Happy Birthday Sonia

Starring:Sonia
Studio: Live Music DVD
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Her birthday, our present
A must have for Sonia fans!

Happy Birthday Sonia
Starring: Sonia
Manufacturer: Live Music DVD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Music Video & Concerts | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0007II13I
Release Date: 2005-02-18

Customer Reviews:

Her birthday, our present.......2005-11-15

Several years ago, I attended a Phil Ochs Tribute night in Greenwich Village, and was treated to an eclectic group of folk legends (including Dave Van Ronk and John Wesley Harding) and unknown (to me, anyway) acts performing some of my all-time favorite songs. One singer, however, stole the stage that night: a young woman named SONiA of disappear fear (that's how she capitalizes her name and group, and no I don't know why), who performed Phil's "Is There Anybody Here?" and had the audience actually holding our collective breath in awe of her rendition. It was one of the most electric live performances I'd ever seen, and when the concert ended I marched right down the street to Tower Records and bought every disappear fear CD I could find.

I'm a child of the '70s; growing up my musical idols were three stars who were certainly timeless, but whose stars had shone brightest in earlier decades: Phil, Buddy Holly, John Lennon. In SONiA, I found a contemporary artist with Lennon's way with a phrase, Phil's dedication to social justice, and Holly's sense of fun. From that night until this, she's been my favorite singer/songwriter, and I've enjoyed each new album from her the way a soldier enjoys a letter from home.

Subtitled "a film of a musical journey", the DVD HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONiA includes several live performances, a few brief interviews, and early music videos from a rookie rocker, including the amazing "By Saying Nothing", a Ramones-type power number that shows SONiA in her poser days with a band called Exibit A (that's how they spelled it; you definitely have to turn off your grammar check when you write about her) in 1986. There are a couple of other vintage numbers, the rollickin' "Hey" (a stadium anthem, from our little SONiA!?) and "Unfinished Song", which places SONiA at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington in 1989.

The rest of the tracks were recorded in the past 2 or 3 years, including two versions of "Is There Anybody Here?", a song that is as heartbreakingly poignant today as it was during another wasted war 40 years ago.

Other numbers are just good ol' fashioned boogie tunes, including "Shake It" and "Dance All Night" ("I gotta go go go to the right / I gotta go go go to the left / I gotta go go go everywhere my baby tells me to"), and some romantic ballads that call for a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate-covered cherries ("You could tell me it's day / But I don't want the night to end / Watch the sun come up on our guilty-smellin' skin").

Interspersed between the songs are home-movie footage with baby SON and snippets of a recent interview, and let's just say that she's not kidding when she admits, "I'm a terrible talker." The highlight for me is when she describes the epiphany she had while watching a Spray `n' Wash commercial on TV. You don't hear stories like that every day. (To be fair, I had the opportunity to chat with her for a few minutes when she appeared in Winters, California, and she's quite glib when the cameras aren't rolling, folks.)

The DVD is probably aimed at her fans (who will enjoy it), but SONiA has a new live CD that's a gem; it's called DF05 LiVE, although to find it on amazon.com you'll have to type in DF 05 LiVE.

A must have for Sonia fans!.......2005-02-26

Having been a Dissappear Fear fan in the 1990's, I was thrilled to see Sonia back in action on this wonderful DVD. The DVD features live performances, interviews, and video footage from Sonia's childhood. Sonia's solo songs still resonate with the strong political messages that were the hallmark of her Dissappear Fear days. Her honesty is refeshing and the new songs are great! The DVD also includes old Dissappear Fear concert footage and videos which were great fun to watch. I highly recommend this DVD.

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