[.ca] Off the Map

From Amazon.com:
The continued survival and huge commercial success of the Red Hot Chili Peppers may come as a surprise to some, but Off the Map finds them in fine form. Recorded live on the last night of their all-conquering Californication world tour, the set veers from the Funkadelic-influenced rock that made their name to the more mature, thoughtful side that has always underpinned their work. Thus "Suck My Kiss," "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," "Right on Time," and "Me and My Friends" are all franticly funky, but the band is far more effective on the elegant sweep of "Californication," "Scar Tissue," and the classic "Under the Bridge." Despite their advancing years, the Chilis still ensure a high level of performance--the visuals are a mass of swirling limbs and instruments, while the crystal-clear sound is dominated by Flea's pulsating bass. --Phil Udell

Chronique amazon.fr:
Plus rigolo que Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers peut être à juste titre considéré comme un des piliers de la fusion telle qu'initiée par les séminaux Bad Brains. En septembre 2000, à Portland, c'est, pour le groupe, comme un retour à la case de la fin des années 80 dont il s'agit, puisque John Frusciante, remplaçant de Hillel Slovak tragiquement disparu, est là, de retour, et pas pour faire de la figuration. Plus d'une vingtaine d'uppercuts soniques font le tour de la carrière de la formation, le point culminant étant ici la reprise du "Search & Destroy" des Stooges. En bonus, un reportage passionnant sur l'avant-concert finit de rendre ce documentaire indispensable aux fans de mélange rock-rap-heavy metal. Vivement conseillé. --Hervé Comte

Additional Features:
Given their previous reputation for a hard-living lifestyle, the Red Hot Chili Peppers we see presented in the DVD's extra backstage footage--sipping herbal tea, practicing yoga, and talking about their kids--are a far cry from their public image. As with any concert-material extras (plus post-tour interviews), there is a tendency to slip into Spinal Tap mode, particularly with singer Anthony Keidis, but the four come across as eminently likeable. The five extra music tracks include a searing version of the Stooges' "Search & Destroy," but best of all is the subtitles option--giving us the opportunity to figure out just what Keidis has been singing about all these years. It's not a pretty sight! --Phil Udell

subterranean homesick chili peppers:
The red hot chili peppers are a band which never fails to please. Here they released a concert film, with backstage footage, and interviews called off the map. THE CONCERT: They play great. But you know, it doesn't have that huge stage and that atmosphere like in live at slane castle, but i like it. Anyway, they play some really old songs like me & my friends, and blackeyed blondie, and many more. They even play pea, which is from one hot minute. The musicianship is great like in live at slane castle. But the problem is that what you see is not what you hear. Like in otherside, it shows them playing much faster than you hear. And the same thing in more songs. The audio concert is one concert if you didn't know, so that's good. It's just that video is made up of a few. Anyway, it's really funny in the end where balls and makaroni starts falling on chad durring me & my friends. It was a joke by the opening act, the foo fighters. But the audio in that song was edited, so that it would be better to hear, and that annoys me! I wanna hear how it really sounded. So that's the problem, but everything else is perfect. Especially the performances. Search and destroy, sir psycho sexy, give it away, scar tissue, me & my friends, skinny sweaty man, blackeyed blondie, i could have lied, fire, if you have to ask, around the world, suck my kiss, blood sugar sex magik, what is soul, pea, easily, parallel universe, ussually just a t-shirt #3 are great. I mean seriously. And it also has great jamming. Flea has to be the best bassist of all time. And chad really rocks the drums. Not to mention John frusciante, who's one of the most amazing guitarists next to jimmy page and jimi hendrix. Anyway, the concert is great. THE BACKSTAGE FOOTAGE & INTERVIEWS: I think the backstage footage is too short. But it's really funny sometimes. Like when anthony warms up singing. Or when chad is fooling around. And it's interesting to watch them in the plane, practicing yoga and stuff like that. But you can't hear the interviews very well. But who cares. It's all about the music. Anyway, I'd rate this DVD 5 stars, because it's very enjoyable, and highly recommended to any peppers fan, and music fan. PS: don't vote for reviews whether you agree or disagree with it. Vote based on the information. Thanks.

one of my favorite concert films!:
unlike a previous viewer i prefer this to the slane castle dvd. i will qualify this by saying that both are excellent shows, and any dedicated fan will want both. when i watch a concert on dvd i don't really want to see the audience, who cares. off the map just seems a lot more intimate than slane. slane suffers from mtv style editing at times, especially in the beginning, flashing from shot to shot without letting me see the action. off the map is more artistic, shot by dick rude, and has tons of great long shots. having saw the peppers on both the californication and by the way tours, i think the by the way tour was significantly better, but with the presentation of slane the band can get lost at times among the editing and vast crowd. if you have to choose, get off the map if you like an intimate event focused on the band, get slane if you like the big rock and roll event. both are fantastic. oh yeah, and the special features for once on a dvd are fantastic. search and destroy!

Worth the money alone:
All of the "it's amazing" reviews are completely accurate with the 2 selling points being the varied setlist and of course Johns playing, but there is one thing that i would dish out $20 for alone. The version of the Stooges "Search and Destroy" is one of the greatest songs i have ever heard, and I'm not just talking cover songs, I'm talkin greatest tracks in any genre by and band period. It is unbelievable, if you haven't seen it go get it for that track alone you won't be dissapointed.

Watch "Live at Slane Castle" before this one:
This might have been essential RHCP before the release of By The Way, but coming to this after having watched Live at Slane Castle, I found it almost painful to watch. The performances aren't fluid and flawless as they are in Slane Castle, the asides are in poor taste, the footage isn't filmed or edited particularly well and the crowd is nonexistent compared to the breathtaking 80,000 at Slane Castle. Pass this over, it isn't worth your time. Live at Slane Castle, on the other hand, is simply the most amazing live performance ever recorded. This one is far from perfect and might actually turn you off unless you're a hardcore fan. Edit: I've spent more time with my old RHCP albums and coming back, this review seems a bit harsh, so I'm jacking it up from 3 to 4 stars. Some of the songs and jams that aren't on the Slane Castle DVD are definitely worth hearing, but this is only for those who admire the band's work before BSSM. Buy this only after you've seen Live at Slane Castle.

They Are RED HOT:
This is the best DVD in the world. The R.H.C.P have proved that they are the FUNKY KINGS. John Frusciante plays guitar better than ever. They are the most positive band. GIVE IT AWAY, BABY. SEE YA. Pozdrav iz Hrvatske. Peppersi su najbolji!!!!!