Live DVD Review - Skillet: Comatose Comes Alive

I went to a rock concert last night - but I didn't leave my lounge room. I watched Skillet's new live DVD Comatose Comes Alive. I had read good things about it so was quietly optimistic. It comes in a standard CD case along with a CD recording of the live songs. Sometimes in these cases, the DVD can almost be an afterthought, or just an added bonus; but not in this case. Skillet have produced a very professional video with a lot of attention to detail and a good list of special features (video clips of three songs, plus a slideshow and behind the scenes montage).

The camera work was good and suited the tone of the event. I am always envious of those with cameras that can handle the low-light environment of a live event so nicely.

As for the music, well it seems that Skillet songs are just meant to be played live. Each one sounded fantastic. John Cooper lead the band with such energy and good humour. One suprise was the band's new drummer Jen Ledger, who stepped down and sang a solo during one verse of "Yours to Hold". She has a very nice voice which suited the song very well.

Most of the songs were from Skillet's two most recent albums, Comatose and Collide. They did have a brief worship-interlude later in the show and played 'Angels Fall Down' (which has always been a favourite of mine), and they finished with another old favourite 'Best Kept Secret'. (If they had played 'Alien Youth' then my joy would have been complete.)

The christian message was clearly displayed through the concert but done in a way that seemed to be very accesible to a wider audience. I am starting to see how a band like Skillet can flourish on a secular label, without abondoning their roots in Christian music. It is a delicate tightrope to walk but Skillet have handled it very well indeed.

I ended the experience feeling both thoroughly entertained and touched on a deeply spiritual level. This video reminded me why I quickly fell in love with Skillet and named them my favourite band shortly after my wife (girlfriend at the time) introduced me to them.

If you're the kind of person who likes to spend their entertainment budget very wisely, you will find this DVD/CD combo very good value for money.

Well done Skillet!