Portishead is, I think, mainly known for “Sour Times,” their mournful, ringing-bells tune from 1994 with the mopey chorus, “Nobody loves me/It’s true/Not like you do,” but the rest of the group’s music — a heady mixture of orchestral noodling, dub-synth and trip-hop — isn’t nearly as much of a downer as that tune might suggest. Buoyed by Beth Gibbons’ haunting vocals and Geoff Barrow’s drum and deck work, this 16-song concert disc from New York City’s Roseland Ballroom in July of 1997 (which also served as the basis for the quartet’s live album release of the same name) is full of robust arrangements and gorgeous supporting string instrumentation; it’s also a great way to get to know the band.

The disc comes housed in a clear, plastic Amaray case, presented in 1.33:1 full frame, with English language Dolby digital 2.0 stereo and Dolby digital 5.1 audio tracks. Several short films written by various members of the group are also included, the most interesting probably being To Kill a Dead Man, a 10-minute noirish spy flick in which an assassin assembles his rifle and takes out a target from a rooftop, only to have interesting bits and pieces of a conspiracy come ebbing into the proceedings as he flees and his wounded hit is rushed to a nearby hospital. Still, the main points of interest are the music itself, and the videos for songs like “Numb,” “All Mine,” “Only You” and, yes, “Sour Times,” of course. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. B+ (Concert) B+ (Disc)