I believe, among superstitious actors, that "The Scottish Play" refers to the work that should not be pronounced which we know as "Macbeth." Typically erudite for our always sly Wire! I plucked this at a record store going out of business; I had no idea it was issued, even though I count myself a Wire fan. On Amazon, as it's filed only under DVDs, you may be confused about its contents. "The Scottish Play: 2004" bookends "On the Box: 1979" as the latest rather than the earlier Wire. It's a 53-minute Tom Gidley DVD concert film plus CD soundtrack for the Glasgow show. The songs are largely from the Read & Burn and Send period of Wire phase 3, with a more aggressive focus than their experimental-meets-dancefloor late 80's phase 2. A few songs at the end of the film hearken back to their late 70s art-punk. This is no posed passion, but a true act of "performance."

Much more watchable than the usual music film, Gidley tracks each member as if documenting a stage drama more than merely a camera set up in front of the band. It's amusing to see Bruce Gilbert play the stolid John Entwistle role. Intelligent lighting, expressive close-ups, and vocalization aspire to theatre (especially in the Barbican installation), not concert.

The tracks from Glasgow 30 April 2004: 99.9; Germ Ship; Mr. Marx's Table; 1st Fast; Read & Burn; Agfers of Kodack; Comet; In the Art of Stopping; Spent; I Don't Understand; Strange; 106 Beats That; Surgeon's Girl; 106 Beats That. A 13-minute bonus section, only on the DVD, with each band member filmed from a separate box as part of Es Devlin's installation from a London Barbican "Flag Burning" show, 26 April 2003: 1st Fast; Comet; Spent; I Don't Understand. A highlight: "Pink Flag" takes 9:43!

Compared to the Chicago show, 14 Sept. 2002, given as a bonus from Pink Flag to mail-order buyers of "Send," the intensity of these eagerly snappy versions is lessened. As the band plays them over two years, the later versions appear to dig deeper and a bit slower into the depth that lurks behind their initially more frenetic birth. Vocals appealingly wrap into the lyrics and burrow. Repetition locks the band into catharsis--depending upon an informed, mature, if no less raging, visceral relationship with what these four Londoners continue to refine and re-engineer as cutting-edge post-punk art, essence, distillation.

The CD contains the full performance of their Triptych 2004 concert, while the DVD contains said show plus a few tracks from their 2003 Burning show.

Aside from the first track, 99.9, electronic elements are used very sparingly, relying heavily on the resource of three incredibly talented guitarists and an awesome drummer. With that said, the sparse electronics and tweaking heard on Send and the first 2 R&B's aren't apparent in the performance, giving it an overall more aggressive outfit, which doesn't disappoint a bit. For a live performance, the vocals are actually pretty good, and Lewis' deep-voiced involvement in that department really adds substance to the tracks, (his solo vocals on 'Agfers' is particularly interesting). The guitar work is simply awesome; Lewis takes care of the more rhythmic necessities, Newman as the lead guitarist, and Gilbert playing some really odd additional noises and melodies. Gotobed's drumming is great too; while most Wire work doesn't really focus on percussion all too often, he really brings the push behind the force.

The footage of the two concerts are excellent; both are taken into very unique directions, that help move along the surreality of the Send material.

This release is especially good for fans who can't get their hands on the first two R&B's, as you get to hear three of the five tracks that didn't reappear on the album. You also get to hear a few tracks from Pink Flag, which, with their reliance on guitars, work well with the rest of the concert.

One very overlooked piece of any release is the packaging. Wire don't like to show off, and tend to keep pretty minimalist. This gatefold digipack contains no booklet, just the info you need, and the CD's come in a uniform black with blue logo, very attractive design overall.

Now, all Wire fans need is a release of their 2nd phase. I guess you could count IBTABA, but that's really more of a studio album. It makes sense to see a concert from their mid 80's to 90's period on account of it being their biggest. But oh well.

There are some good and informative reviews here. I particularly agree with the observation that the album "Send" and the live bootleg albums released through the Pink Flag site show more brutal and motorik readings of the new material such as 99.9. ..Kodack, and Mr Marx's table, however I personally really like the treatment of 'Spent' on Scottish Play, which I've just purchased through Amazon. This reading shows a kinder tendency towards the melodic underbelly of the song. The sound reproduction on this live recording is better than the Chicago concert, to be certain, but the studio effort "Send" produces what is, in my mind their best produced studio effort for sound. The creative juices in these guys is an inspiration, where other post punk icons peddle candlelight indie in their repective middle ages.

These old dudes rip! The footage on the DVD is great and the art in the repetitive chaos that ensues is just fantastic. They blow about 90% of the bands of our generation out of the water, you don't need this you must have this to understand what has become the secret legacy know as "Wire".