So, I managed to pick up Far's re-release of their final album, "Water & Solutions" in DVD format. I had some problems finding it, but when I was up in Berkeley with my parents, I found a copy at Rasputin music. That means that I have been sitting on it for awhile, but I finally got a chance to check out the DVD yesterday. I don't own very many music-oriented DVDs, so I can't say if this is great in relation to all music DVDs, but it certainly impressed me. The live footage of Far playing at the Metro in Chicago looked pretty sharp, and sounded great. So far, I am happy with the content that I am finding on this DVD, and it has been a great way for me to explore a band that I really like again. If you are at all into Far, you definitely should pick this re-release up.
I still remember the one time that I was lucky enough to see Far live. It was at a place called "Peabody's downunder" in the Cleveland flats. That place was pretty small, and the Far show was lightly attended. But they played a termendous set, and just blew me away. I think that after all of these years, that is still the single best live performance that I have ever seen. It was really, truly amazing.
Far's lead singer, Jonah Matranga has been doing a solo thing since Far dissolved, called "onelinedrawing". I have been picking up his CDs over the course of the last several months, and I have been quite happy with them. Jonah just knows how to make great music -- it's that simple. His latest CD, "The Volunteers" is decent, and growing on me. I would recommend checking it out.
-Andy.