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 Jeff Buckley Live and Beyond!! Oct 02, 2009
I was never lucky enough to see Jeff Buckley perform live. This DVD is the only offering I have of experiencing his emotional, legendary, musical skill on stage. I became a fan much later in life as well, it wasn't until Agust of last year did my life change (for the better) when Jeff Buckley and his amazing voice suddenly stopped my breath and literally took a hold of me and lit a fire inside that has not been able to stop.
This live show is in a pretty intimate venue considering some of the places he played out of the U.S. Olympia and The Bataclan in France and The Glastobury Festival in England (I believe). Not only is his performance noteworthy but so are his onstage antics. As a fan, knowing he didn't take himself seriously he had fun on stage and sometimes it was at the audience's expence, but not out of harm only a biting sense of humor that he proudly displayed on and off stage.
His influences such as Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen and MC5 can be seen and VERY HEARD on this DVD.
Forever humble and selfeffacing and always paying tribute to those that came before him, he says, softly and with almost "I'm not THIS good of a songwriter" tone in his voice addressing the audience "This is a beautiful song which I wish I had written is dedicated to Fred "Sonic" Smith..." Then he smoothly leads into NIna Simone's legedary soulful "Lilac Wine".
Jeff Buckley was blessed with the ability to turn ANY song he covered, into his own (Beyond "Hallelujah")
In this performance he covers MC5's "Kick OutThe Jams" w/ a ferocious passion that would make the late Fred "Sonic" Smith (Former singer of the MC5) want to hop on down to earth from the great beyond just to rock w/ Jeff on this signature rock n roll/punk classic!
Jeff's version of "Lilac Wine" is incomparable to any other I have heard. Unless we are speaking of Nina's, her deep earthy voice gave the song soul and much distressed longing for this cure all drink.
Jeff's voice brings it to another level competely, from a man's point of view it sounds a bit begging but not hopelessly it is more of a romantic begging more of a sweet pining away. His multi-octave voice is on full display from the first note to the last. All of the little nuances he includes w/ each chord he plays pulls the listener closer to him and into the song.
His other covers included an AMAZING version of Big Star's "Kangaroo" which at first sounds sweet and sentimental w/ "I first saw you, you had on blue jeans.." as if a young boy/man is fondly remembering an old flame. Jeff defenitely sings it up as a romantic ballad to a certain extent. Then after the last unebelieveably high note he belts out he begins to rock out insatiably on his fender telecaster. He begins to play it as if it his last performance ever. His energy is contagious and he begins jump madly on stage w/ sweat pouring off of him. Frolicking and occassinally jumping back the mic to sing "WOOOOO-HOOOO" in a high pitched energy filled voice.
You can see the enjoyment on his face and the other band member's faces as they carry this song out until the last mins. left Fully getting out their energy and aggression on stage and on their instruments.
And then ofcourse THE song, THE cover, THE "ballad" that everyone has been waiting for all night. The Leonard Cohen original "Hallelujah". (The verison Jeff sings is NOT the version Leonard Cohen sings. It is a version done by John Cale on a Tribute CD called "I'm Your Fan" or as many of you know the song from "Shrek") (He (Jeff) had heard this version, liked it the best, and memorized it one evening before a show in N.Y.)
He plays the first chord and all you can hear is clapping, whooping and some hearts breaking, then followd by silence.
As if the song he had made his own had suddenly taken control of the audience and was saying "listen to me", "just me, only me." The first words.."Well I heard there was a secret chord..." just drew awes from the crowd. Hearing him sing such beautiful words and letting his glorious voice flow through the crowd and touch each listener in his/her own way is such a treat, infact quite beyond that. The words seem so much deeper and heart wrenching when you actually see him sing it live.
You can tell he put everything into his music, his heart, soul, honesty, and passion. It is in full display during "Hallelujah."
