Just released in time with their new Dark Horse album is Nickelback’s Live at Sturgis 2006 DVD.  (Sturgis is in South Dakota and is home to the world’s largest motorcycle events.)  I would rank this concert DVD up high with the best.  The energy, high definition photography, 5.1 audio, pyrotechnics, and performance were all balanced to make you feel like you were there.

The band opened up the concert with a high energy performance of Animals.  I noticed the band’s energy was constant throughout the concert.  The audience also maintained their enthusiasm.  Many times the cameras caught the smiles of the band members in response to the audience.

The cinematography was excellent as it was fast paced in balance with the energy and timing of the songs and performance.  The filming included the use of various filters like black and white, colored, and slow motion capture. There were a good balance of pans on the audience as well on the band.  The lighting was excellent, and captured the perfect expressions of the band members throughout the performance.

The audio on this DVD is excellent.  I’ve found very few concert DVDs that can capture the high quality audio.  This DVD does that which makes the concert experience perfect.  The setup options allow for five different settings including 5.1.

The bonus features were interesting including a behind the scenes documentary of the band getting ready for this concert and discussing touring in general.  Also included in the bonuses was the video Rockstar, a photo gallery, and a Sturgis 101 vignette on the history of the Sturgis motorcycle culture.

Overall, I enjoyed this DVD with my favorites being Side of a Bullet and How You Remind Me.  The tracks featured: “Animals”, “Woke Up This Morning”, “Photograph”, “Because Of You”, “Far Away”, “Never Again”, “Savin’ Me”, “Someday”, “Side Of A Bullet”, “How You Remind Me”, “Too Bad” and “Figured You Out”.  One odd note which left me feeling like I was being left out was the censoring of the expletives by the band, and the censoring of the various audience members who were flashing their bare breasts.

I highly recommend this DVD for Nickelback fans and any rock fans alike.

For more on Nickelback http://www.nickelback.com,

This DVD is sold exclusively at Walmart  http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10746099