Melissa Etheridge - Live... and Alone (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)

. I was washing my car in a little car wash across the street from Christy's (the other Bono) restaurant when I remembered that that night was the premiere of the Movie of Melissa Etheridge's Live and Alone Concert. So I went. It is just like being at the concert except that you get to sit in a real seat. It begins with some footage from the last time Melissa sang in a particular bar in Pasadena, California in 1987. She had so much promise and poise, even then. The bar scene flows into the time before right before this Concert which was filmed at the Kodak in Hollywood, in 2001. Even Stephen Spielberg hobbles into this pre-concert footage. The concert is The Perfect Melissa Concert: the photography is great; her expressions are fierce and funny; and her voice just fills up the screen and the hearts of those who hear her. Among other songs, she sings the two piano songs, Please Forgive Me and the Weakness In Me; and other songs in which she accompanies herself on the guitar, Down To One, Lover Please, American Girl, Chrome, Scarecrow, The Only One, Come To My Window, Somebody Bring Me Some Water and The Way I Do. There are other songs; I'm not a scribe. Chrome is really a beautiful song and beautifully done. Lover Please, shows Melissa's pain to the point of pleading but also, through the use of that garble-machine into which Melissa sputters the words `do you want me' (I think) and through the use of that harsh yellow light, I sense real anger, anger that I never heard in the song without the visual. The photography and editing are excellent, occasionally there would be three shots of her singing on the screen at once - the movie was really well cut and crafted. And Melissa is Melissa. It is extraordinary. The deluxe DVD of this concert/movie will also contain footage of Melissa at home. It is a must for every music lover.

Firtstly the important bit " what you get for your $'s" Disc 1 : Each separate section is marked with a * * The concert. 2 hours of footage from the Kodak theater, LA. ( I think the Christmas songs are all that have been cut from the original show.) * Song Access. Where can jump straight to your favorite bit. * Audio setup. You can choose between a stereo setting or a Dolby 5.1surround sound. * Special Features. At this point there are 2 options, The first, Melissa's Commentary & the second, Multiangle Concert segments. The latter has 2 songs "All American Girl" & "Scarecrow" filmed from 3 angles, you can pick & mix your preferred version from your own handset. * Links & Credits. Disc 2 : * Live & Alone Tour Diary. Now this is very cool. There's a graphic that charts Melissa's whole tour & you can follow the plane from city to city in the US & then over to Europe. There's a day counter & mileage chart which also ( inexplicably ! ) tells you how much water Melissa drank & how many bagels the crew ate along the way. Starting from home in LA we see Melissa & partner Tammy in the house, ( Aug. 2. 01 ) fooling around in the kitchen, get a mini tour of the office, bedroom & closet as they pack for the tour. Then it skips to short segments in Washington DC, Boston, Atlanta & Miami ( featuring the MEIN party & meet + greet ) Then there's a solo piece where Melissa relates being in Texas on 9/11, how she heard about the attack on NYC & what she did that day, it's a very emotional piece. The next footage is backstage at the concert from NYC. Then the plane travels over to Europe & we see Melissa in London on the London Eye & at the Meet + Greet with her Fan Club. Next it's over to Amsterdam where we see Melissa on the canal doing the tourist bit again finally to Berlin where we see some landmarks & Melissa talks about the "wall" & it ends at her Valentine's Day concert. This portion lasts about an hour. My favorite part of the discs, although I have to say the camera work is quite shoddy in places, even I know you wouldn't film someone with a window being them as all you'd see would be the silhouette, but it does give a "home movie" feel. * Melissa Interviewed. Short interview, although you'd think it was a monologue as the interviewer is barely audible, also the whole footage of Melissa discussing 9/11 is repeated. *Extra songs. 2 full versions, 'Yes I am' filmed in Atlanta & 'Dance without sleeping' from the first night at Amsterdam. * 1987 Solo Performance. Snippets of songs from the footage that started the movie & ppv, found by Melissa when cleaning ! *Roxy performance with the Band, April 02. Again sadly only snippets of the songs ( LP, BMSW & ITOO ) *Bonus tracks. "The Weakness in Me" & "Alive". Surprisingly there is no visual accompaniment here at all, but it's in ' 24 bit / 96 kHz high resolution uncompressed stereo audio" ( is that a consolation prize <g> ) * Complete Discography * Special links ( dvd rom features ) * Credits. This DVD is the first ( offical <g> ) release from Melissa Etheridge, after a multitude of videos & live tours finally fans have the chance to take Melissa home ( which will appeal to many <g> ) Watching, you can indulge in the performance as often as you like & get the opportunity to see why so many people follow & are in awe of this very talented artist. It only lacks the 5th star because filmed at the end of a gruelling tour the travelling has taken an edge off Melissa's voice which doesn't do some of her numbers justice & I think some footage could have been given for the bonus track performances. Never the less it's been worth the wait, you'll not regret this purchase.

