Everyone is getting into DVD now. The Lord of the Rings: Extended Cut and
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones are in stores today, along with many other
new movies. But, the music scene is also getting into them. Finally, fans
can get the music videos or a whole concert on DVD for viewing over and over
in their home. cMusicWeb.com plans to keep you informed on the latest in
music DVD, so stay tuned! This week we have our first DVD review, and yes,
that's me getting long-winded about all the features on 11ive:

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11IVE - JARS OF CLAY (2002)
by Dan Ficker

The DVD is the latest craze in home entertainment. It boasts higher video
quality than VHS, support for multiple audio tracks, and, finally, no
rewinding before you give it back to Blockbuster. But not many bands have
used DVD yet, especially in Christian circles. However, Jars of Clay is one
band that stays on the trend, getting their DVD out before it becomes hard
to find VHS' of your favorite movies at your local store. The band
themselves uses cutting edge technology in home DVD authoring to deliver
11ive, which includes a full-featured concert and so much more. And, yes,
this proves that the Jars still have not lost their edge, especially when
they are on stage.

The disc opens right away with the main feature, the concert. The boys
introduce themselves amidst a montage of clips from the show while "I'm
Alright" plays in the background. The strings of the "Crazy Times" bridge
brings a short intro to the show with the guys backstage, getting "ready to
rock." Although the crowd at this point had never heard songs from their
current disc, The Eleventh Hour, the band opened with "Disappear," garnering
somewhat of a response from the crowd. They really struck a chord with the
audience on their next track, "Like A Child." Lead singer Dan Haseltine had
fun jumping around the stage during the extended jam to close the song. The
trio of string players brought a much fuller sound to much of Jars'
material, including this one. As "iwanttoknowwhy" flashed on the video
screen, the opening of "Unforgetful You" was played, complete with Dan on
accordion and funkier keyboard effects on the bridge. Their only song from
the amazing Much Afraid disc, "Crazy Times" rocked probably the most of the
night's set, including lots of jumping and the signature guitar solo from
Matt Odmark. A backstage interlude includes a bunch of silly remarks from
the band, keeping it light. Jumping right back into the music, "Collide" was
next, including a more prominent electric guitar part. Featuring excellent
harmonies and prominent keyboards via Charlie Lowell, "Love Song for a
Savior" brings back more of the old times when they did not use electric
guitars. Asking the audience to sing out, it quickly turned into a quiet
time of worship. Rambling on about everything new (single, album, haircuts,
toothbrushes, etc.) the Jars continue the worshipful tone with "I Need You."
Introducing more new songs, Dan told the story behind "Fly," a romance
between a couple, even though the woman is dying from cancer. Another little
interlude took the viewer behind the scenes, looking at different parts of
the concert production, including a time lapse of setting up the concert. A
sextet of gospel singers shuffle in the back of the stage to backup the band
on "I'm Alright." The band certainly shows excitement of having all these
extra little fillings for the concert video, and it helps create a bigger
sound. Cranking it up one last time, "Revolution" rocks the crowd with the
help of the backup singers. "Flood" marks the last track of the show,
bringing the original acoustic rock fad to DVD and asking the crowd to fill
in the blanks. The trio of strings are back for this song again, making it
sound fantabulous.

A brief backstage interview of the band talks about the band and The
Eleventh Hour. "The Edge of Water" starts the encore, complete with more
strings and a lengthened ending. The gem of the disc for longtime fans is
probably this full performance of the epic "Worlds Apart," first beginning
with Dan singing and Matt on guitar and harmony. The only thing missing from
this one is the female vocals that they just drop. But, never fear, the
extensive bridge is there, and brings in full band with some atmospheric
electric and drums. The instrumental part afterwards makes it a really
beautiful version of the song. The instrumental portion includes videos of
different parts of the world, ending in the beautiful face of Jesus and
turning into a chorus of "Hallelujah."

