Tonight, I finally got around to watching the Queensryche: Operation LiveCrime disc that I bought last weekend during my Media Play shopping spree (dvd glutton that I am). I wonder if this qualifies as "music that is Holy and Good".

The LiveCrime concert, recorded in the fall of 1991, was a live rendition of Queensryche's epic Operation Mindcrime album performed in its entirity. Now it has been remastered and re-released on DVD. Yeaa!

The age of the video is apparent in both the style and quality. Unlike more recent productions, there is some visible grain in the picture. The production makes heavy use of video strobe effects and quick cuts, which were in voge at that time, especially for metal bands. Personally, I much prefer the more organic filming approach used for the Evolution DVD; it feels more real to me. The strobing does work to good dramatic effect during the Suite Sister Mary climax though.

Something every music dvd should have (but for some unimaginable reason, some of them don't): Subtitles with lyrics (assuming the music has lyrics). Thank goodness, this one does, because it's not always easy to understand what Geoff is singing beneath the chorus of guitars, and words are especially critical for following the story. Even though I have practically memorized the entire album through multiple readings of the lyric book that came with the cd, it's still nice to be able to read the words in nice crisp letters at the bottom of the screen. Score thumbs up for that.

The stage where they perform features two giant video screens behind the band, not unlike the setup they had when I heard them at Red Rocks in 97. During the performance, film clips illustrating the story run in the background, adding an additional visual dimension to the experience. (Geoff talks about the band's experiments over the years with syncing video and music in real time on the interview. Fascinating technological innovations. More on that in a bit.)

Of course, the gifted Pamela Moore joins Geoff to sing on Suite Sister Mary, a duet of operatic proportions, which is excellent.

Personally, my favorite song of the bunch was also the song I loved most when I attended the Red Rocks concert. Breaking the Silence. Geoff and the boys just do an absolutely amazing rendition of that song live. It's a great song on the album. When sung before a crowd, it's pure magic. It nearly moves me to tears.

The in the bonus section, the DVD features a series of stills containing text which explains the narrative (in case you didn't follow the lyrics), and also fills in some of the story gaps not explained in the lyrics. Nice.

There's three interview sections (totalling around 20 minutes?) where Geoff talks about how the band was formed, where he got the initial inspiration for Mindcrime (in a Catholic Church late at night; "a religios experience... and I really thought, 'this is God speaking to me or something'"), how the tour progressed, and looking back at the album that is considered by most fans the best work Queensryche has ever done.

Definitely a worthy dvd for any Queensryche fan. I say thumbs up.

Coming next week: Restaurant reviews, starting with 3 Margaritas in the Broomfield location.

Just kidding. ;)

Seriously though, I was so full from lunch today that I didn't eat any supper. Now I'm finally starting to get hungry. It's what, midnight? Eeek. Maybe a small snack before I go to bed.