Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.

Yes, believe it or not, the lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O, has a mullet. Now, reading this, you may be thinking, "But Tom, girls can't possibly have mullets! She simply has short hair in the front and long hair in the back!" But you must trust me. Karen O, in all of her... Karen O-ness, has a mullet. It is not a 1980's John Hughes hairstyle. It is a mullet. Now, does Karen O do this because she thinks it looks good on her? I suspect not. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or at least Karen O, are all about wild insane craziness type stuff, and Karen O tries to make them look a lot crazier by giving herself a mullet.

Of course, this hardly matters to me. Karen O, mullet or not, is still one of the hottest chicks in show business, but not because she's beautiful; it's just that she stuffs her image with so much sexuality that any guy would like to bang her just for the experience of it. If she presented herself as a private and hidden recluse, most people would have no interest in her. But the girl's smart. She knows she can create an audience, and put on a very good show, if she dresses in short skirts and skintight jumpsuits, all the while jumping, screaming, wailing on the ground, and all of that crazy concert stuff.

Let's face it, folks. Most bands suck in concert. Their album material only sounds good because they got their music right by mere luck, or because the guys who mastered the record knew their stuff. The YYY's realize this. Thus, O, who is the heart of the band, makes her concerts as fun as possible so that when the wrong notes are hit, it can still be fun. O, in concert, sounds very much unlike the voice she gives us on Fever to Tell. In that album, her voice had much more of a screech to it, and that was very, very cool. Here, O seems to find herself incapable of repeating that screech, so she replaces it with a "gagging" sound, which at times can come off as untimely and atrocious. In "Rich", which is undoubtedly the YYY's coolest song, the music really starts after O voices her "roar" screech, and everything's good. It would have been nice, in Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow, for that screech to be used here as well. But no, all we get is the gag, and it really doesn't come off as right for me.

Oh, but do not let that disappoint you. The YYYs, because of O's zest for performance, and Nick Zinner's smart, sober way of kicking things off (he's the guitarist), are a very entertaining concert band. One of the best moments on this DVD, whose main purpose is to document the concerts of the YYYs, is the opening song at their Fillmore (San Fransisco) appearance. They kick it off with "Y Control", which is easily the best song on "Fever to Tell". The high-noted opening part of this song lasts a mere nine seconds on its record, but here Zinner stretches it out over a good minute, and when his guitar riff finally kicks in, it is a stunning moment, because the lights flash up, and O runs onto stage in a very shiny, high-skirted uniform. I've watched this sequence about five times on the DVD so far, and it still hasn't failed to amaze me. It's a brilliant performance opening. Unfortunately, O doesn't quite make it perfect, because she doesn't really sing the song with the passion that belongs there, and instead we get a rather monotone performance. But this carries an advantage. Because O is having such a fun time, the next two songs she performs, the controversial "Black Tongue" and "Rockers to Swallow", are done very well, and one could say they sound even better than they do on their records. This process is repeated often in the album. Some of the softer songs are not sung with the passion for which they are required. Most of the harder songs are.

There are, of course, exceptions. O's performance in "Down Boy", a new song on this DVD, is sensational. The song is very mellow and sad. O lives up to this mood, and makes it one of the best songs the YYYs have shown us. I am hoping in their next full-length album, we will get to hear a more perfected version of this excellent song. In "Date With the Night", one of the most fun songs on "Fever to Tell", O completely blows it. On the album, O holds back in the verse, and completely lets go in the bridge and chorus, which is what makes it such a great song. O reverses that here, letting go in the verse, and holding back in the bridge. It ruins the song, and that really sucks, because "Date" was the one of the songs I was hoping the YYYs would best visualize. The same thing happens in "Tick". O blows off the exciting, sexy bridge, and focuses more on the song's less important parts. "Tick" has one of the best hard rock structures I've ever heard, and this comes off as a serious disappointment to me.

But on the average, the YYYs deliver well in their concert performance, and I walk away satisfied with the material I've received. The new tracks on here are all pretty amazing; very good foreshadowing for the works that the YYYs will present us in the future. "10X10" has a really incredible bridge, and I love how O lets go in the chorus. "Sealings" has a totally sweet chorus, with Zinner providing one of the best riffs I've heard in the last few years. The YYYs go to show that they still excel in the writing of both soft and hard rock songs. O also provides some great entertainment between numbers. She builds great tension by letting Zinner extend his riffs for a little longer, and then letting go when the time is right. She also does ridiculous things at times, spitting beer at the crowd, and throwing grapes at them (the latter probably being the strangest thing I've ever seen on a stage).

While I do sort of long for intimacy with the band while I watch this DVD, most of the extra material is pretty good, and I understand a celebrity's need for privacy (considering that, I'm actually pretty happy the disc isn't that intimate). The "Y-Control" video, directed by the brilliant Spike Jonze, is highly entertaining, even though it hardly fits the song at all. The "Maps" video is mellow as it should be, and I love seeing the pre-concert tapes of the fans, both in Japan and San Fransisco (Japan... I love that country). The YYY's have given me enough to satisfy me for now; I just hope that they release a new full-length album with in the next year, and that it is just as good, if not better, than "Fever to Tell".

Rating: B

P.S.: Expect a review on the YYYs' self-titled EP soon.

P.P.S.: At times while watching this DVD, we are forced to worry about Karen O as at a point before "Down Boy", she looks like she's in the dregs of a drug addiction, and that's a very, very bad thing.

P.P.P.S: If you wanted me to say something about Brian Chase, the band's drummer... well, he's either the band's most sober member, or its most intoxicated. At times he looks very in control of what he's doing, and at other times, he just looks wasted. He seems like that one guy in the band who is just "aloof." I'm not saying that's how he really is; it's just how he comes off. One of those fellows who cracks strange jokes that nobody understands. They're always interesting types to have around.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older