Jars of Clay -
11 Live
(In Concert)
Performance
Production
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Jars of Clay -
11 Live
Performance
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I don't quite remember what got me into the so called Contemporary Christian Music artists Jars Of Clay in the first place, but I know it was around the time that Much Afraid had just won the Grammy for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, and the single "Crazy Times" was getting some decent crossover airplay on mainstream radio. Based on this song, and the things I was hearing about this band, I decided to give this whole Christian-pop thing a try, and picked up the Much Afraid album. After all, I have never emphasized lyrics as much as I do the music, so I would hopefully be able to withstand the often agonizingly annoying lyrics you typically get with Christian music. And besides, I was looking for a change of pace from all of the Dream Theater, Rush, and King's X I'd been jamming to. Turns out, I loved Much Afraid, which inspired me to run out and get their 1995, self-titled debut, as well. Jar Of Clay turned out to be as good as, if not better than, Much Afraid, depending on what kind of mood you're in. Finally, a fresh new band to enjoy, which is a rarity these days. Well, I eventually lost interest in the band after 1999's If I Left The Zoo failed to move me like the first two albums did. When I noticed the 11 Live DVD in my local music store a few years ago, I was very intrigued to find out what their new The Eleventh Hour album had to offer, and just what these boys could do live. Their studio albums have a very highly polished sound, and the music can get rather complex with the inclusion of numerous stringed instruments, accordion, and interwoven harmonies. Jars Of Clay show here that they can more than hold their own on the concert stage. 11 Live was filmed during the band's The Eleventh Hour tour, in 2002, and features both a full-length concert main feature, as well as a four-song acoustic set from the same show. The main feature includes thirteen songs which are pulled from all four studio albums, of which five are from the new The Eleventh Hour album. The song choices were generally good "Love Song For a Savior" and "Flood" from the debut, "Collide" from If I Left The Zoo, "Disappear" from The Eleventh Hour, but what the hell, I mean heck, happened to Much Afraid? Only "Crazy Times" from the album that won your butts a Grammy and really put you on the map? No "Overjoyed", "Frail", or "Truce" at least? How dare they dis my favorite JoC album! Ahhh well, at least they did play six songs from the debut album, if you include the two from the acoustic set. Joining the band onstage were a three piece string section for the entire show, and a gospel choir during "I'm Alright" and "Revolution". The strings added significantly to the sound, as many of the band's songs incorporate cello, violin, fiddle, and other instruments of the like. Many songs also feature the accordion skills of Charlie Lowell and Dan Haseltine, which, along with Haseltine's unique vocals, gives the band their signature sound. The absolute highlight of the evening was, of course, "Flood", which ended the first set. This marvelous song remains one of my all time favorites, from any band, and it was performed brilliantly this night. The band returns for an encore featuring "The Edge Of Water" and a very extended version of "Worlds Apart". Haseltine is a great singer and has decent rapport with the fans, but he always comes across as so damn somber when he talks to the crowd. He my as well be saying "so anyways...my brother was just killed over in Iraq...and, ah, my wife just left me for the singer from Slayer, and...." - lighten up dude! After all, you are playing in front of a few thousand screaming, horny chicks, who are all staring at you like you are Jesus Christ himself. During the last half of "Worlds Apart" a huge portrait of JC fills the screen on stage, reminding all of those young, impressionable girls in the audience, who have been leering lustily at the band all night, and all of the horny guys who have been waiting patiently along side them, to vanquish all of those sinful thoughts from their minds. After the encore from the main show, Haseltine invites the audience to join them over at the acoustic set, where they go on to perform four unplugged songs. This is included as a bonus feature on the DVD. The band performs two classics from the first album, "Boy On A String", and "Liquid", a rarely performed song called " Needful Hands", which I believe only appears on a Christian-compilation album called Exodus, and ends with "Something Beautiful" from the new album. I think a lot of this band's music would be more compelling performed acoustically like this. It was a great set. The production quality was mixed. First of all you only get a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio option, but it does offer a very good stereo mix, and if your amplifier includes a Dolby Pro Logic decoder, then the surrounds are used to good effect. My only complaints are that the bass was barely heard, and the electric guitar was too low in the mix. The picture was very soft and lacked any sharpness. The main concert was shot like a music video at times and was lacking in live ambiance. The acoustic set was much more intimate and the live mood came across better. Jars Of Clay fans should be very pleased with the amount of good bonus material included on this DVD. Not only do you get the acoustic performance, but you also get a wonderful bonus performance of "Frail", which was shot in Nashville on February 18th, 1998. The funny thing is, is that the audio and video from this bonus performance was probably better than the main feature. Also included is a making of The Eleventh Hour feature called "ten:thirty", as well as loads of behind the scenes footage and interviews in a segment called "Artflick". You don't have to be a Contemporary Christian Music fan to enjoy this DVD or anything else Jars Of Clay have to offer. They're just plain good, no matter how you want to categorize them. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - May 2005 |
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Set List |
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Running Time: 85 Minutes (w/acoustic set) |
DVD Release Date - September
2002 |