Favorite official concert video release

[progrockman]

What's your favorite home video concert release so far and why? There is no poll on this so I'm curious to see the official consensus.

[Enalya]

Score by far! Just everything.. the musical quality, the sound (although the orchestra doesn't sound spot on all the time), the camera work - which isn't so chaotic and gives nice overviews. And great setlist, including the total of SDOIT2 and 8VM
Follow up is Live in Tokyo : )

[Onno]

Score by a mile.

[Kotowboy]

MP era : Budokan.

MM Era : 4th Wall.


Combination : Budokan the 4th Wall. 

[Train of Naught]

BTFW

[fischermasamune]

Metropolis 2000 was amazing at many ways - specially the playing and the setlist. Maybe it was the best audio CD. If we include the visual experience (HD counts) to playing and setlist, I think BTFW is better . Also, there are many opportunities where JLB doesn't sound spot on live on all releases, but BTFW is not so bad in this regard.

I voted BTFW (LAB coming as second).

[Nihil-Morari]

Score by far! Just everything.. the musical quality, the sound (although the orchestra doesn't sound spot on all the time), the camera work - which isn't so chaotic and gives nice overviews. And great setlist, including the total of SDOIT2 and 8VM
Follow up is Live in Tokyo : )

Score for me too. Was thinking about what my number two would be, but I guess it would be Live In Tokyo. Most of all that one's a lot of fun to watch.

[pcs90]

Either BTFW or Score.

[CharlesPL]

LaB

[Madman Shepherd]

BTFW but I really do love Tokyo and 5YIAL because of their old school feel and the funny things intercut. 

Special shoutout should go to WDADRU even though it isn't "official"

[Rodni Demental]

I'm gonna make a small statement about some experiences and some of what I feel about each one. Excuse the length if this gets out of hand... 

Tokyo: Great for seeing the band in near perfect form in their early days. Arguably one of the top DVD performances as far as consistency goes.

Livetime: Not as consistently impressive but still really interesting to see a representation of this stage of their carreers. We have footage of Derek and a bunch of easter eggs and mini covers throughout the songs. Just a cool collection of stuff really but nothing mind blowing.

New York: Full live representation of SFAM, not to mention AMBI + ACOS at the end. Having fit all that in one show would be pretty neat in itself imo but having guest vocals and choir live took it to another level.

Budokan: Really don't have much to say about this one, think it was the second DVD I got and I've only watched it like once or twice (listened to the CDs a lot more). Nothing particularly stand out I guess but nice variation. I like MPs policy of representing different songs on each live release. In all honesty, I'm gonna watch this again sometime soon because I can hardly remember it. 

Score: Possibly one of the most consistent official DVD releases since Tokyo in that the whole band is in top form for almost the entire show. I'm quite a fan of the bizarre anniversary setlist as I find it cool to see the more obscure songs get played. The orchestra and the fact that they play SDOIT + 8vrm is just the icing on the cake.

Chaos in Motion: This was actually my first live DVD I had for the band, and while I could tell something was off with the sound and especially with post production on the vocals, I didn't really think about that stuff at the time because I just found it interesting to see live versions of songs. It blew my mind how tight these guys were playing and how well they replicated the studio versions of songs. And the behind the scenes stuff was awesome, fans just eat that stuff up and as a new fan I was all over it. Also loved Surrounded '07, heard it before I'd heard the original. 

Luna Park: Considering how long the wait was, I was pretty hyped on this one. And I wasn't disappointed, massive and varied setlist, it was fascinating to see MM playing his interpretations of the songs in good quality for the first time. Full representation of ADTOE meaning we now have phenomenal live versions (imo) of that whole album. Band sounded great, and especially James sounded great. I'm sure this is subject to change but this is my favourite live album atm and the one I voted for.

Fourth Wall: It'sa pretty nice. Absolute tops version of Illumination Theory and Awake/SFAM parts were pretty cool. I'm all for using anniversaries for variation and as a way to represent older or in some cases more obscure material. I mean this tour had TSF and SDV which I don't think anyone expected. Now they just need to pull out TBOT and DLPM and I'd shit myself.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Score. Amazing setlist, the band sounded great, the video quality was great, and the orchestra sounded awesome and was a nice treat. To have SDoIT and 8VM played at the same show with the full orchestra alone is worth a viewing.

[BlobVanDam]

Budokan for me. So energy. So powah. FUCK. Best visuals, best audio, and the band is performing really well, even if JLB sounds a little tired by the end of the set.
Score is also amazing, and it doesn't surprise me that it's winning the poll, but the audio and video aren't quite as good to me, and I prefer the performances on Budokan a little more overall. JLB is the big difference maker here though.

[Nihil-Morari]

Wait a second Blob, you're saying that James sounds better on Budokan and worse on Score?

[BlobVanDam]

Wait a second Blob, you're saying that James sounds better on Budokan and worse on Score?

He obviously sounds better on Score! I meant that even though I prefer the performances on Budokan overall, the vocals are clearly in Score's favour. Pardon my crummy wording.

[Zydar]

I voted Budokan - best visuals and audio. The downside is that it's too heavy on the Train Of Thought stuff, which is one of my least favourite DT albums. But hey, it's from that tour so that's to be expected.

[Anguyen92]

I liked Breaking the Fourth Wall for good reasons.  One thing was that I bought it based on the enthusiasm that DTF has shown about it around the release date.  That and the Strange Deja Vu video convinced me that it was going to be a worthwhile purchase.

Another thing was that BTFW filled the gaps that I found Score and Luna Park (the only other two DVD released from DT that I have watched thus far) lacking.  I found Score trying to too hard to have that epic feeling when it just merely comes off as just good, which can lead to disappointment in certain aspects.  Luna Park was solid enough performance-wise and setlist-wise, but I couldn't hear enough natural crowd noise enthusiasm and this is a difference maker since it took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina where South America, in general, has great vocal crowds and not able to hear too much of that is bit of a downer.

