Live in Sydney.

Store-bought music videos usually stink. What little there is on the shelves besides electronic love letters to Hanson and Metallica mostly consists of concert videos by folks who aren't very interesting in concert. Without the grandness of the stage, the intimacy of live contact, and the loudness of the music, the typical taped performance comes across rather puny on your home screen.

But as every fan knows, k.d. lang isn't only a bigboned gal: She's big everything--voice, personality, stage presence, charm. And although her first live home video isn't revolutionary (backstage footage comes conventionally spliced between songs; MTV-schooled camera angles and edits chop up the performances), the urgency of lang's vocals and the friendliness of her offstage manner go a long way to make an ordinarily unsatisfying medium work.

The 83-minute tape documents a Sydney performance date on lang's first Australian tour ever following the 1995 release of All You Can Eat. Along with the expected lang oldies and classic cover tunes, the song selection allows listeners another chance to warm up to that woefully underappreciated album, and her dreamy rendition of its high point, "Infinite and Unforeseen," is understandably saved for a finale. Most performances are faithful to the studio original for a punky race through "If I Were You."

Although at first stage footage seems like an unwanted and cliched interruption, it eventually becomes at least as entertaining as the songs themselves. Not only do lang obsessives see their idol's intimate rituals (steaming her vocal cords, getting a message), but we also discover that one fan's particularly enthusiasing made the singer pee her pants with laughter relationship with her personal assistant is especially fascinating: Imagine hiring someone whose job is to keep you happy.

Lesbian and gay fans will be touched by how the tape deals with the special connection they have with their heroine. Lang announces the concert as "a convention for the unconventional," a phrase borne out by shots of the clearly queer-dominated crowd. She then candidly talks backstage about her pride in her homo following. It's a crucial element of lang's appeal, and the fact that it's there for everyone to appreciate makes a fun little souvenir socially significant.