Post by Lawrie on Dec 3, 2011 14:50:01 GMT
Ok, so now the dust is starting to settle after the band's final performance at Heaven earlier this week, I'm finally starting to feel the impact of the realisation that PRR have finished. For some reason I'm finding the fact that there won't be any more live shows as Pure Reason Revolution harder to take than the fact that there won't be any more PRR music releases. This is probably due to a combination of the knowledge that the band members will be working on their own music in the future and that I'll always be able to go back and listen to my PRR records at any point I choose. Contrast that with the live shows and it's hard to imagine I'll discover many (if any!) new bands who are able to truly recreate the great times I had at Pure Reason gigs over the years.
So in retrospect, I'm really glad that we've been left a relatively impressive live DVD legacy for a band of PRR's size. The only other band who I have felt a similar sense of community and a 'something more than the sum of a show's parts'-atmosphere at their gigs was Hope Of The States, who departed the scene leaving tonnes of happy memories in the minds of their audience, but very little tangible evidence to preserve the memories as the years advance. Like a set of holiday photos that help you to remember that one amazing holiday you went on, live gig videos are for me the best way to hold on to the fantastic memories I've had of following PRR on the road, and I'm really glad we've got as much as we have left to us given the size of PRR's audience and the backing (or lack of it!) they had from their labels.
There's a bit of a lack of TDT-era material sitting in the vaults (cheers Sony!), but I make it that we have the following pro-quality (I use the term to varying degrees from DVD to DVD) footage of PRR playing live:
- Amor Vincit Omnia bonus DVD, containing a handful of AVO songs from the NearFest 2007 show and the next item below:
- The Rockpalast televised performance in Bonn at the end of 2008, containing a mixture of TDT and AVO material (not officially released in full, but torrents existed for the whole show at the time).
- The ItaliaWave/Heitere festivals DVD, containing a mixture of AVO and TDT songs performed during 2009.
- The Hammer And Anvil bonus DVD, containing a mixture of H&A and AVO songs performed at the Hoxton show in 2010.
- The Scala DVD, containing a mixture of all 3 albums' songs performed at the end of 2010.
Overall I'd say that's a pretty strong showing from a band who didn't have a sizeable label budget behind them. I'm especially fond of the Scala DVD (ironically, one of the only London shows I never made it to!) because I think it's a really well-produced piece of work and shows the band playing on excellent form - the performances of Blitzkrieg and AVO in particular are the best I've ever seen those songs played.
Haven't really got another point to make other than that I'm really glad that I'll have these tangible reminders to help me bring back the sense of a PRR live show in the future, as direct recall of those times inevitably fades. I hope you guys find the material that does exist as much of a comfort as I do, and although it's no subsitute for the real thing, I can say from personal experience that the existence of good live footage is a real boon when you've lost a band who means the world to you.
(Albeit none of that stops me wishing that there was some good live footage of Apprentice and Nimos - my first two PRR loves - out there. I miss them!)
So in retrospect, I'm really glad that we've been left a relatively impressive live DVD legacy for a band of PRR's size. The only other band who I have felt a similar sense of community and a 'something more than the sum of a show's parts'-atmosphere at their gigs was Hope Of The States, who departed the scene leaving tonnes of happy memories in the minds of their audience, but very little tangible evidence to preserve the memories as the years advance. Like a set of holiday photos that help you to remember that one amazing holiday you went on, live gig videos are for me the best way to hold on to the fantastic memories I've had of following PRR on the road, and I'm really glad we've got as much as we have left to us given the size of PRR's audience and the backing (or lack of it!) they had from their labels.
There's a bit of a lack of TDT-era material sitting in the vaults (cheers Sony!), but I make it that we have the following pro-quality (I use the term to varying degrees from DVD to DVD) footage of PRR playing live:
- Amor Vincit Omnia bonus DVD, containing a handful of AVO songs from the NearFest 2007 show and the next item below:
- The Rockpalast televised performance in Bonn at the end of 2008, containing a mixture of TDT and AVO material (not officially released in full, but torrents existed for the whole show at the time).
- The ItaliaWave/Heitere festivals DVD, containing a mixture of AVO and TDT songs performed during 2009.
- The Hammer And Anvil bonus DVD, containing a mixture of H&A and AVO songs performed at the Hoxton show in 2010.
- The Scala DVD, containing a mixture of all 3 albums' songs performed at the end of 2010.
Overall I'd say that's a pretty strong showing from a band who didn't have a sizeable label budget behind them. I'm especially fond of the Scala DVD (ironically, one of the only London shows I never made it to!) because I think it's a really well-produced piece of work and shows the band playing on excellent form - the performances of Blitzkrieg and AVO in particular are the best I've ever seen those songs played.
Haven't really got another point to make other than that I'm really glad that I'll have these tangible reminders to help me bring back the sense of a PRR live show in the future, as direct recall of those times inevitably fades. I hope you guys find the material that does exist as much of a comfort as I do, and although it's no subsitute for the real thing, I can say from personal experience that the existence of good live footage is a real boon when you've lost a band who means the world to you.
(Albeit none of that stops me wishing that there was some good live footage of Apprentice and Nimos - my first two PRR loves - out there. I miss them!)
wierd