extended "jams" during favorite songs. Instances of
this show up in Live Again, King of New Orleans, Rosealia,
and Desperately Wanting. It should be noted that the songs on the
album do not appear in order of the actual concert, and the album does not
contain the complete concert. I am not a fan of incomplete, or hacked up
and rearranged concert albums, but here, the arrangement works well as an
album.
However, as a bonus, two new studio tracks are
tucked in at the end of the album. Cold Year is a great song,
filled with energy. It is such a great song, it eventually reached the
number one spot on
www.alternativeaddiction.com, the online Mecca of alternative music.
Stall is an good jive, but ultimately leaves a bit to be desired
and leaves me feeling a bit dirty. Both of these tracks are only available
on Live at the House of Blues, and will not appear on Better
Than Ezra's forthcoming release, Before the Robots.
A DVD version of this concert was also
released under the same name. Noticeably absent for the DVD are the two
studio tracks, Cold Year and Stall tucked at the end of the
album. However, the DVD contains several songs on it not included on the
album. These include the opening song Recognize, a short rendition
of Beautiful Mistake, Waxing or Waning, the favorite This
Time of Year, and the closing jam Use Me. The biggest loss the
album has is Use Me, as the incredible jam and peel off exit each
musician makes is incredible...and the highlight of the concert DVD.
But the DVD has its draw backs as well. The
energy and performance is mostly lost due to the poor, overly bright stage
lighting, and similarly poor cinematography. It comes off as an amateur
video. This is most likely due to the capabilities at the House of Blues
than anything else. The clips are edited well, showing that the band
worked well with what they have.
The DVD also includes a neat documentary
Close, But Not Touching, yielding a nice behind the scenes look
at the band. However, at a retail price of $24.99, this DVD is
slightly underwhelming...especially if you also bought the album at
$14.99. Thankfully, the band offers a bundle sale on both the DVD and
album through their website,
helping fans save a little money.
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