While they would always start out promisingly enough it often seemed like the band was content to find a groove, get comfortable, do their solos, and then repeat few times over again. Every so often the vocalist would sing a couple of verses of whatever song they were doing, and the pattern would then be repeated. Each time they went into a new instrumental break you'd hope for something new, but after a while even the solos began to sound the same and the music became even more pointless.
Perhaps it might have been better if the vocalist was able to provide some variety, but Durkin seems limited in what she is capable of doing. While she has the potential to have an interesting voice, for there a great husky quality to it, at the time of these recordings she was monotone and uninteresting. At times she wasn't even singing in the same key as the band and it just sounded unprofessional. Perhaps it's because she had to wait so long between verses during a song it made it hard for her to retain her focus. However if that's the case than perhaps she was the wrong choice for this band, but that's something you need to discover during rehearsals, not on stage.
One of the selling points of this DVD package was supposed to be the post production video added to the concert footage. This included using old cartoon footage, excerpts from what looked like early television commercials, a collection of shots of various nebulas, and other colourful pictures from space and earth. Unfortunately instead of augmenting the experience of listening to the music it was mainly a distraction. They were either used in such a cliched manner that they bordered on silly, or they would have so little to do with the song they accompanied that you wondered why they were even being shown.
Even the hardcover book that made up the package for the two discs in the set was slightly ill-conceived as it didn't contain proper sleeves for the DVDs and it would be very easy for them to fall out and be damaged. There was also very little practical information about the band or the people involved aside from telling you who was playing which instruments. It would have been nice if they could have supplied a little bit more than just the lyrics to the songs and the set list. Unless you're willing to go hunting around on the Internet, you're not going to learn anything about the band's history or about the individual band members themselves. It's almost like the producers of the package have assumed anyone buying it are going to know that information somehow.
Article comments
1 - Rich
So basicaly he only recently learned what instrument Mickey Hart plays, and somehow that makes him fit to judge his work?