There’s a lot more to a successful live video than just catching the band on an up night with a good mix. Nick Cave must know this, as God is in the House sidesteps many of the stage-to-television releases get caught up in, simply because it makes the transition from stage to screen by understanding it’s a different format.

Filmed at Lyons, France’s Le Tansbordeur on June 8 2001, Cave and company pull out all the stops on this DVD. Mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound, God is in the House may actually sound better than it did live, a fact that the eight-piece ensemble’s chops play up with a remarkably tight performance. The Bad Seeds are so tight, in fact, it’s hard to believe that four-piece traditional rock acts could struggle so much on stage – it’s just that effortless. With a set list that draws heavily on 2001’s No More Shall We Part (Reprise) though touches on nearly every album in Cave’s career, the band strolls through the dark alleyways of Cave’s music. Whether it revels in its full-band glory, using everything from a pair of guitars to a creepily skilled violinist, the band moves easily from a full-on rocker (“Oh My Lord”) to a quiet and eerie song that features Cave’s piano and little else (“As I Sat Sadly By Her Side”), Cave and company prove their show is worth the price at the gate.

The success of God is in the House doesn’t just rest upon the band’s razor-sharp performance, however: Instead of attempting to recreate on screen the atmosphere of a Bad Seeds show – an utterly impossible task – it simply documents it. From Cave’s huge stage presence, be it behind the piano or out front with only a mic’ in his hand, to videography that fluidly captures all members of the band in close-ups and distance shots, there’s no reasons for viewers to get bored. It’s more than just a live record with a coincidental video – the audio and video on this DVD go hand in hand.

The extras, a bunch of studio footage taken during the No More Shall We Part sections and a trio of videos, give die-hard fans a peek at the act off stage. The videos, for “As I Sat Sadly,” “Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow” and “Love Letter,” provide a controlled contrast to the live set, but studio footage is best left for the Cave die-hard and no other.

DVDs are cheap to press, but that doesn’t mean they need to be cheap to produce. Amid a world of tossed-off video releases, Cave makes full use of the expanded capabilities of DVD with a release that’s not just a supplement, but also an integral part of his catalog.