Paul McCartney and Friends - The PETA Concert for Party Animals
68 minutes - Region 1 DVD

Comments: Filmed at the Paramount Studios "New York Backlot" in Hollywood, Ca. on September 18, 1999.

I can't believe I actually spent money on this. Guess it proves I *really* liked the Devil Band ... still, I hang my head in shame. If you're busy and don't want to read further I can save you a lot of time - when you buy the DVD, MAKE SURE YOU SKIP AHEAD TO TRACK 9!!!! You can safely skip the rest. That is, the rest of the DVD and the rest of my review.

Still can't believe I bought something that supports PETA - man what a bunch of whack jobs. It's like an American tradition, taking good ideas to ridiculous extremes. I mean, if you like beer, drink a case a night, right? No such thing as moderation. I mean, I don't think they should rub shampoo in little bunnies' eyes to see if it makes them water, but if animal testing is gonna save my life, or your life, or some little kid, I don't see the fucking problem, ya know? Heck, I'm more of an animal lover than probably 99% of the population but these guys even make me cringe, and I'm a guy who takes spiders and puts them outside instead of squishing them like I ought to. I guess PETA in their own way are just like the NRA - I can't support them either. I mean, I believe more strongly than most in the Second Amendment (and exercise it on a daily basis), but I don't interpret that to mean that I have some sort of God given unalienable right to own a small tactical nuclear weapon in case I want to stop an attacker. I also think machine guns are pretty nifty (I've always wanted a Tommy gun, they are a total blast!) but at the same time I'm not so certain I should be able to own one. Then again, I'm more afraid of a MiniVanMommie on a cell phone and 27 yelling soccer kids in the back than I am of the prospect of my neighbor having a full-auto M16 but you don't hear me whining about background checks for cell phones.

Do you know these cats are local to me? Yep, we got PETA and the Christian Coalition, all within about a 5 minute drive. Always wanted to lock them all in one room just to see what would happen. Yep, that's it, lock Bea Arthur and Pat "Gimme a dollar and I'll name a brick after you" Robertson, in a steel cage death match. Heck, I'd go for that on Pay-Per-View...

It's funny - PETA moved into the area, I think it was in 1995, and immediately started harassing fishermen, threatening to disrupt the big fishing tournament with explosives to drive off all the fish. And better yet, then threatened to ram the fishing boats. I guess if you've got two legs you're fair game, but if you have gills it's hands off.

The point of this is, they are gonna try to make you sit through a bunch of propoganda to watch the music. So the time spent reading this is well worth it for this one fact, if you didn't catch it first - SKIP AHEAD TO TRACK 9!

Anyways, I know it would absolutely drive my blood pressure through the roof to watch any of the rest of this thing (Bea Arthur doing the introduction for the B-52s was enough to cause my heart to stop momentarily, I really thought the old bat had died) but I loved the B-52s set was great. Love their stuff, their live gigs are always great. Can't remember if it's the same guitar player as when I saw them tour in the early 90s, all I remember was he had an incredible early 60s Tele Custom and had a killer sound. Great job on this one, too. Love those female vocals, they can really reach for the notes and nail them. Shame they haven't done anything recently. Chrissie Hynde puts in an appearance with them, too - guess being an animal benefit they had to have a Dog on the stage.

Macca and the Devil Band were just awesome - tight and in the pocket, and it seems they really did tweak the picture and the mix from the original broadcast. Great mix, altho I'd prefer if Mick was just a tad higher. Sonically this is IMHO far superior to the official Cavern release (altho the 3BR audio version kills both of these). "Honey Hush" is nice, and Green is on fire. The performance of "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" edges out that on the Cavern video - even considering the false intro. "No Other" features a great Gilmour solo, not as nice as the Cavern performance but sweet in its simplicity. Ian Paiste is great, too - he knows where to play, and even more importantly, where to leave space. Great, punchy drummer, he knows how to HIT and release, every beat is distinct and clear. Looks incredible - only 68 minutes but it's a dual layer DVD (meaning it's over 4.7G in size) which means they really have the video and audio bitrates high, which means great quality. High definition 1.85:1 widescreen looks great.

Overall, worth the price just for those tracks. I mean, I wouldn't know about the others because I can't bear to watch it. Heck, I'll end up doing an Elvis on the TV if I try! But if you want some good dance, sweet ballads, and hot rockabilly, this one's hard to beat - Crank it up and enjoy!

PS they do sneak in some propoganda AFTER the performances either, with interviews, so be warned. And one woman, touting the fact that she's a vegan, who proves conclusively that it is possible to be a fat B****H even if you don't eat meat! Hey honey, how many tofu bars do you have to cram down to put on that much weight? Enquiring minds want to know....