TALK TO THE HAND - LIVE IN MICHIGAN (DVD)

Contributed by: Suebee

It's been almost 20 years! It's about time Barenaked Ladies put together a live concert DVD! The live show is the epitome of what makes this band so great. Recently, Eric McCormack said on their episode of Private Sessions on A&E that they're 10 times better live than they are in the studio -- and they're already fantastic in the studio. It's only natural that the live experience be shared somewhere OTHER than YouTube.

Before to go into my review on the BNL portion of Talk to the Hand, I do have to make one small comment about the previews -- this is the ONE time I feel compelled to purchase the DVDs featured in the previews. The Electric Company AND The Weird Al Show? Could two more perfect items be previewed on this DVD?! Gimme!

Ok, digression complete.

Though by now it's well known (at least in the fan community) that this show from their short, four-date Summer 2007 US tour, was edited down quite a bit for the DVD and accompanying CD, it's still a good representation of the band's live energy and spirit. The key songs are included for the casual fans and newbies, while there are a few treats included for the die-hards, notably "Powder Blue," which has to be the BEST live version I have heard so far. I have yet to actually SEE this song performed in person by the full band, but someday... someday. The closest I have come has been Steve performing it solo at Jackson-Triggs Winery in 2005, and from one deck below on a projection screen on the Ships & Dip cruise in January 2007... of course, they'd perform it at the show I wasn't attending! It's just my luck. Hint to the Ladies: second show this year, m'kay? Thanks. ;)

Another fantastic inclusion is the acoustic set in general, and "For You" in particular. This song was almost left off of Everything to Everyone, yet it's arguably one of their best, and also one of the songs that best represents the REAL Barenaked Ladies... not the goofy nerds in short pants singing about monkeys and chinese chickens -- the REAL band. Talented musicians who know how to put together a heartfelt, beautiful song. The live rendition, done acoustically, is no exception. They truly shine with every performance of this song, and watching them work together, standing around a single mic, is inspiring.

The second half of the acoustic set is brilliant, too, but in its own bizarre way! "Be My Yoko Ono" is always so much fun, and I love it done acoustically. Congas + Accordion + Bass + Acoustic Guitar + Steve's Voice = Perfection. In addition to that, you NEVER know what they're going to do during the little "performance art" interlude. I'd heard about what transpired on stage for this show, but seeing is believing. I'll leave it at that. It wasn't QUITE as entertaining, in the long term, as the "premature panties" props skit at the show I attended on that tour (Lewiston, NY, the next day), but it was equally "wrong." But when I say "wrong," I mean it in the best possible way. All I will say is, it's NOT about Tyler's background dancing.

Only the hard core fan who has attended more than one show in the last two years (I counted, and it's actually 7 for me -- I need help) will notice the glaring omissions from the DVD, but the casual fan, or the first timer, will not. For the nerds, some of the omissions included extended banter (which is as much a part of the BNL experience as the songs are), and Steve's operatic brilliance at the end of "If I Had $1,000,000" (they only show the last note). Overall, however, the DVD is pretty smooth. The omission of the "encore gap," of course, was necessary -- the home viewer doesn't need 3 minutes of darkness and audience chanting... it's excruciating enough -- in a fan-girl kinda way -- at an actual show!

Special Features
The interview in this DVD is great! Of course, I would love to have more, but what we did get was great. In includes some basic info about the band's origins for the newbies, but also includes a few new stories that I don't think they've told before, so the "jaded veteran" -- as Tyler so eloquently puts it -- can enjoy the interview, too. I would have loved a little more about the cruise, not really because I am a cruiser, but because they kind of jump into the discussion of the Barenaked Photo (which I am in, waaaay in the back) without really explaining WHY they are even on a boat with fans in the first place. It's clear that they talked more about it, but whoever edited the interview left some content out for space. That's the only bit of the interview that's kind of choppy.

The sound check is fun to see... not many people get into those. The closest I have gotten was standing on a picnic table outside Sarnia Bayfest in 2003! They chose to only include Angry People, which seemed really smooth! No wonder they rarely rehearse. Knowing the dance will be retired someday (as the Barenaked Rap was a few years back, RIP), I'm glad I have this archived on DVD for all time, both in rehearsal and "on the night." It's just too much fun.

The photo montage is a nice feature, too. The photographer got some GREAT shots! While I assume the photographer was David Bergman from tourphotographer.com -- who has taken some fantastic images of the band, including on the Ships & Dip cruise -- he is not credited. No one is credited. As an artist and a designer, I'm disappointed in that omission. If I took 'em, I'd want my name on 'em! :D

All in all, this is a GREAT addition to everyone's personal "Box Set," and every fan, casual or die-hard, should have it. Talk to the Hand is available both on DVD and in a CD/DVD Combo. If you're just looking for audio, I recommend the full recording, available at barenakedladies.com, along with dozens of other fantastic shows from the past few tours.