Vol. 2 No. 5 (Nov. 1, 2004) Page 3

DVD Review
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3

Jeremy Arth:
"Close, But Not Touching"
Page 4
Page 5

The Bootlog
Page 6

Fan Profile / What Lurks Below
Page 7

True Experience:
New Orleans
Page 8

The Reviews
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17

Friends of Ezra
Page 18

News & Links
Page 19

Map of Ezra
Page 20

TTOY Hall of Fame
Page 21

BTE Impressions
Page 22

THE ARCHIVES

Volume 1
Mar. 2003
May 2003
July 2003
Sept. 2003
Nov. 2003
Jan. 2004

Volume 2
Mar. 2004
May 2004
July 2004
Sep. 2004

DVD REVIEW (CONT'D)

King of New Orleans
Wasting no time, the guys kick right into "King of New Orleans."  I must confess this is my favorite BTE song.  Hard rock and social commentary, the perfect combination.  And we get a de-covered "breakdown" that allows KG to show off his falsetto abilities.  They even left in a whispering MF!

Rosealia
This Deluxe track ranks right up there in the rocking category and the guys really let rip on it.  More than any other track this showcases the talents of Tom and Travis.  And Tom delivers an outstanding bass solo that is captured perfectly by the cameras.  Notice how he then exhorts the crowd to rock with his open arms?  And Jim comes forward for his traditional role in the song, but as he does so, he touchingly embraces Tom's face.

Beautiful Mistake
Kevin steps forward for a spotlighted rendition of this How Does Your Garden Grow classic. A pal of mine always raves about the "tones" of HDYGG and I think you can see what he means in this performance.  This is a prime example why so many Ezralites cite this as their favorite album.

At the Stars
Another HDYGG jewel, this is one of those BTE songs that rocks even though you're think it doesn't if you've only heard the album version.  And the addition of the Horns D'Amour gives it an uplifting feeling.  Sadly missing from this version, of course, is any "Wide Spread Cheese Incident" touches from Jim Payne and KG's guitar solo, but those probably would not have melded well with the horns.

Waxing or Waning
It's just a snippet, but I'm glad it's there, aren't you?  I include this in my most "NOLA" of BTE songs category, even though KG always says it was written about St. Mark's Place in New York City.  Either way, the song has a jazzy flavor to it reminiscent of the Big Easy.

A Lifetime
Was it inspired by the death of Joel Rundell or the Graham Parsons story?  Or maybe both? Regardless, this is the Closer hit that never was.  It's song with such passion and receives such a tremendous response from the crowd.  See how everyone's singing back to the band? That's how it live, isn't it? Perfect. And kudos (as usual) to Travis for some truly spectacular drumming.

This Time of Year
Speaking of singalongs, nothing beats TTOY for that, does it?  As Kevin explains, this is a true campfire song.  The guys let rip on it in true BTE fashion.  It's too bad they couldn't finagle any covers into the song or include Pauly from Australia's performance, but the band delivers a rocking version in short order.

Desperately Wanting
I've read some articles that claim this is one of the great alternative rock songs and I have to agree.  The slow start builds up to the grand rock finale.  Of course, here Professor Griffin stops along the way to explain the science of the "kick it on up and the break it on down." This is a great song to end the main set on.  And do you notice how the crowd "jumps up and down like this" without instruction?  Now those are fans!

Porcelain
As the band emerges to reclaim the stage for the encore, Kevin decides to do his best (or worst) Sally Field impression as he stands mid-stage proclaiming "you love us, you really love us!" (see above).

And Tom explains how "Porcelain" is a great fan favorite that is usually the most requested song at any BTE show.  For those fans who's only heard of the "Voodoo" or "Toe Curl" version of the song, here it is.  It's great how the band took a somewhat unremarkable song from Deluxe and turned into a live classic.

In the Blood
The guys have often said that this is the quintessential live BTE song and it never fails to disappoint.  Frankly, it's a toss-up between "Rosealia," "Sincerely Me," and "in the Blood" most rocking song on the DVD.  What's your pick?  By the way notice the little scoot KG does back across the stage during the song? And go Tom!

Use Me
There's no way better than to close the show than with a 10 minute plus jam.  It seems every rock band in the world is doing an album of covers these days and many of them are not that good.  In contrast, I once heard Kevin say that if you're going to actually record a cover (as opposed to throwing it out there during a show), you have to have something special to add to it.

BTE adds something special to this song on the Artifakt CD and it's a show stopper at New Orleans or area shows.  And sitting in is the "master of the keyboards" John Gros of Papa Grows Funk and the Horns D'Amour.  But you know, no matter how good a closing number this is, for me the best part of the entire DVD comes as KG leaves the stage and promises that BTE will keep on doing what they do for many more years.