Cardiff, Wales (13-Oct-11)

Well, I haven't written on here for a while! I have been busy with other things, but I've been keeping an eye on the site occasionally to see how everyone is doing. I was pleased to see this show in Cardiff was filmed, as I attended the concert and found it enjoyable (then again, after the barely-a-performance Roundhouse gig from 2009, just about anything would have been impressive. But this concert was surely a vast improvement).

I've just written this review as a very quick first impression, so the following shouldn't be taken as the definitive word on the matter.

I haven't watched this film all the way though yet, but to be honest...I'm not really looking forward to doing so. This film seems to be very shaky for the most part. Significant parts of it border on being unwatchable. Yassou does his usual first-class job of editing and fixing, but overall the video is far too erratic to get much enjoyment from, even when 'cleaned up'. It's one of those films where you can't settle down and enjoy any of it because the camera is constantly flying off on a tangent. In other words, you have to work hard to enjoy it - much of it is headache-inducing to the extreme. The most enjoyable parts are where Yassou cuts to a still image and just lets the music play to that.

Although filmed in HD the picture quality is understandably murky and faded (low lighting), but also unnaturally jittery when the camera moves, which is the main problem here.

The upgade to the sound has been done very professionally as usual. The sound quality is much better than the visuals are, not top class but very listenable and not at all distorted. Having said that, it doesn't really capture the powerful impact and clarity of the sound as I experienced it on the night (the sound mix at the show was very good, as I have come to expect at Bob's shows). The recording does sound good overall, but it lacks a little punch, and so there is much less perceived volume in comparison to the 'real thing', even with the volume turned up.

So, I'm afraid to say this is not one of the better DVDs I've seen. Thanks as usual to all involved in the production, I appreciate all the effort that goes into the filming and production of these DVDs, but I can't really recommend this particular film due to it detracting from my enjoyment of the show more than it adds. Both Cardiff 2006 and Birmingham 2007 (other shows I attended) were recorded very well, so I have been spoiled by previous experiences I guess!


*As a slightly off-topic side note, Cardiff arena has a ridiculous seating design which restricts the view of many of the seats in the first few rows of the seating section at the back. If you have to attend a concert there, I suggest avoiding the first few rows of the seating section to reduce the significant risk of getting a bad seat (without any prior warning of restricted viewing, or indeed any ticket price reduction). I abandonded my seat after Mark Knopfler's set and joined the standing crowd, which could have been disastrous (certain members of the general admission crowd seem to be prone to spoiling things by being rude and/or inconsiderate to other audience members) but in this case actually saved the night. I meant to write a letter of complaint, but of course never got around to it. The performance itself was enjoyable, so despite the difficulties all turned out okay!)