Towards the other end of the arena they set up an intimate acoustic set, and
while they were walking over to it, they included a bunch of funny clips.
Set up in a circle with the company of a string bass and other orchestral
instruments, they struck off the set with "a very old song," "Boy on a
String." Saying that they need a new version to enjoy an ancient song, they
go into a more keyboard-driven, slower version of "Liquid," which was
interesting to hear at a different pace. "Needful Hands" is handled almost
verbatim to the version on Exodus. Rounding off the set is "Something
Beautiful," another enjoyable song from The Eleventh Hour. And finally,
while the credits roll the ladies from the gospel group goofing off about
their new group, "bottles of dirt."

Sadly, the video quality on this disc was overall pretty poor. First of all,
nothing on the disc is shown in anamorphic widescreen, which has a higher
quality and is optimized for the future of video... widescreen TVs. Much of
the video from montages and such, especially making-of or backstage
interviews, is a very grainy picture. The concert footage is just fine,
because it was produced for Pay-Per-View TV, but the whole DVD suffers from
very unprofessional video quality in spots. Problems bringing the video to
DVD format were also found, as the edges of objects are commonly blurred,
and the bright stage lights easily bleed their color onto neighboring
objects. The content of the video is always entertaining, but suffers from
poor video quality, which cannot be due to their attempt to squeeze over two
hours of video footage on a single DVD. For example, The Fellowship of the
Ring has three hours of the movie on a single disc, and every shot from that
movie looks better than this disc, which implies that the Jars could have
worked for better video quality.

Another skimpy portion of 11ive is the sound, which is only presented in
stereo sound, not the industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. This entails the
lack of really roaring bass and the ability to make the sound seem to come
from all around you. Many of the mixes, live and behind the scenes, could be
better, too, for the care in making the sound quality as good as a live CD
would be is just not given.

Most DVDs these days have at least a couple special features, usually
including some behind-the-scenes footage. "ten:thirty" is a collection of
video shot during the making of The Eleventh Hour in their homemade studio,
Sputnik Studios. Complete with lava lamps and other homely decorations, this
was some more homemade EPK material, including lots of interviews on the
making of their latest disc. All the guys loved the experience of doing
their own record, as they all attest, and this making-of includes lots of
footage of them recording in the studio. Messy hair, deciding what to have
for dinner, and many other embarrassing moments are included, plus a video
montage of them playing and singing in the studio with the backdrop of
"Revolution."

Sam Shifley, guitar tech for the band, offers "artflick," a unique 30-minute
video montage that will mystify most everyone who sees it. Although the
audio consists mostly of Jars songs, the video flickers between static, jars
logos, other equipment, and live and studio footage. Only those who enjoy
rather quirky things that some people consider "art" need apply themselves
to watch this film. The backstage footage in this feature is full of
silliness, including "Survivor" type candid comments on the other band
members, random meals, and even some spiritual reflections.

Finally, a not-so-hidden hourglass on the main menu gives us a beautiful
recording of "Frail" from when they did their Stringtown album, a live disc
only available to fanclub members. The instrumentation is top-notch due to
the attendance of a whole string section, and the audio and video quality is
not very bad either. I, for one, want to run out and get the Stringtown
disc, because it sounds beautiful.

Overall, 11ive is a great concert video in it's own right, and a decent
first DVD release from the Jars, but not up to today's DVD abilities. Let's
hope that the next time around, the Jars will push the envelope in DVD as
well as in musicianship. Until then, enjoy 11ive, their best concert ever
caught on tape.

Read more about Jars of Clay at cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/jarsofclay


AVAILABLE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

STILL PAYIN' DUES - P.O.D. DVD
To prove again that DVDs are all the rage, P.O.D. even has one out today.
While not centering on a live performance, Still Payin' Dues features all of
their music videos plus never-before-seen photos, footage from the Youth of
the Nation 2002 World Tour, and much more. This type of full-featured DVD is
what we are proud to call the PICK OF THE WEEK.


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Thanks for reading this week's cMusicMail, and we'll be back next week with
even more great content. If you have any comments or questions, please reply
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Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
ICQ - 43224317 AOL IM - dMusicWeb