Coldplay: Live 2003

Riding high on the phenomenal success of A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay is in peak form on Coldplay Live 2003. This CD/DVD two-pack was filmed (on Super-16mm film) and recorded in Sydney's Horden Pavilion on July 21 and 22, 2003, during an exhaustive year-long world tour, and the medium-sized arena provides a fitting stage for the London-based rock quartet, not so grand as to overwhelm the music, but large enough to indicate their large and loyal following, which includes enthusiastic fans of either gender. Especially when played in DTS 5.1 surround, this 90-minute concert is richer, thicker, and (of course) louder than Coldplay's studio recordings, lending a wall-of-sound expansiveness to the band's signature sound, which draws from such diverse influences as Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Verve, U2, and their own unique sonic landscape. "Politik" gets the gig off to a rousing start, and other impressive highlights include "Daylight," "Yellow," the as-yet-unreleased new song "Moses," and the popular hits "In My Place," "Clocks," and "The Scientist." And while the concert visuals are slick and professional (perhaps placing a bit too much emphasis on singer/frontman Chris Martin), this DVD and CD--the latter containing a truncated 70-minute version of the same performance--are best appreciated for their pristine audio quality. Culled from 400 hours of home video, the 40-minute "concert diary" represents a wasted opportunity, enjoyable for hardcore fans but offering no insight into the band or its individual members. Much better, then, to play the concert at healthy high volume, and appreciate Coldplay in the prime of their young career. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Review: The best concert I never went to!!
I got the Coldplay 2003 DVD as a birthday present in '04. Coldplay's my favorite band, so you can imagine my excitement. Back in the days, I never thought I could ever be in a real concert of the band, I lived too far away from any place they toured. Almost four years later, I still think the DVD was the best concert in my life. That is, taking into consideration that I went to see them, against all odds, in NYC in 2006. It's not that the concert was bad, it was one of the best days in my life. It's that to me, the DVD is so good that I can't get enough of it. The band plays perfectly, the connection with the crowd is real, the choice of songs is fantastic, the sound is epic, the transitions that go along with songs, including colors, angles and views of the crowd and the band are nothing but exciting and bright. If there's any DVD I would ever recommend, it's this one. It's the closest you'll come to live the Coldplay experience if you haven't got the chance to live it already.
Customer Review: Wow. That's all I have to say.
Not only is the music CD great, but the DVD packs quite the punch. The only tiny thing that bugged me was how the CD didn't have every song off of the DVD, but I guess that's what makes the DVD that much better. If you like Coldplay, but this DVD, you will not regret it. Best $20 musical purchase I've made in a long time.

You can always tell that a dance form is gaining popularity when you see it on the silver screen. When the Brazilian dance Lambada was the craze, there was actually a movie titled "Lambada" in1989. Patrick Swayze's "Dirty Dancing" popularized a forbidden dance of the same name.

Some other dance movies are:

"Flashdance" (1983) Breakdancing movie

"Saturday Night Fever" (1977) Disco movie

"Fame" (1980) Jazz movie

"The Turning Point" (1977) Ballet movie

"Staying Alive" (1983) Jazz movie

"Footloose" (1984) New Wave movie

Though there are a lot more that could be mentioned, it cannot be denied that most of these movies help disseminate information on the chosen dance topic. For a dance to be featured on film is a good thing no matter what critics say.

It appears the dance form Stepping is also getting widescreen attention. Here are some of the movies on this African American art form:

"School Daze" (1988) musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell.

Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, it is a story about fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. This was the second feature film directed by Spike Lee, and was released on February 12, 1988 by Columbia Pictures.

"Stomp the Yard" (2007) drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007.

Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges to join a fictional Greek-letter fraternity. The film's central conflict involves DJ's fraternity competing in various stepping competitions against a rival fraternity from the same school. The film's script was written by Robert Adetuyi, working from an original draft by Gregory Ramon Anderson. The film was originally titled Steppin', but to avoid confusion over the 2006 film Step Up, the title was changed.

"How She Move" (2008) Canadian film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Cl Bennett, and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the emerging street culture of step dancing and the talents of a new generation of Canadian-born actors. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams, Sienna Films and MTV Films.

Motion pictures through the years reflect the way things were and are at the time of filming. The 1930s depression produced movies on how hard life was, the '70s showed movies on promiscuity, abortion, war and other social issues of the time, and so on.

Because Stepping is a continuously growing art form, documenting it at a certain period in time helps record its progress and changes.

Though most practitioners of this dance would say that these movies didn't do full justice to this art form, the message all these films are trying to relay is the same: Stepping is part of African American culture and is a part of the here and now.

MyStepShow.com is a free video sharing community website that features step team performances. Members can post and share video footage of their stepteam performances. Visit http://www.MyStepShow.com to learn more about the tradition of stepping.

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