I already knew that Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy were both Beatles fanatics from comments made in various interviews and, oh, from performing half of Abbey Road on their Transatlantic Live In Europe DVD. So is was only a matter of time when they would hook up with a couple of other world class Beatles freaks and do a full-on tribute show. Yellow Matter Custard - One Night In New York City is that show.
This DVD was recorded live at B.B. King's in New York City on May 18, 2003, but probably not with the intention of being officially released on DVD. The video was recorded by what appears to be two guys armed with camcorders, and the audio is only presented in a rather muddy Dolby stereo mix. The audio does get much clearer the more you crank up the volume. In this particular case, I have to let it all slide since this is obviously a "for the fans only" release, and is available only through Mike Portnoy's website. Hell, the DVD cover even has a big "Official Bootleg" stamped smack-dab across the front, so it's not like anyone is being fooled here, like with some other DVDs we know.
Yellow Matter Custard is comprised of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic) on drums, Neal Morse ex-(Spock's Beard, Transatlantic) on keyboards and guitar, Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) on guitar, and Matt Bissonette, who has played with just about everybody including Joe Satriani, and Ringo Starr of late, on bass. They all sing pretty damn good too - well, maybe not Portnoy. These guys have taken their Beatles seriously and must have rehearsed considerably to play this 30 song set as brilliantly as they did. A funny quote from Portnoy just prior to "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" says it all as to just how challenging some of these old tunes could be - "It's unbelievable, you have four guys here that play some pretty fucking complicated music in our day jobs with our other bands. We play like 19/16, swapping back and forth a million different time signatures, but this next song totally stumped all four of us, how to start this fucking thing."
Article comments
1 - The Proprietor
Paul's right on the money with this review, however, if you're watching this with the family, be forewarned that Mike Portnoy drops a lot of f-bombs during the show (my young'uns were asking why the drummer talked like "The Sopranos" :-)).
Aside from that, my only other quibble concerns the set list, as I noted in my review of the CD version of this show some months ago. Revolver is unfortunately underrepresented, IMO.
2 - WTF
Too bad about the language. It's shows a lack of self control. I used to be in a group with a "cusser" it was embarrassing. Totally unprofessional.
3 - Paul Roy
Yeah, Portnoy can F'N curse with the best of them, but I'm sure Neal "born again" Morse has been trying to save his soul since they have been working together so much lately. Portnoy plays drums on all of his post-Spock's Beard solo albums. They are pretty good too, if you can stand the lyrics.
4 - Mike
This is a really cool DVD. After the first song or two, I stopped noticing the armature quality of the video. (I think what we're seeing is the club's cameras. I noticed there were video screens on the sides.)
Paul, I disagree with your assessment of the audio quality; I thought it was great. (So people don't get the wrong impression, it's not sound off of a camcorder. It's off the sound board for sure.)
The first time I watched this DVD I cranked it up and watched it straight through. It felt like I was at a very moment in time. (Thank God someone videoed this!) You can tell it's a labor of love, as the guys in the band look like they’re having a blast.
You mentioned that they must have rehearsed a lot for this, which would be my assessment, too. But from what I have read, they only practiced the immediate four days before the gig (which makes the show all the more impressive).
Every Beatles fan should have this, as well as those like me who aren't big fans. Seeing the songs played live gave me an appreciation for some songs I hadn’t had before.
5 - proy1@comcast.net
Mike, I agree with your assesment. I'm sure the audio was straight from the board, and it did sound pretty good if you played it loud. I was trying to make the point that the video looked like it was shot on a couple of camcorders, but I noticed the video screens too. This isdefinetly a slice of heaven if you are both a fan of these musicians and The Beatles.