Here is a rundown of each performance on the disk.

Live From The Bat Bar:

1. The Bravery- "Honest Mistake"- Certainly my favorite performance of the disk. The song is a nice, catchy throwback to 80's tunes and the band is equally good live.

2. Peter Bjorn And John- "Young Folks" is best known as that overplayed "whistling" song on the radio. To be honest, the song sounds superior on the radio. The singer's voice sounds completely different live and not in a good way.

3. Ozomatli- "City Of Angels"- This group is a mixture of rap, reggae, ska, and part Tower Of Power, which doesn't jive well together. I'm not even sure the group knows what they want their music to be or sound like.

4. The Automatic Automatic- "Monster"- This Cardiff band sounds like your typical garage rock/screamo group. It goes in one ear and out the other.

5. Aqualung- "Pressure Suit"- Aside from an irritating opening in which singer Matt Hales distorts his voice to make it sound like he's singing underwater, the song is a pleasant surprise.

6. Rickie Lee Jones- "Nobody Knows My Name"- The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw this performance was- what the hell is this? Jones is a middle-aged woman who doesn't even sing. She talks like Tom Petty with accompanied rock music. Make of that as you will.

7. Bowling For Soup- "1985"- This Barenaked Ladies/Blink-182 clone is disposable radio friendly "punk-rock." Not my bag.

8. Polyphonic Spree- "When The Fool Becomes A King"- Certainly one of the strangest performances on the disk. It was more like watching a circus. The song has everything from choir girls dancing and singing, a drum major, a drummer, and flute and guitar players. The song itself was basically a sentence repeated over and over.

Live From The Lone Star Lounge:

1. Marc Broussard- "Home"- Broussard's distinct southern, bluesy rock song was easily the most lively and energetic on the disk. I might have to check out one of his albums.

2. Rachel Fuller With Pete Townshend- "Sunrise"- A quiet intimate song with Townshend playing an acoustic guitar solo while he and Fuller sing. A nice departure from the rock and roll tunes.

3. Rocco DeLuca- "Colorful"- His western rock style is unique, but is ruined by his not-so-pleasant voice.

4. Annuals- "Complete Or Completing"- The band labels their music as "experimental pop," which is accurate. The band sounds rough (like they're playing a demo tape) and seem to be trying way too hard on stage.

5. Razorlight- "In The Morning"- A Darkness esque British rock band plays a fun poppy tune.

6. Mando Diao- "Long Before Rock And Roll"- This band (with two main singers) rocks hard and fast. You can tell they put their heart and soul into their music. The result: a toe-tapping good time.

7. Lee "Scratch" Perry- "Kiss The Champion"- I don't even know what to say about Perry. He can best be described as an old reggae artist who talks, speaks gibberish, hops and dances, wears bizarre clothing with money and trinkets glued onto his hat, etc. All I have to say is you have to see it for yourself.

8. Stars Of Track And Field- "Movies Of Antarctica"- This band is from my neck of the woods (Portland, OR), but they aren't one of the city's better offerings. Stars are a bland Pink Floyd imitator at best.

9. Kraak And Smaak- "Money In The Bag"- Unless you enjoy techno mixed with R&B, it's best to avoid this track.

10. Joe Purdy- "White Picket Fence"- Purdy is a very talented folk rock singer who pulls out some rockin' guitar solos to boot. A perfect way to close out the disk.

Overall, the performances are hit-and-miss. I would have liked to see more than one song performed by each band, group, or singer. In addition, we really only get a small sample of who played at the festival. Shout! Factory could have easily included more acts and or disks to this set.

The DVD

Video:
The 16:9 widescreen picture quality is top notch. No color distortions or grain to be found here. The colorful lighting from the Bat Bar and Lone Star Lounge venues notably stand out.

Sound: The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround is good, but flawed. The main problem- the singer's voices are often too low to hear and certain instruments (like the Bongos in Peter Bjorn's performance) drown out everything else. I think perhaps the microphones needed to be turned up a little, or the DVD crew did a poor job in capturing the sound. A Stereo 2.0 track is also available on this disk.

Extras: 1. Previews for "The Fearless Freaks," "Stubbs The Zombie" soundtrack, "Zach Galifianakis: Live At The Purple Onion," and "X- Live In Los Angeles."

2. Artist Interviews that range in length from 1 1/2 minutes to 2. Rocker Andrew W.K. interviews The Bravery, Peter Bjorn And John, Ozomatli, Marc Broussard, Rachel Fuller, Annuals, Razorlight, Mando Diao, Aqualung, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Rickie Lee Jones, Stars Of Track And Field, and Kraak and Smaak. Matt Pinfield interviews Rocco DeLuca and the Polyphonic Spree speak to the camera themselves. Fun facts learned in this interview:

* The Bravery made their first hit album in a basement.

* Rachel Fuller dates Pete Townshend.

* Mando Diao got their name from a dream one of the band members had about tiny Santas circling around his feet yelling Mando Diao.

* The Aqualung singer's wife and brother helped co-write the songs.

Final Thoughts:
"SXSW LIVE 2007" is a decent enough time killer, but more performances should and could have been added to this disk.

Film and television enthusiast Nick Lyons recently had his first book published titled "Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia." It is available on Amazon.com.