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In Short: A basic disc, a great concert. The film: Natalie Merchant, who used to be the lead singer for the famed 10,000 Maniacs, shows off what she can do solo in this New York City performance that goes through 12 of her more famed efforts, including "These Are Days", from her days with the Maniacs. Her performance here is excellent, showing off her goregous voice and a few dance moves as she glides across the stage. The film starts off with Natalie's fans outside talking about the singer, and ends with her leaving the concert. It's not needed, and personally, I'd recommend starting at chapter 2. It's unfortunate that the DVD isn't quite up to the level of presentation that it could be. The experience starts with taking a look at how flimsy the cover is. It's like a snapper case (the ones you see from Warner Brothers discs) without the snap; the DVD simply sits on a little foam plug. Yikes. The image quality is not terribly impressive, either: although quite a bit of the performance looks clear and smooth, there are quite a few scenes that look grainy and slightly pixelated. The image is letterboxed at about 1.85:1 during the concert. The sound fares better, with the 5.1 channel sound delivering a realistic concert environment and capturing the instrumentals and more importantly, Merchant's voice, wonderfully. While it isn't quite as impressive in terms of audio as Sarah McLachlan's "Mirrorball", it certainly does deliver nicely. There's no extras to speak of here, and although some of the aspects of this disc come up a little short, the performance and especially Merchant's great vocal talent, easily redeem the disc's shortcomings. Grade:B BACK TO THE SITE: Listing Of DVD Special Sales Back To A Guide To Current Film A List Of Current/Upcoming DVD For Sale Soundtracks For Current Films |