Rage Against the Machine-Live Grand Olympic Auditorium [DVD] [2003]

With the exception of the footage of the Democratic Convention protest, this DVD tends to focus less on political extras and more on the music. I suppose this would make sense, with the band broken up it would be difficult to arrange documentaries and interviews of the type found in Battle of Mexico City.A memo should go out to all bands and music DVD producers that says at minimum: "1) Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards. 2) The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell. 3) Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music."Let's break it down then for Rage's Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium:1 - "Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards." - The picture quality in Rage's Live at the GOA is fair at best. I think this is due to a combo of two things: Old technology was used to film the performance, and there is a deliberate use of a technique that makes the picture a bit grainy. This grainy effect is hardly noticeable on a standard def TV, but it's very noticeable on a high def plasma TV. Seemingly, the band and the director chose to deliver what they felt was some kind of "atmospheric production" versus giving the viewer a front row seat to the performance. Hence, the relatively poor picture takes a bit away from the DVD.On the other hand, the visual doesn't jump all over the place every 2 seconds as is true with way too many music DVDs (for some reason the notion all too often is that changing the visual projects the energy of a song...and that's a stupid notion). The camera shots in Rage's Live at the GOA mostly give you a nice long look at each performer at the right time; if you were actually at the show, you'd probably be looking at the performer that the camera is on. This made for a viewing experience that enhanced the illusion of having a front row seat to the show.The sound is great in Dolby 5.1. You get your choice between Stereo and Dolby 5.1. Dolby 5.1 is far superior even when listening on a stereo system. My home theater Surround system in 5.1 made it feel like I was at the show. When I tried stereo on my portable DVD player the bass was mixed way too high and the sound was distorted; this was instantly remedied by switching to 5.1.2 - "The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell." - The guys prior to hitting the stage must have huddled and committed to each other to go out and play the music true to the studio versions of the songs. All of the tracks on Rage's Live at the GOA are performed precisely. Absolutely amazing.Tom Morello is incredible. Morello is ranked in the top half of Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". And particularly his solo in Bulls on Parade is often noted by Guitar World and other music magazines; it was awesome to see him precisely pull off live the magic sounds he makes with a guitar that you might think he could only make in the studio.The band gives you all of the songs that you'd really want to hear:1. Bulls On Parade2. Bombtrack3. Calm Like A Bomb4. Bullet In The Head5. Sleep Now In The Fire6. War Within A Breath7. I'm Housin'8. Killing In The Name9. Born Of A Broken Man10. No Shelter11. Guerrilla Radio12. How I Could Just Kill A Man (w/guest Cypress Hill)13. Kick Out The Jams14. Testify15. FreedomBonus material includes:"People of the Sun" and "Know Your Enemy"The 2000 Democratic National Convention performance, featuring:"Bulls On Parade""Testify""Guerrilla Radio""Sleep Now In The Fire""Freedom""Killing In The Name"And video clips for "How I Could Just Kill a Man" and "Bombtrack"The Grand Olympic Auditorium main performance is fabulous. The bonus material, especially the performance at the 2000 DNC, is interesting to watch and much more politically oriented than performance oriented.3 - "Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music." - There are no over-the-top theatrics...which is great. The guys just play the music, and as I said earlier, they perform the songs to perfection. There is a clear air on the stage that "this is our last show together". These guys all click and tonight they are clicking on all cylinders.Zack de la Rocha's (and the band's) political message is highly visible (and audible) throughout. During the show Rage and de la Rocha voice their extremist support for revolutionary socialism that includes a sweeping condemnation of the police and corporations. Um...yikes! I can't say that I'm a fan of Rage's message, but their music rocks! And the show recorded on Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium also rocks.All in all...Live at the GOA is a shouldn't-miss DVD if you like or ever liked Rage Against the Machine. But so much for this recording being their last performance; a 2007 reunion has been announced. Perhaps we'll get an upgraded high def performance DVD to rally 'round the family with. This DVD is a welcome part of my Rage collection.

`Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium' is the explosive last gig from Rage Against the Machine before they broke up the first time. It has a wide selection of tracks from across their albums and showcases what a powerful experience one of their live gigs is. Each member of the band is a powerful, unique performer in their own right and when they come together they create a raw and potent experience that is unparalleled from any other band. They offer up intelligent, political lyrics coupled with heavy, infectious grooves and it is nigh on impossible not to be affected and drawn in by their music. The audience is obviously in rapture throughout which only adds to the atmosphere whilst watching and the band is incredibly tight and in sync. You will be left awe struck by the playing on offer. This DVD has great editing of the band and audience so you really feel `in it' with them and I bet both are exhausted by the end of a gig as it comes across as a full on event with no holds barred. Cypress Hill come on and duet on `How I Could Just Kill A Man' which was a surprise bonus for me. The bonus features have extra concert footage, two music videos and footage of their concert outside the Democratic National Convention where the police shot rubber bullets and tear gas at the crowd. This last section makes for compelling viewing and you can feel the electric atmosphere as you watch it. This DVD features an amazing concert of this highly influential band and the solidarity between the band and audience is something to behold. This is raw, highly charged and powerful and needless to say comes highly recommended.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

To start with, the sound quality on this DVD is perfect, having hooked up my dvd player to my Stereo, the quality was crystal clear, and none of this out of sync rubbish which I've heard about on other Rage DVDs.The Main gig on this DVD has a great selection of tracks and goes on for a fair amount of time, and, as a extra brucey bonus, it also includes 6 tracks from another performance held at the Democratic Convention 2000. This Isn't just a bit of filler for the DVD, its almost like another whole gig (well, a bit shorter) If by now, you still havn't had enough RATM, then there are a couple of extra music videos to watch, "How I could Just Kill a Man" and "Bombtrack".Having never had the chance to see them live, this DVD is the closest I will ever get to that, and It does a damn good job of it too.

Great dvd, although the image quality is not perfect. But the sound is awesome!

Super

All the performances on this DVD are utterly captivating. You get the whole of their last ever gig which includes such standards as "killing in the name" and "how i could just kill a man" with the added bonus of cypress hill. The sound quality is excellent and the crowd motivation and activity is great.However, this is a better addition in my opinion than just the gig itself, the inclusion of footage from the democratic national convention 2000. For me it optimises all what rage stood for, combining their primal sound in the backdrop of corporate America. It shows (from the looks on the police's faces) the sheer ferorcity with which rage can perform.Overall, i highly recommend this DVD. It shows a band at the height of their powers, unfortunately i never got to see them live, but this is a great testiment to the band and contains peformances which are both powerful and awe-inspiring.