Erasure Album: “Erasure Show: Live In Cologne [DVD]”

Filmed in 2005, The Erasure Show--Live in Cologne is the latest concert dvd by British synth-pop duo, Erasure. The 101-minute concert is superb, so far as concert dvds go, and there's some great bonus material; viewers ought not, however, to expect a show in quite the same league as 1992's The Tank, The Swan, and the Balloon, which was more of a stage show--a real musical and visual extravaganza. The biggest difference here is the lack of background dancers, which results in a less dynamic visual experience (though it's still far more so than your average concert!). Also, it would've been preferable for a British band to have chosen a venue in an English-speaking country for taping; as it is, all of Andy's comments to the audience are in German. Nit-picking aside, however, this is a terrific show on its own merits; what's more, it has only 11 songs (out of 25) in common with The Tank.

Songs include No Doubt, Breathe, All This Time Still Falling Out of Love, I Broke it All in Two, and I Bet You're Mad at Me (from Nightbird); Hideaway, Victim of Love, The Circus, and Sometimes (from The Circus); Ship of Fools, A Little Respect, and Chains of Love (from The Innocents); Drama! and Blue Savannah (from Wild!); Stop! (from Pop!); Breath of Life, Chorus, and Love to Hate You (from Chorus); Always (from I Say I Say I Say); Who Needs Love Like That and Oh l'Amour (from Wonderland).

The concert opens with an Erasure-flavoured version of Rock-a-Bye-Baby, after which we see Andy sporting a set of large white wings, while his backup singers wear voluminous feathered skirts. Erasure also performs a cover of Blondie's Rapture, with Vince doing the rap part of the song--it was great to see him sharing in the vocals! Andy opens the song, but the backup singers take over part way through, allowing Andy to change into an 1970's-Elvis-style jumpsuit. Andy then does a beautiful solo cover of Ave Maria (which allows for Vince to change into a gold & silver tux, whilst the backups change into gold & silver Marilyn Monroe dresses). The only other song is Knocking on Your Door, a catchy tune which I'm unfamiliar with and is not on any of their studio albums. Andy's final costume change is into a pair of gold-sequined bathing trunks with matching ankle boots.

There are approximately 50 minutes of dvd extras, consisting of a 16-minute interview with Vince & Andy, in which they answer questions about the tour, the costumes, how they chose the songs and came up with the set designs, and so on. Oddly, the interview was constantly interrupted by text-based questions appearing on the screen, which gave a jarring "stop and go" feel to the interview--particularly when the answers were monosyllabic! There is a 5-minute "Making of Live in Cologne" vignette featuring behind-the-scenes footage interspersed with snippets taken from The Interview. There is a nifty 3-minute "Live in Cologne Time Lapse" which takes us from the setting up of the stage, through the entire concert, and the dissembling of the stage. There are three songs taken from their "Live in Copenhagen" concert: In My Arms (from Cowboy) in which Andy wears a wild viking-type "dress," Come Up and See Me (from Other People's Songs), and Piano Song (from Wild!). Finally, there are three videos from Nightbird: Breathe, Don't Say You Love Me, and All this Time Still Falling Out of Love.

With 20 years of top-quality music-making under their belt, Erasure is one of the best synth-pop duos in existence; certainly, they are number one in my books. Though this concert may not be quite the visual extravaganza that The Tank is, any criticisms I've made are mere quibbles. This is a wonderful concert--indeed, how could any show filled with their catchy lyrics, infectious melodies, and entertaining costumes be anything less--and I cannot imagine any Erasure fan not enjoying it. I only hope that these guys continue to film future tours for those of us who'd never have a chance to see them otherwise!