Zebra-The DVD

Visionwork/Zebra
2008


For me Zebra have always been one of those bands that I like well enough when I hear them, but their music just doesn't stick with me that long. Sounding like Led Zeppelin and early Rush is good in that I like both of those bands, but if you sound too much like another artist then you inevitably get compared to them. Being as those acts are two of my favorite hard rocks acts of all time, it's hard to live up to them in comparison. Still Zebra have always been a fairly tight band and they play a fairly solid if unoriginal brand of classic hard rock. This DVD includes an anniversary show, the story of Zebra and some bonus material. The story of Zebra tells the story of the band from their inception in 1975 until the release of their debut. It includes interviews with all three band members and other people who worked with the band back then. It's fairly short and actually interesting when they were talking about their struggles to get signed in the late 1970's due to labels being more interested in new wave than in hard rock. In the interviews the band come across as being rather genuine and down to earth. The anniversary show was filmed at the House of blues in New Orleans. This was obviously a great choice for filming a show because they have an audience of what appears to be die-hard Zebra fans. It's also a good choice because the lighting is such that you actually get to see the crowd which is something I always like in a live DVD. Their set is solid and more than anything they really seem to be enjoying going through their songs for an audience that is obviously into everything that they are doing. The sound and visual quality is very high and the camerawork is competent, but the smaller venue probably helps with this as well. The bonus features includes more interviews and some additional footage. My favorite part in this section was a segment with bassist/keyboard player Felix Hanemann in his garage showing off his collection of Zebra tour shirts that he has collected over the years. I love vintage concert shirt so this this part certainly appealed to me. This was an entertaining look at a slightly overlooked band.