I finally get an opportunity to review a Piano Guys concert! There are, obviously, some differences between a music video/mp3 versus a live performance. One of the things I love about a live Piano Guys show is the banter between Jon and Steven. Now, this DVD doesnt have a great deal of this banter, but there's enough there to get a good feel for what it's like to see them live.
One thing that may confuse people who follow TPG, is the fifth performer in the song What Makes You Beautiful. Tel Stewart was a member of The Piano Guys and still helps make their music videos, but he is no longer "officially" one of The Piano Guys.
This concert lasted about 3.5 hours from start to finish, but that's mostly because some songs had to be done several times to get the sound and video just right. The DVD runs about an hour and fifteen minutes if you include the three bonus songs. The Piano Guys like to loop audio tracks, so a song with only one cellist has 8 cellos all playing simultaneously. The way they do this live is by seamlessly switching from one audio track to the next, usually playing which ever cello track is in the foreground at the moment. Another nice aspect to their concerts is the video screen, which often shows the music video while they are playing the song.
The song list from this concert is a perfect mix of a few classics, and most of their new stuff at the time. The performance of Beethoven's 5 Secrets was accompanied by the Lyceum Orchestra, playing "flash mob" style, amongst the crowd. (The percussion section was right behind us). The emotions are not hard to hear, and they're even harder to miss when you watch Steven crying tears of joy by the end of the piece.
The song that is a must see, though, is Simple Gifts/Over the Rainbow which is performed with the help of the One Voice Childrens Choir and sounds absolutely amazing.
Alex Boye is another guest and lends his incredible vocals to Peponi (Paradise).
And lastly, don't forget to catch Can't Help Falling in Love in the bonus section. Steven adds a cello accompaniment which always leaves a smile on my face.
If you would like to experience a Piano Guys concert, but they aren't
coming to your town any time soon, (or not soon enough...) this is a great example of what a live show is like.
And to all the TPG fans out there, this is a lot cheaper and easier to get a hold of now that PBS isn't the sole distributor. (Its about time too, I gave away my copy as a gift).
I hope, as time goes on, this is not the only DVD that The Piano Guys release. They are always entertaining live and seeing more of the in-between stuff (like Steven's banana gag for Pachelbel's Canon) would be a welcome addition to a live DVD.
P.S.... A blu-ray would be really awesome, too. ;-)
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2017
- Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2020
- Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
-
-
- Jeff ;)Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2015
The Fantastic Disk Of The Fantastic 4!
-
