At 153 minutes, this DVD fails to do what a concert DVD must do — which is hold the viewer's attention. The first third of the set, particularly, plods along with a somnabolastic pace. It's only when Chris Leslie takes center stage that the show comes alive. When he and Ric Sanders trade licks between violin and fiddle, the concert finally shows sparks of life. They fuel a life in a band that probably should have quit two breakups ago.
The last third of the concert harkens back to the days that made Fairport Convention legendary — traditional English folk music transformed, electrically, into a modern context. It's powerful stuff, to be sure. It's then that the band finally shows a bit of energy in their performance, which they maintain for the duration.
Unfortunately, it comes too late for the average viewer to care.
Article comments
1 - J. P.
Simon's a good musician, but unfortunately, this band truly needed the power of Sandy Denny or Richard Thompson or both to be important.