Mammoth Melissa fan that I am, this first official Melissa DVD release has been an xciting event for this music fan - I received the DVD this morning and already have been engulfed by the electricity of this solo concert performance in LA, as part of Melissa's International live + Alone Tour. Few artists, save Springsteen, with whom Melissa has been compared, have ever ventured a solo tour without band or backing support. Melissa returns to her bar-performance roots and gives what I can only describe as a mesmerising rock performance of her anthology of hits & back-catalog. Flawless vocals, energetic guitar playing and that engaging stage presence which Ms Etheridge commands, you cannot help but feel you are watching an artiste in her prime who does not reply on pyrotechnics, ... dancers or session musicians to convey her music- as these fans can testify at the show. Standing throughout, they lap up Melissa's energy. Top notch performances throughout, but kudos to the energy of Bring Me Some Water & The Different and the stunning delicacy of my personal fave The Weakness In Me (available on Nuthin But A She Thang cd). Chills galore!! The 2nd disc is brimming with additional features as described on this URL. All I can say is that rock's formost female singer (along with La Benatar) is quite simply one of the most talented all round performers of our day. Your Xmas stocking is not complete without this!!

Why did we have to wait so long for such an awesome live DVD of the genial Melissa Etheridge. This DVD will captivate you infront of the TV for the 2 hour Concert. Make sure you have got some space to dance ... The Dolby Digital Sound (5.1) makes you feel being right infront of the stage and that feels great. Etheridge plays all by herself and the show is very diversified. 12String, Electric, 6String, Doubleneck, Piano, Harmonica, percussion on the back of a guitar and acapella. She impresses as she allways does. My personal highpoint is her performance of "Ready to Love" a song she wrote when she was 17 but nerver recorded it. The bonus material on disc 2 is also very special and I devoured it. Thank you Melissa for finally giving the fans what they allways wanted ... I can't wait to get the DVD with a band performance next year ;-)

I love music... all of it... including the backup music. I was hesitant to get this DVD because I thought I'd be bored with somone (even Melissa) just standing on stage and playing her guitar and singing... for two hours. BUT... hey, why not?!! Oh boy am I ever glad I got this DVD. I sat down, trying to be open minded about the lack of a band, and oh my goodness, the woman grabbed my attention right from the start and wouldn't let up. I wanted more after two hours!! Alone on a stage with no band and not just keeping my attention but actually captivating me... I'm friggin impressed!! Who the heck does that?!?! Only the best. Wow!

Its a DVD I had been waiting for, and Amazon.com sent an e-mail alert on its production. There's nothing in the world I would like to do better than watch Melissa in a concert, all alone. Her performance, alone, for example in MTV Unplugged is amazing!! It has more energy than a whole band, an experience... But I think the producers of this DVD have got it all wrong! They have failed to capture the full personality, the strong presence of Melissa on the stage. And they have also failed to capture the mood of the audience, so essential to enjoying a concert video.

This DVD of a live Melissa performance was long overdue. I especially enjoyed the bonus disc, with one notable exception. Melissa was interviewed by an off-camera interviewer and the sound quality for both questions and (more importantly) Melissa's answers was horrible. I had to turn the volume up -- way up -- and I could barely hear what was going on. This was a major disappointment, especially since it could have been fixed during post-production. This is only reason I give it 4 stars vs. 5 stars. (I really liked the version with running commentary by Melissa while the concert was going on.)

Melissa is the best live show I've ever seen, and this is Melissa at her best. Absolutely AMAZING. The music alone is worth 10x the price; add in the special features/interviews and this becomes a priceless addition to any music lover's collection.