Search - Kansas - Device, Voice, Drum on DVD

Great Performance

RockOn | Mid Atlantic | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ignore the knuckleheads with their irrelevant reviews. I've been a Kansas fan forever, and thoroughly enjoyed the DVD. I've seen them live three times in the 70's and 80's, and no, this isn't quite as good as those shows, but it still rocks, and is a MUST-HAVE for any Kansas fan, even the casual one. Religion and stage distractions aside, here's what I thought of the DVD:



1. Video: 3 out of 5. They used some kind of grainy effect in the production of the video, I suppose to give it an extra artistic look. Not my cup of tea. The shots they used, and the fact that they stayed on the band members for a reasonable amount of time was good (as opposed to some concerts I've watched where they bounce back and forth so quickly you get a headache).



2. Audio: 4.5 out of 5. Excellent sound. Not quite up to "Hell Freezes Over" (Eagles) or "In the Flesh" (Roger Waters), but very enjoyable and a good use of all 5.1 channels. I would have liked to have been able to hear Robbie Steinhardt's violin a little better. Phil Ehart's drums will knock you out of your chair.



3. Instruments. 5 out of 5. Awesome. These guys haven't lost a single beat when it comes to playing their gear. Steve Walsh was excellent on keyboards, and Richard Williams was awesome on lead guitar.



4. Vocals. 4 out of 5 because of Robbie Steinhardt. I agree that Steve Walsh should have kept the ad-libbing to a minimum, though he was still very good. Robbie was AWESOME on Cheyenne Anthem and Child of Innocence in particular.



5. Song Selection. 4 out of 5. Some great tunes, and certainly most of their biggest hits. Point of No Return, He Knew, Carry On Wayward Son, Song for America, (and more) - not a bad set list at all.



6. Audience - a bunch of old farts like me. What were you expecting, a bunch of 15 year-olds?



Seriously, if you've ever been a Kansas Fan, or think you might be, get this DVD. You won't be disappointed."

SIMPLY THE BEST BAND EVER!

Bob in Bath Pa. | 06/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a Kansas fan since 1973, when I saw a video on Don Kirshner's Rock Palace. I have seen them 5 times over the years, but only once since 1982. Interesting story on how I last saw them in 2003, when I purchased the DVD, (on Robby's recommendation).

In November 2003 I stopped in a Wegman's Market in Nazareth Pennsylvania for lunch with my family. I looked over in the sub shop aisle and I saw this guy with long, curly, wild, reddish hair and a beard. You don't see that much anymore, and I looked again. It looked like Robby Steinhardt, but I was about 75 feet away, so I wasn't sure. I moved closer and by now the guy saw me staring at him. I figured I would talk to him and appologize on the front end for bothering him and staring, if it wasn't him. Well it was Robby, and we spent the next 30 minutes talking about many things. He couldn't have been nicer. He was there with his wife and manager. What a class act! At the end of the conversation he asked me if I would like tickets to see Kansas play. Of course I said yes, even though we had just had a death in the family. He offered me tickets either in Camden NJ that night or in Reading PA the next night. I took the tickets to Reading, and he said he would leave them at the Will Call window. He also wrote a nice note to my son who was 8 years old at the time, and was taking violin lessons. To make a long story shorter, I went to the concert and the tickets turned out to be 4 tickets, 2nd row center. What a concert, just incredible. Robby sent his manager out at intermission to ask me if the seats were ok. Again what a class act!!!!! I found out later when I returned to Wegman's at a later time, that after we left, someone had a camera, and Robby spent another 20 minutes taking pictures with the many fans who realized who he was, after they saw me and my family talking to him. Again what a class act!



Now for the DVD review: What can I say? This is the best one I have ever seen! The band is incredible. Everyone should own this, even if they are not particularly Kansas fans, just to see what incredible musicianship is about. Phil Ehart has to be the best drummer of his era. Steve Walsh does a superb job on the vocals and keyboards. Rich Williams does a fine job on the guitars, he is not quite a fluid and flowing as Kerry but he is extremely credible and solid, especially since he is covering 2 parts. Billy Greer is very good and extremely likeable as well. To describe Robby Steinhardt: words just do not do justice. His technical expertise, his phrasing and sensitivity are beyond any musician of the era. He is equally comfortable playing Kansas songs or playing in concert orchestra, which he did prior to joining Kansas. His playing is the stuff that legends are written about.

Negatives: I could have done without the anamatronic virtual machine sequences. It spoiled Miracles Out Of Nowhere for me. I would have liked to see the musicians performing, not a computer generated machine. I would have loved to see People Of The South Wind included in the song selections, but you can't have everything.

Positives: Everything else, but especially a tremendously tight and virtuosous performance of Journey From Marriabonne, Dust In The Wind with the string quartet, and Howling At The Moon. No other band or individual musicians Hendrix, Clapton, Page, ELP, Tull or any other can come close to Kansas as a band or especially to Steinhardt and Ehart a individuals!!!!!"

Excellent production qualities

Kansas City Kevin | 11/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best, if not the best, concert DVDs I have ever seen. The editing is superb. There is nothing worse than watching a DVD of a band you love and having the camera locked on the lead singer during a guitar solo. There is none of that on this fine DVD.Before this DVD, my favorite concert DVD was from Dream Theater, which excels on sheer musicianship alone. But the production quality was dismal. Not so with the this Kansas DVD. I was very impressed with the camera work that would slowly rotate around Robbie as he sang and played against the starry background. The lighting, special effects and computer animations were complementary and not distracting. The playing was nearly flawless. Seeing Steve Walsh playing Kerry Livgrin's parts, you really start to appreciate just how talented he is. Although Walsh doesn't have the range he once had, he proves that he is still one of the best voices in rock. Phil Ehart also demonstrates that he is the most underrated drummer in rock. I've only listened in Dolby stereo so far and the sound quality is fabulous. The violin and keys were a little low in some parts but still very distinct. The band plays new arraignments of familiar songs including the addition of a string quartet on "Dust in the Wind" and turned the "Howling at the Moon" section of Magnum Opus into wonderful standalone song. Overall, this is outstanding concert DVD."

This is the Magnum Opus of concert DVD's

Kansas City Kevin | Kansas | 09/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a must have DVD for fans of progressive music. Kansas' performance on this night was superb and the energy in each of the songs is thrilling. The band is showing that after 30 years in the business they still have what it takes to deliver a standout show for their fans. If you like good music and a great concert, this is for you!"