| DVDylan ID: | D754 |
| Recording type: | Audience |
| City/Venue: | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA, USA |
| Date: | Thursday, 26th July 2007 |
OK, there you are, sitting peaceably at some concert, Artist comes on stage, to be greeted by the female [this time] in front of you jumping up from her seat and proceding to remain standing/dancing the whole evening. What goes through your mind ? Well you're male, so she'll get a quick once-over whatever, and depending on the results of that inspection, and on who's sitting in the seat next to you, the descision will be made as to what further interest should be taken. [Feminists don't complain, we're men, it's in our genes, just as much as your wearing make-up etc, but that's another story]
1] She might just have stood up because the folk in front of her were standing and so on down the line.
2] Or on a first approximation, she might just be one of those extroverts for whom the idea of a 5,000+ crowd looking at someone else and not her is something to be countered in any way possible.
3] Digging a bit deeper, there's the Cultist interpretation. To show that she's not just one of the Level-1 plebs who only sing and clap along, she's displaying her Level-7 status [or hoped for status] as one of the chosen, one of the true believers who at the mere presence of The Master are carried of to some heights of ecstacy.
4] And at the bottom ? Back to the genes again. Just part of some mating ritual, at core just as formalised as any Swan Dance. Easily decoded, just a simple look at me, I'm young(ish), fit, my bit's are all in the right places, I'd make good breeding stock. Aimed at ? - well both present and/or future mates, present and/or future breeding partners, [and only a fool would think that they are necessarily the same.]
You've got 20 odd minutes to decide, for our taper here has had to film under the right arm of one such dancing fool. [1]'s easily dismissed, there's enough camera shots to show that by and large most of the crowd were well enough behaved and stayed seated. I'll leave it to you to decide the weighting to apply to No.'s 2-4.
And what did he get ? not a lot really, only the 7 songs, mostly clipped but not badly filmed. Picture's clean and clear enough. Sound though is another matter, even I found it fairly unbearably at times, but whether there's enough footage here to make a .su worthwhile, I'll leave it others more skilled than me to decide.
You won't have wasted your time watching this, and at only 28 minutes in total, a fine one to pop in the machine when time's on the short side.
As I still wouldn't give a .su more than 4 stars, can't see how this'd then be worth more than a 3, so I'll leave it there.
Reviewed by napbon on 27th January 2009
Despite the low star rating, as the above reviewer states this one is actually not too bad. Also, if you are like me and hardly ever have time to sit down and indulge in a two-hour DVD straight through without any interruptions (it would be nice though!), then you will find these short 'documents' not so bad after all. What lets this DVD down is that most of the songs are cut just as they are building up steam or even before they get off the ground. The sound quality seems to vary according to each song. The first songs it seems a bit rough, then it gets much better but then badly deteriorates during "Blowin' in the Wind" but then gets better again. What was going on with the taper's mic? The complete version of "Thin Man" is actually very well performed and worth watching and as for bonus tracks: "Spirit on the Water" has been captured in great audio quality and shows some nice close-ups of Mr. D. but the sound quality in "Thunder on the Mountain" is not as good and the song is once again clipped unfortunately. This is definitely a 'shelfer' but worth one quick watch I guess.
Reviewed by Blackburne on 14th March 2008
The video is a one-timer for sure, it has a few sweet moments but this one will sit on the shelf. Still I am glad for the opportunity to watch a few moments of July Bob in California, stealth filming is not easy. Thank you to the filmers, editor, dylanfanandy and friends for putting this into circulation for the bobsessed among us.
Meanwhile - special early request to the busy Bob recording elves - either or both of the Nashville shows are on my wish list. Ciao.
Reviewed by mary on 03rd October 2007
I give this DVD a strong 3 although I should probably rate it higher. To be quite honest, it's not as bad as some films I've seen rated as 4s and 5s from previous years where the picture is quite blurry. The reason I am not rating it higher is not because of quality but because most songs are abbreviated, and it is an incomplete show. I can tell you one thing, it was not filmed on a cell phone. I went through great pains to obtain this DVD from the filmer, Hudson Hawk, from Glendale AZ. The colors are bright and clear and because it is shot from a distance, most of the players are usually in the frame. A bonus for me is that I was in the audience for this excellent show and can see myself and friends in the footage.
Reviewed by dylanfanandy on 24th September 2007
It is nice to have footage from the west coast swing, summer 2007, but i'm afraid that's all this has to recommend it.
poor resolution, looks like it might be cell phone shots.
Completist material I'd say, otherwise for a good US summer DVD try Wantagh D759.su.
thanks to the taper for trying, the trader for sharing, and DVDylan.community
Reviewed by jman on 23rd September 2007