Product Description

Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 08/22/2006

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50535 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-08-22
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Compilation, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.30" w x 7.60" l, .27 pounds
• Running time: 190 minutes

Amazon.com
If anything good can be said to have come out of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, it's From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, an ideal union of musicians, songs, and a worthy cause that results in one of the best benefit concerts in years. The music at this Madison Square Garden extravaganza (another show took place that same September night at Radio City Music Hall) on behalf of the people of New Orleans and the battered Gulf Coast isn't just good, it's right. What we witness over the course of some three hours is more than the usual passel of big stars showing up to do the right thing and drum up some cash and support for the unfortunate and the dispossessed; some of these folks actually are the dispossessed, and the majority have an authentic connection to the Crescent City. The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, the Meters, Irma Thomas, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Clarence "Frogman" Henry: these are performers who are steeped in the astonishingly rich tradition of the place that gave us Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, and so many others who helped weave the dense fabric of American music. And while the show takes a little while to hit its stride, by the time it climaxes with "When the Saints Go Marching In" you'll be partying like a drunken reveler during Mardi Gras. Highlights are almost too numerous to list here, but they'd have to include Thomas' "Time is on My Side" (the early Rolling Stones hit) and the Dixie Cups' "Iko Iko," both included in a segment devoted to what actress Jessica Lange calls "the bad girls of the Big Easy"; guitarist Ry Cooder's "Hello Josephine," part of a blues set with Buckwheat Zydeco and Lenny Kravitz; John Fogerty, who breathes rocking new life into "Born on the Bayou" and "Proud Mary"; the Dirty Dozen's rollicking "St. James Infirmary," one of New Orleans' signature songs; and a gorgeous "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which finds Art Garfunkel (reunited with Paul Simon for the occasion) sharing the lead with the angel-voiced Aaron Neville. And that's to say nothing of Bill Clinton, who helped spearhead relief efforts with George H. W. Bush and whose appearance receives the most prolonged ovation of the night. The concert raised a reported $9 million, and 100% of net proceeds from the sale of this two-DVD set will continue to raise money and awareness for Katrina victims. That alone would justify buying From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, but the music makes it a no-brainer. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

LOVE THIS!!!
I was at this concert last September! The guy that got the house really rockin was John Fogerty. He was introduced by former president Bill Clinton. There's a great duet with Cyndi Lauper and the Dixie Cups doing "Iko Iko." Jimmy Buffet, Simon & Garfunkel, The Frogman himself, Buckwheat Zydeco, Elton John,
Scarlet Johansen, Allan Tussaint, tons of traditional Dixieland complete with audience second line. This concert was over six hours long. I counted over 30 acts. I hope they also release
a soundtrack to go along with this if they haven't already.
You won't go wrong with this one. Any one of the above mentioned alone is worth the price of this DVD.

Nice buy!
In my opinion, no DVD's can be absolutely perfect, but this is not far away from beeing a fiver! Fantastic performances for a good case, and I can't get away from talking warmly about Aaron Neville's performance. Absolutely great! And the nostalgism in the whole concert absolutely exists. You won't regret buying this one!

Buy This NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
If music is important to you, any type of music, then the city of New Orleans - its music, its history, and its culture - must also be important to you. New Orleans has served as home base for virtually every type of music ever created in the United States of America, and the cultural history/diversity of this city is both unprecedented and unmatched. 2005 was a year most New Orleanians would rather forget, but the devastation left behind by Katrina makes that impossible. A half million homes were destroyed by one storm, and the majority of them were inside the New Orleans city limit. The storm, and most especially its aftermath, is a part of history that should never, ever be forgotten. The way our government failed the city, from infrastructure, to local politics, to federal programs and support, has been a travesty of monumental proportions. All that remains is how our country's citizenry responds. For our own sake and the sake of our own culture as a unified, Democratic nation, we must support New Orleans and the entire gulf coast as it takes on the Herculean task of rebuilding itself.
"From the Big Apple to the Big Easy - The Concert for New Orleans" is one of the most painless and relevant ways that you can show some support. My wife (who was born, raised, and lived in New Orleans for nearly four decades) watched this DVD with me, and commented, "This is the kind of stuff that will go down in history." I believe she is right about that. Figuratively, if not literally, we all lived though this, and how we react defines who we are. In the aftermath of Katrina, did you play a part? Maybe you wanted to, but with so much governmental ineptitude, didn't know where to turn, or who to trust. Perhaps the easiest way to cut directly to the heart of the matter would be to purchase this DVD. It's entertaining, it's informative, and 100% of the proceeds benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
This two-DVD concert set has many highlights, and here is just a short list of a few truly exceptional performances; Seeing Elvis Costello sing "Yes We Can Can" with Allen Toussaint and orchestral backing. Watching Cyril Neville rock the house with a definitive version of "Big Chief," a New Orleans classic. Hearing Irma Thomas rip through "Time Is On My Side" with enough vengeance, power and resolve to claim it back from the Rolling Stones. Watching Cyndi Lauper and Allen Toussaint duet on "I Know." Seeing Elton John tear through "Levon" as if he were performing in a Gospel church. Staring slack-jawed while Ry Cooder, Buckwheat Zydeco and Lenny Kravitz tear through "Hello Josephine." The list goes on and on. If you're a Jimmy Buffett fan, then you must own this. Even Simon and Garfunkel pull together for a few numbers.
Despite everything, you can bet your last dollar that the city of New Orleans is coming back strong. The people living along America's Gulf Coast have suffered in ways that most of us can barely imagine - Imagine a world where Clarence `Frogman' Henry's "Ain't Got No Home" actually sounds poignant. Their resilience will get them through, but your support is essential, so buy "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy." It makes a great holiday gift, too. This music is Americana, and this concert is the spirit of America. These are our times. A Tom Ryan