When Jeff Buckley's voice hits the listener (whether in a live show or via CD) you are transfixed/ taken hold of, by an awesome instrument and not wanting to be let go. He lets you into his world the only way he knows how, and this is by song. Very personal, touching and sometimes disturbing songs. This is his gift to you. And upon hearing/watching him sing "Hallelujah" that fact becomes evident in first few seconds of his face, eyes, demeanor, guitar playing etc. This song has pretty much been officially associated w/ Jeff Buckley since he put it on "Grace" and those who have heard know why.
His music goes on to reach many singers, songwriters and music lovers of all ages, ethnicities, class etc.
He wanted to touch people w/ his work and by watching the DVD of this live show you are priveleged to see him do just that!
 Too Bad it Wasn't Better Dec 04, 2008
Given the dirth of recorded video performances by Jeff Buckley, this DVD is required material for any of his fans. The sound and video quality are quite good. Unfortunately, the performance isn't. The band's limited range and Jeff's dour mood the night of this performance ultimately left me bored. There are wonderful moments, however, and the video again reminds us what a tragedy Jeff's death was at such an early age - he could have been a contender.
jeff buckley and chicago; what more can i say Mar 24, 2008
really, if you are a buckley fan, THIS is a must have DVD. his voice, words and musicianship take it from there.
4 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 I almost hate to write this... Feb 16, 2008
Let me be clear that I absolutely adore Jeff Buckley. I love his music and I love his voice and I am incredibly sad that he is no longer with us. Grace is absolutely one of my favorite all-time albums.
I really, really tried to like this DVD.
But.
This DVD is pretty terrible. The performance, and I really almost feel bad saying this, is really not good. The sound quality is a bit abrasive at times. I love Jeff's personality and he's so good with the crowd (even when they were bothering him) but musically, it wasn't up to par - and not in the "it didn't sound like the album" par. At times Jeff would play on a tangent and his bandmates would have to watch him just to figure out what the hell he was doing.
I really wouldn't recommend it.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 The Most Beautiful Voice in the World Deserved Better! Sep 28, 2007
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is indeed a stellar concert, but there are two problems that plague it:
1. Camera Angles : The entire video recording is very 'amateur', to say the least. Most of Jeff is captured with very bad lighting, sometimes he is obscured in the dark completely. Also, the camera sometimes lingers on the same spot for too long with no other angles to speak of (possibly because there were no other cameras?) and even if you're a huge Jeff fan (as I am), this could be tiresome.
2. The Sound : I was not entirely happy with the audio of this recording. Most of it is obscured by the audience screaming and there is a perceptible hiss that runs through the background permanently. This is not a good thing at all. In fact, some songs that require a delicate rendition such as 'Lilac Wine' have possibly been ruined by the weak transfer of audio. I suspect the original recording itself wasn't that clear, which is why.
3. Special Features : Now, heres the thing. When Jeff had only one actual studio album in his lifetime, how on earth would a 'Discography' section benefit a true fan of his? It does not make any sense. Of course you get listings of everything he's ever worked on (such as 'Sketches' and his earlier collaboration album) but I would hardly call this a special feature.
The good part of this is that this remains the only officially commissioned Jeff Buckley video recording out there. Under Mary, his mother, much more archived video has been promised to us, his fans. As a starter kit, this works fine. Jeff was ON this night, and brought a lot of tenderness to his performance. Watching this more than ten years since his death, its very nostalgic and inspiring. Then you think of whats on the radio these days and miss the time when you could actually listen to Jeff Buckley on radio. Where have those days gone?
I consider Jeff Buckley to be the closest thing to a perfect male musician. Apart from his obvious ethereal beauty, his voice remains truly a divine gift that hasn't diminished in its' resonance through the years. I think that had he lived, he would certainly be regarded as some sort of pioneer. Sadly, all we have are remnants such as this DVD release. Get this today. Like I said, its not great, but its all we have of Jeff.
Five Stars for the man and his music. Three Stars for the DVD. I'm rounding the rating out to a total of four Stars.
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