Celine and other concert videos

It was watching the Journey Live In Manila DVD that got me interested in concert videos again. Besides, music nowadays is not merely aural. You can really appreciate a song more when it comes with a good video. So I brought out the ones I got these past few weeks, watched them all and I must say I enjoyed the experience immensely. Here are the ones I heartily recommend.

Celine Through The Eyes Of The World by Celine Dion. Surprise! This is not a concert video. In fact she sings only a line or two here and there or is heard in the background. This is instead a documentary on Celine. It is not the usual VH-1 type that chronicles her rise to stardom but a very intimate portrait of how she is today. Here is Celine as wife and mother, on vacation and at play with her family and also as a star, on tour, getting ready to go on stage, sidelined with a throat infection, etc.

Celine allowed the camera to enter her life and her fans will love the results. I am sure that, so will others. Not only because I can honestly say that this is a most satisfying three-hour film. But because, surprise again, it features Celine’s duet of Because You Loved Me with Charice that got the whole Oprah Winfrey show including Oprah herself in tears.

Funhouse Tour by Pink. This film was shot in Australia. Now you have seen how daring and theatrical Pink is on stage in her guest spots on TV like the MTV Video Music Awards. This one has all those and more. Almost every song is a fantastic production number that has Pink in eye-popping costumes and engaged in amazing acrobatics. She also has excellent rapport with her audience, confidently teasing them or surprising everybody with a song like Bohemian Rhapsody.

This is not to be missed, most especially, by local artists who want to put on a great show. They can all learn a lot from Pink. Among the included numbers are: Bad Influence, Just Like A Pill, Ave Mary A, Don’t Let Me Get Me, So What, Family Portrait, I Don’t Believe You, Crystal Ball, Sober, Funhouse, Crazy, Get The Party Started and Glitter In The Air. Bonus tracks are It’s All Your Fault and One Foot Wrong. Special features are On Tour With Pink, How To Shred The Gnar and Bloopers.

George Michael Live in London. If you are going to look for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go in a George Michael show, then this video is not for you. He also does not do Kissing A Fool or I Want Your Sex, although thankfully Careless Whisper makes the set list. Old hits though is not what this concert is about. This is about George Michael and his music today. Believe you me, I never realized it before but he is one incredible performer who can hold his audience enthralled just by simply singing. And he does this so effortlessly even when he does unfamiliar numbers.

But that is not all there is to admire in this video. It is the beautiful production that takes your breath away. The lighting, the camera angles, the way it was edited, the sound. So much work went into this to give the viewer maximum pleasure and I am very pleased. Of course I am also thinking, why can’t we do the same? But let us leave such thoughts for another day.

Among Michael’s songs are Waiting, Fast Love, I’m Your Man, Father Figure, You Have Been Loved, An Easier Affair, Everything She Wants, One More Try, A Different Corner, Too Funky, John And Elvis Are Dead, Faith, Spinning The Wheel, Feeling Good, Roxanne, Amazing, Fantasy, Outside and Freedom 90. Included are a documentary of behind the scenes footage, I’d Know Him A Mile Off plus bonus tracks from other shows of Precious Box, Jesus To A Child and First Time Ever.

Now I really wonder. Celine has a huge following here. Pink has a lot of hits and her show is really spectacular. George Michael is an incredible performer. So how come no local promoter has booked these artists for concerts in the Philippines. Are those of us who cannot afford to see these stars perform abroad doomed only to watch Engelbert Humperdinck and Air Supply all our lives?