Search - The Concert For New York City on DVD

Musical Catharsis

05/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a NYC Police Officer who found comfort and catharsis at this concert. I am grateful to those performers and to the Americans celebrating this music. Seeing the faces of my fellow Americans who gave themselves over to Rock and Roll for a mercurial moment made me proud yet overwhelmingly sad. I know that a lot of my fellow civil servants often have trouble reaching certain levels of emotion and, through good old fashioned Rock and Roll, we were able to let go. Listening again to those first few crashing chords from THE WHO still gives me chills. I know how every one of us was feeling at that moment. This is not just great classic music -- this music defines us. We grew up on it. Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, James Taylor --this music fueled our youths and made us who we are. After September 11, 01 we found new meaning to these lyrics just as we had discovered more about ourselves. We should be proud to celebrate this music, in a country that lets us play it freely and with the volume all the way up. It reminds us how powerful music can be and how healing. I replay this concert over and over. I recall the images of every wife and girlfriend, wearing their hero's hat and clutching them with all of their might, grateful for that precious moment together. I have new-found love for life, for life's simple pleasures. Perhaps the concert's newest artist summed it as well as the veteran acts that night. In a song I have loved since I first heard it last summer, though I never fully knew what it meant until that night: "Five For Fighting", SUPERMAN -- "I wish that I could cry. Fall upon my knees. Find a way to lie. About a home I'll never see. It may sound absurd but don't be naive. Even heroes have the right to bleed. I may be disturbed but don't you concede? Even heroes have the right to dream. It's not easy to be me...." God Bless America."

One reason to buy: The Who!!!

12/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once again, the Who show just why they are the greatest Rock and Roll band to ever walk the earth. There show was simply amazing. To hear the ovation they got at the end was truly shocking. They get it started with Who Are You and Pete is just amazing in his windmilling. Entwistle keeps it all together on bass and Daltrey gets the crowd going, while Starkey does a fine job on drums. Baba O'reilly and the reaction the crowd gives after hearing the first few cords brings goosebumps to everyone. Daltrey shows hes still go it with a killer harmonica solo in the end. Behind Blue Eyes brings everyone down to tears, only to pick us up again at the end of the song. And in Wont Get Fooled Again, Townshend and Entwistle go crazy, while Daltrey wails away at our ear drums. Starkeys drum solo at the end is just fantastic, and Daltrey gives one more screaming "Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" at the end. They were simply amazing. As Billy Crystal said, they "Just blew me away. Absolutely blew me away.""

The Best Concert Ever...With a Few Exceptions

Julie A Ross | Pleasant Hill, CA United States | 06/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Overall, 99% of this concert is very good. David Bowie, the Who, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney and Elton John all played fantastic sets here. But I have a problem with some of the other music. Eric Clapton plays "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," totally unreated to 9/11. Jay-Z also had no business appearing at this show, especially if the only piece he can come up with is "H to the Izzo." My other complaint is that this DVD is incomplete. Two Paul McCartney songs, one Eric Clapton song, one Goo Goo Dolls' first song, and a good cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends" are all missing. The entire 6-hour concert could've easily been released. But what's here, for the most part, is very good. So on the whole, this is a good buy."

It's all there

David E. Levine | Peekskill , NY USA | 05/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In two dvds, totaling nearly five hours, you can see the concert for New York City. It's all there, the music, the entertainment, the speeches, the cheers, the booing (remember Richard Gere?). I only sat through about two hours worth, the night it was originally telecast live, so I was glad to be able to buy this dvd so I could see the rest. There are lots of audience reaction shots but the panning does not get in the way of good coverage of what was happening on stage. There is almost no editing as this dvd is a reproduction of the live tv broadcast. Fortunately, the director of the live event had done a great job. The sound quality is very good.What intereted me the most were the performances of classic rock stars. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, with a large backup band demonstrated that the Rolling Stones are shadows of their old selves. On the other hand, the Who was incredible and brought down the house. I had favorably reviewed the Who's live at Royal Albert Hall dvd and the four song performance on this dvd was another blockbuster, particularly Baba O'Riley. They still play as a solid rock band rather than as a bunch of has beens propped up by a gaggle of backup musicians. Pete Townshend is incredible on the guitar (he now plays Fender Stratocasters) and John Entwistle is better than ever on the bass. Roger Daltry remains a first rate lead singer.John Mellencamp performed, including his song "Little Pink Houses" with the satyric lyrics "ain't that America?" The purpose of this performance, however, was to honor America and this song, nonetheless, worked really well. Paul McCartney was also on hand as one of the organizers of the event. His talents are not quite what they once were but his enthusiasm and great personality made his performance A#1 all the way!!Like I say, I was mostly interested in the classic rock stars but, it's all here. Whatever interests you will make this dvd well worth purchasing. I highly recommend it."