Comments on: Ben Folds and Waso Live in Perth (2005)

By: Ugo

Ugo — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:24:59 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
Ben Folds Live
I can’t wait for this to come out. The show was amazing from start to finish. And it’s “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” not “Angry Little Dwarf.”

By: Aster

Aster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:12:15 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
Go Ben Go
I was fortunate enough to have the chance to drive 1.5 hours to catch Ben live this past fall at the Allegheny College aud. in PA. I’d have driven 1.

By: Galeno

Galeno — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:39:20 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth
I suppose I’m biased when reviewing this, as I was one of the lucky West Australians that was at this show. Yay!

By: Ujana

Ujana — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:20:18 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
respect.
What a great show. The arrangements are fantastic… even ones that I thought sounded “off” at times are starting to grow on me.

By: Kai

Kai — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:31:34 +0000

I've seen Ben Folds live in many contexts, with the new band, with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, solo with piano, live indoors, outside, and everywhere else. This show is one of the best I've seen out of all of them, and the DVD gets great reviews because of it. The orchestrations are good, though there were a few things I would change that stood out. Local Perth musicians put the arrangements together and they sounded good though there were obvious off-tempo sections and wrong notes from the otherwise great orchestra. My complaint with this DVD is not the accompanists, however, but with the main mix. It's definitely better than a high quality bootleg of the show, but it's not what you would expect from an Epic Records DVD. Because of the live environment, there is a good deal of feedback at times, and when the sound gets very loud there can be a drowning out effect as the trebles take over the mix, but otherwise it's done well for the amount of sound being produced from the stage.

Overall verdict: Fantastic show not to be missed with disappointing sound quality for the audiophile.

By: Chizue

Chizue — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:08:00 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
Ben with WASO
Guys, there are two audio formats, the main one is absoletly awful, you need to change it from “STEREO” to 5.1 . using alternative AUDIO option.

By: Humbert

Humbert — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:04:08 +0000

I read a review here that says the quality isn't great. I don't know what DVD they were watching, but the picture and sound quality are both top notch, better than most live performances you'll see on DVD.

Musically it's a gorgeous choice, while some work better than others (Steven's Last Night in Town and Evaporated being standouts with the symphony) and I would have liked to hear other favorites (Army, Jane) it's still an incredible experience, and I found myself laughing out loud a few times at Ben's humor and interaction with the crowd.

Simply put, any fan of Ben Folds (or of well written music in general) should be able to enjoy this DVD thoroughly.

By: Zuma

Zuma — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:57:32 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
Ben Folds Gold
Ben Folds is once again on top form and this time he’s brought the whole of the Western Australian Philharmonic Orchestra with him!

By: Ipo

Ipo — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:29:04 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
Original arrangements of great songs
The video showcases a new spin on some established great songs. The arrangements are unique and the performance is top-notch.

By: Wren

Wren — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:41:48 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
An absolutely stunning performance
I’m baffled as to why Sony wouldn’t also release this as a live album. I ripped this to CD and gave it to some friends to listen to in their cars.