For Breaking the Fourth Wall, I think it comes close to a great DVD release as it can be.  Great setlist, it's able to showcase the new songs a good amount, some rarities liked The Shattered Fortress, and give decent nods to the anniversary album releases.  The crowd showed good noticeable appreciation for the songs at the right places without being obnoxious.  Overall, I was just plain really happy about the whole thing.

[hefdaddy42]

Fuck, I don't know.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Score was the last GREAT live release. BTFW comes close, but a has a few things I don't like about it. I was at both shows, so they both have a special place for me, but Score is easily #1. Budokan is just as enjoyable and would be my #2. I love the older ones a lot, too, because of both the content and the commentary tracks.

I haven't watched Luna Park or Chaos in Motion in years. Was not impressed with CiM, and I can't stand LaLP because of the canned audience noise. I do like the performances but that noise grates my ears every time. Those are the only two live releases I don't really care for.

[cramx3]

Budokan, best overall audio/video, an awesome set list, and amazing performance by the band,

BTFW is next then Score to round out my top three.

[Darkstarshades]

Score.
Because it has 8 songs in the first act and 5 songs in the second one, not counting the encore.

[Cable]

Score.

But most of them have their pros and cons. JP sounds best tone wise IMO on Met2000, and JM is the loudest. Budokan hands down has the best camera work. Score is a combination of solid stuff, not my favorite setlist. But has SDOIT, JP is spot on (vs. Budokan), and JLB is on fire.

The last two look well, and sound good, with BTFW being better than Luna for sure.

[progrockman]

Live at budoken for me. A lot of contenders, but the overall production quality, performances and setlist tops it here.

[Nihil-Morari]

I'm really surprised that Budokan is the runner up in this. I can't listen to that, the band is about the sloppiest I've heard them, with a special mention of James' vocal problems that tour. Don't get me wrong, it's not BAD per se, but I really thought everyone would agree that there's a lot of better live releases out there, in terms of playing quality.

[mikeyd23]

I'm really surprised that Budokan is the runner up in this. I can't listen to that, the band is about the sloppiest I've heard them, with a special mention of James' vocal problems that tour. Don't get me wrong, it's not BAD per se, but I really thought everyone would agree that there's a lot of better live releases out there, in terms of playing quality.

Ummm, it's definitely not James' strongest performance on an official release (Score is IMO), but the rest of the band is tight as hell on Budokan...

[KevShmev]

I'm really surprised that Budokan is the runner up in this. I can't listen to that, the band is about the sloppiest I've heard them, with a special mention of James' vocal problems that tour. Don't get me wrong, it's not BAD per se, but I really thought everyone would agree that there's a lot of better live releases out there, in terms of playing quality.

Budokan is their best and most professional looking live release to date, but for me, the set list/collection of songs is the least best of all of the official releases.  Plus, the running order, especially in the latter half of the concert, just doesn't work.

[Setlist Scotty]

Gotta go with Score. The setlist may not be perfect for me, but just about everything about that video is awesome. And the fact that I was there for that show probably makes me just a little biased for that show too. 

[OpenYourEyes311]

Gotta go with Score. The setlist may not be perfect for me, but just about everything about that video is awesome. And the fact that I was there for that show probably makes me just a little biased for that show too. 

I love getting to tell other fans I was at this show (and the BTFW show! ). I once told MP I was at the Radio City show and he said, "Yeah? I was there, too!"

[hefdaddy42]

Gotta go with Score. The setlist may not be perfect for me, but just about everything about that video is awesome. And the fact that I was there for that show probably makes me just a little biased for that show too. 

All of this.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Also, regarding the setlist of Score, considering it's probably the last time they play a LOT of those songs, I'd say it's pretty perfect.

Another Won
Innocence Faded
Raise The Knife
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Goodnight Kiss
About to Crash (Reprise)
Losing Time/Grand Finale
Vacant
The Answer Lies Within
Octavarium

Honestly, when will they ever pull these songs out again? Looking at it I'd say maybe AtCR/LT/GF may happen in the future, even less maybe for Goodnight Kiss and Octavarium. Other than that, I don't see them playing any of those songs any time soon. Not to mention some great performances of UaGM, IWBY, TRoAE, TSCO, and Metropolis. All reasons why Score is the greatest.

[Sycsa]

To begin with, only 3 releases are really relevant to me in this discussion: Budokan, Score, 4th Wall.

I listened to 4th wall the most and had the most fun with it overall. The setlist is excellent (it's the only live DT release that I can listen to without skipping any songs), Mangini's playing really shines, the sound and the looks are great.

That said, I still voted for Budokan, it's the best looking and sounding release, it's so unique and has so much style. The setlist is so-so, but there are gems like the extended Hollow Years guitar solo and the BTL jam, not to mention Instrumedley, which got me into DT in the first place. Budokan was the way I got acquainted to DT, what a way to start.

Score is plagued by a weak setlist, TROAE is a great opener, James pulls out one of his best performances during UAGM and Innocence Faded, but after that I usually eject the DVD.

[ResultsMayVary]

Score > LAB > BTFW >>> everything else.

Score because the band and James sounds great. This, to me, sounds like their best performance to me. I also really like the setlist.

[Eldomm]

Budokan, best overall audio/video, an awesome set list, and amazing performance by the band,

BTFW is next then Score Luna Park to round out my top three.

[progrockman]

 Recently watched Live In Tokyo on a pretty decent sound system and damn labrie sounds good back in the day, same with the rest of the guys.

[The Walrus]

Score times infinity.