Roxy Music - Live At The Apollo DVD

Advantages: Intelligent and zany hilarity
Disadvantages: none

...After seeing one of Bill Bailey's short stand up sets on the 2005 Comic Aid DVD I decided that further investigations should be made into the strange and exciting world of his sense of humour. Part Troll is the second and latest of Bill's collection of Live DVD's, recorded at Hammersmith Apollo in front of a sell-out crowd. The whole show is an intensely funny concept performance and is performed in a fresh and enjoyable style. Like many comedians there are no jokes, as such, in the show but rather an intelligent and amusing look at the world around. The mix is perfect, there is always a degree of insanity present among the smart, well balanced and informative layout of the funny stories and experiences interspersed with amusing songs and musical pieces. The show has something to suit everyone as it remains serious, random... Read review

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Advantages: High-energy groove-dance-rock-funk music - fantastic band!
Disadvantages: Mostly their old stuff - I'd like to hear some of their new songs live.

...This DVD is of Northern funksters The Music at their 2003 tour's homecoming gig at The Blank Canvas, Leeds. Through the clouds of smoke (dry ice?), coloured lights and oceans of waving arms and flailing crowd-surfers, we see the young dance-rock crew struttin' their groovy stuff across the stage. The first thing that struck me (as I have never seen them live before... hopefully I'll get to see them one day...) was how much their songs sounded like the studio versions: I'd always thought that a lot of the sounds on their debut album "The Music" required assistance from drum machines, synths, keyboards etc., but they don't. The Music manage to get futuristic dance music out of 4 boys with guitars! Singer Robert Harvey's voice seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing (like Marmite): unusual, unearthly, unique, unmistakable, and suited... Read review

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Advantages: The songs
Disadvantages: Not for non musical lovers

...Picture, it is 109 minutes of dazzling entertainment. The adaptation from stage to screen is entirely successful and the music and choreography combined make a spectacular film. When a character begins to sing the dull monotony of prison life is often contrasted against a dream world where they are in fact performing to an audience reflecting Roxie’s dream life. Having an announcer to introduce each number also contributes to this effect. This could have become a farce when the character’s descended into song but the strength of the musical numbers and the acting prevented it from doing so. At one point I actually forgot that I was in the cinema rather than the theatre and the urge to clap was so overwhelming that I nearly had to sit on my hands. My favourite number is definitely "Cell Block Tango" performed by Velma and other... Read review

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