The Film
Mixing mild Hip-Hop beats and sound effects with Hard Rock and just a bit of Emo, Alternative band Incubus managed to push their way onto the Top 40 charts with hits such as "Nice to Know You" and "Wish You Were Here." Alive at Red Rocks was filmed July 26th 2004, during the tour for their then-current album A Crow Left of the Murder, the follow-up to their hugely successful release Morning View (2001).
There at the Red Rocks amphitheatre in Colorado, the band puts on a loud and raw show on a stripped down, mainly black stage with a set list that included all of their big radio hits. These include a good number of album tracks and a large portion of songs from A Crow Left of the Murder. The crowd members were enjoying themselves and the band seemed tight and very well rehearsed. There were no missteps that night -- all were spot on.
Highlights of the show included the show opener "Megalomaniac," "Nice to Know You," "Wish You Were Here," and "Drive."
The Picture
Shot using ten high definition cameras, Incubus - Alive at Red Rocks is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio in a 1080p/24 transfer for this Blu-ray disc release. Sony-BMG have not had a very good record on picture quality when it comes to their Blu-ray concert releases so far, as anyone who has seen their Chris Botti or Bruce Springsteen discs in particular can attest. Unfortunately, this Incubus release is not an exception. The blacks are washed out, video quality between the cameras differs greatly from shot to shot, background detail is soft and video noise is excessive in the dark areas of the picture. On the plus side, flesh tones look natural, but this won't be a reference for picture quality anytime soon.
The Sound
The audio for this release is offered in uncompressed PCM stereo, uncompressed PCM 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. I listened to the Uncompressed PCM 5.1 mix, which offered the typical front-heavy audience perspective live show mix, using the surround channels only for ambience and crowd noise. The instrumentation and vocals were panned nicely across the front three channels and low frequencies were more than sufficient to carry the thump of the kick drums and convey the roundness of the bass notes. Cymbals sounded slightly "tizzy," something that could have perhaps been rectified by a higher sampling rate, but overall the mastering was nicely done and easy on the ears, even if the overall recording and subsequent mix was slightly indistinct and muddy in the mid-range.
The Extras
The video extras included on Incubus - Alive at Red Rocks are worthless and consist only of some candid backstage footage of the band, their roadies, and footage of the band's fans. It isn't even worth watching one time through, in my opinion.
The interactive "Navigate the Stage" feature is a pleasant option that allows the viewer to select different camera angles using the arrow keys on their remote. The title also offers on-screen lyrics, which is always a plus.
By far, the best extras on this release are the five audio tracks (uncompressed PCM; 48kHz/24-bit) with HD photo gallery that also appear on the bonus CD included with this release.
Final Thoughts
Incubus - Alive at Red Rocks is a barebones concert performance sprinkled with all of the band's biggest radio hits that is sure to please all fans of the group. The picture quality is definitely lacking on this release, but the sound quality, extra audio tracks in high resolution, and bonus CD make up for that.
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Product Details
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