Let's cut to the chase here: if you are an IQ fan and you don't have this DVD, stop reading, find your favorite import progressive rock dealer and order it*! IQ's second DVD and third full length concert video, counting the VHS tape from the Forever Live box set continues IQ's tradition of releasing a concert film years after it was performed. But when you get a quality release like the double DVD IQ20: The Twentieth Anniversary Show, why count the years? And each IQ concert video has been of a high standard methinks. Certainly with regard to packaging, this one has beaten them all. Each disc is housed in a double digipack inside a slipcase, which also includes an IQ timeline.
Disc One is the Twentieth Anniversary concert proper from December 15th of 2001. Filmed at The Mean Fiddler in front of a packed house, the concert is perhaps not as theatrical as the Subterranea tour, although vocalist Peter Nicholls dons makeup and a cape for the event, just like in the old days of IQ. However, the main focus of the gig is the band itself and what immediately struck me was the important role that humor plays here, which has been absent from their other concert films. As serious as the music of IQ is, these guys can be downright hilarious on stage. I don't want to spoil things, but the band frequently crack each other up in between songs and sometimes during the songs themselves! At two hours plus, the concert has a terrific setlist and includes everything from obscure oldie nuggets like "Just Changing Hands" to popular album favorites like "Awake and Nervous", "The Seventh House" and "Headlong". The gig finishes with the complete version of "The Last Human Gateway" and as always it sends shivers down the spine.
Nicely shot with multiple views of the stage (although the "Cookie Cam" is rather grainy) as well as some split screen editing, IQ20 is without question the most professional visual document of the band yet. There are two audio options, Dolby Digital Stereo as well as a 5.1 mix. I highly recommend the surround mix as it takes full advantage of all five speakers, with plentiful panning effects and general concert ambience.
Disc Two is the "Special Features" disc and as such is loaded with some great bonus material . Aside from the encores from the Mean Fiddler gig, we also get a warm-up performance by The Lens from the same show. Though the band is heavily disguised, their identities are not too difficult to distinguish! For more laughs, check out The Intros and the Outros, which I initially made the mistake of glossing over; this is funny stuff! Rounding out the disc is a 30 minute tour diary, an encore performance of the band covering an ABBA classic, as well as a photo gallery, more Cookie Cam footage and you really can't ask for more. Two big thumbs up from me for IQ20. Well done gentlemen!
*Note that the IQ20 DVD is currently only available as a PAL disc. An NTSC DVD is planned for the not too distant future.
Contents
Disc One
- Awake and Nervous
- The Thousand Days/The Magic Roundabout
- Erosion
- State of Mine/Leap of Faith/Came Down
- The Seventh House
- The Narrow Margin (Middle Section)
- Human Nature
- Capricorn
- Just Changing Hands
- Guiding Light
- Headlong
- The Last Human Gateway
Disc Two
- Encores: Subterranea, Jet, Crazy Horses, The Wake
- The Lens: Sleep Until You Wake, Choosing a Farmer Part 3, Of Tide and Change
- The Intros and The Outros
- Access All Areas (IQ20 Tour Diary)
- Cookie Cam
- Stage Set Up (Time Lapse)
- Photo Gallery
- Mamma Mia/Out of Nowhere (De Kade Zaandam Holland 19.5.2004)
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
