In the event that you were scratching around for any further evidence of The Rapture’s celebrated ‘quirky conceptional left-turns’ Vertigo release the band’s first full length live DVD ‘The Rapture Are Alive and Well In New York City’ on July 12th 2004, directed by acclaimed young video director Patrick Daughters, whose recent work includes the video for the bands ‘Love Is All’ promo clip, and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s ‘Maps’.
Recorded just prior to Christmas 2003 at the band’s three sold out homecoming shows at New York’s Bowery Ballroom this plain and simple DVD is a curt, resounding testament to the Rapture’s lively and invigorating live displays, showing just what a ferocious and infectious proposition their club/post-punk crossover really is. From the frantic, communal interplay of percussive instruments, the jerky and frantic mekanik dancing to the E-fuelled cyber-clutter of the beats it’s a certain kind of purity that Daughters captures. The angles and shots, whilst unremarkable in any theatrical sense of the word, are intimate and enduring. There’s no frills – no pyrotechnics – no juggling astronauts. But this is what makes it so brutally absorbing. The continuity and the sheer protracted length of shots only adds to the drama and the hypnotic introspection of what’s coming through the speakers. And the unvarying use of the audience in the shots provides an intimacy and locality often overlooked in live recordings (Daughters even makes use of the unmitigated arrival of a bass-shaped birthday cake for bass player Mattie’s 28th birthday as well as footage of the band’s sound check)
Included in the release are lesser-known curios like ‘The Pop Song’ and ‘Modern Romance’ from their early recordings, alongside live favourites ‘Out Of The Races, Onto The Tracks’ and ‘Rock’n’roll Part 2. Where it does fall down though, is on bonus features – for which there are surprisingly few. What we do have though are the three rather impressive promotional videos for ‘House Of jealous Lovers’, ‘Sister Saviour’ and ‘Love Is All’. Anyway, if there are extra surprises, I didn’t find them – but given the time I had, that was hardly surprising.
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Tracklisting:
Infatuation
Out Of The Races
Modern Races
Olio (DVD
Open Up Your Heart
The Pop Song
The Coming Of Spring
Heaven
Sister Saviour
Killing
Echoes
House Of Jealous Lovers
Happy Birthday / Rock N Roll Part 2
Love Is All