When I first heard about the TDS set the band performed at Webster Hall on August 23rd 2009, I pretty much, like everyone else in the entire world, went apesh*t. Part of it was my epic failure of choosing to see the Bowery Ballroom show the night before instead (which was still mindblowing in its own right). But then I remembered Trent tweeting the night before about the show not being officially filmed due to Live Nation charging them too much dough. Trent also mentioned this would be the first and last time they'd ever play that set... I immediately got on it and used the @thisoneisonus twitter feed to get the ball rolling.So what ball started rolling? The ball was to collect together video taken by fans in the audience and edit it together to create a multi-angle DVD release of the concert. Brilliant!
I must admit, it never occurred to me that venues charged bands to allow them to video a show. Clearly they are not making enough money just charging for the hire of the venue and the free publicity from the Nine Inch Nails Live From [Insert Venue Name Here] DVD title is clearly not worth anything. The poor lambs have to make their money somehow. It's like the ticket chaps - I use my machine, my time and often my printer to order tickets for a concert and then they charge me a fee on top of the ticket price! Why? "Because we're the only place you can buy the tickets from so like it or lump it. Mmwwa, ha, ha ha!" Bah!
Anyway... thanks to NIN's open camera policy, the chap(s) at This One's On Us have managed to create a DVD that captures the energy and the excitement of the gig. The site notes that the audio is not perfect, and that it "...has some nasty moments due to one over-excited fan screaming in the microphone." To be honest, I think this adds to the atmosphere rather than detracting from it. It feels authentic.
The full DVD release can be downloaded as a bit torrent. This is slightly more complex than a standard point and click download but is appropriate for such a massive file. If you want a smaller, more straightforward download, This One's On Us has links to an iPod friendly version and a YouTube version.
Not the usual Free Download Friday today but I thought it was worth sharing. Is it OK to do the occassional non-audio download or would you prefer it if I stuck to audio files?
Update: If you want an mp3 download, I've just noticed that the NIN Hotline have a link to an audio version of the concert.
3 comments:
Ooh, very nice! I downloaded this the day it was released, burned it, and watched it a couple of times. It is BRILLIANT. The camerawork and audio really capture the feeling of being right there in the crowd, and the performance is just incredible. I love hearing some of the audience chatter, especially as they begin to realize what's going on (as the band never announced beforehand that they would be doing this). It has me extremely excited about the other fan-edited DVDs that are currently in the pipeline.
Personally, I would love to read about more video downloads here. I don't know of too many legitimate channels to obtain them from (actually, outside of these NIN releasesm I don't think I know of any), so it would be a nice way to bulk up my video collection.
Hello Jeff
I think I noticed you re-tweeting the launch of the NIN DVD and had a quick check to see if you'd already featured it in Totally Free Music. And I agree entirely about the added dimension that comes from the audience noise and the handheld cameras. As I said before when talking about Free Download Friday #11: Official Bootlegs, I would much rather have a recording of a concert like this, even pay for a recording like this, than buy an overpriced "programme" or t-shirt. And if some of the footage came from a recording I made, I'd be over the moon!
P.S. I think you are right. NIN is pretty much out on their own with this kind of thing. But if I do find more video... I'll certainly pass it on.
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