CD Review: DM3 Live – Roskilde Festival

One of its biggest festivals, Europeans convene just south of Roskilde, Denmark for the Roskilde Festival – a five day celebration of support music, culture and humanism run by the Roskilde Foundation. Typically, the festival presents a balance of well known acts and “cutting-edge” artists and, unlike other European festivals, each band plays a full concert set.

1994’s festival featured performances by Radiohead, Aerosmith, Björk, Peter Gabriel, ZZ Top, and one of my all-time faves, DM3.

In support of a European tour of earlier this year, Dom Mariani and DM3 released a live disc from 1994’s Roskilde Festival. The first thing that hit me was how well the band was able to replicate their studio sound. After that, it was simply a matter of enjoying the live versions of some of the best pop songs of the 90’s.

DM3 started off the set with two cuts that would appear on 1996’s Road to Rome, “Speed Freak” and “Don’t Lie to Me”. No DM3 concert should be without a few Someloves songs, and Mariani obliges with “Know You Now” and “Never Be Friends”. 1993’s LP One Time Two Times Three Red Light is adequately represented as well with “Take It All” and one of the best powerpop tracks of the 90’s, “One Time, Two Times Devastated”.

A band’s choice of covers can tell you a great deal about where their heads are at. DM3 winds up the disc with Badfinger’s “Come and Get It”, a song so good that it guarantees that the audience will be left wanting more. Very smart. And a very worthy rendition of the song, I might add.

I’ve never had the opportunity to see DM3 live as they almost never come to the states, it seems. And I don’t ever make it to Australia. But it’s on my bucket list. In the meantime, I’ll be served well by my copy of DM3 Live – Roskilde Festival.

Thanks to Curt from Powerpop Overdose for making me aware of the disc back in June. He’s always on top of things so don’t hesitate to visit his site. You won’t be sorry.