Destiny's Child: Live in Atlanta

This high-quality DVD is a fitting bookend to the career of one of the most popular female R&B acts of the past 10 years. Everything about the feature -- the singing, dancing, production quality, etc. -- is top-notch. The show, which was recorded in July 2005 at Atlanta's cavernous Phillips Arena, is a saucy, high-energy celebration. The group -- consisting of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams -- gives their devoted fans a superb performance to remember Destiny's Child by.

The three members of Destiny's Child may have announced back in June 2005 that they'd be going their separate ways after wrapping up a few more commitments, but there's not a trace of sadness or regret evident in this live concert DVD, recorded in July 2005 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

In fact, the girls seem extremely energized and buoyant throughout the hour and 45-minute concert. They appear very professional and poised throughout. What you won't see, however, is a lot of personal interaction between the girls. There's not a lot of chatter back and forth between them, and although it's obvious they're quite familiar with one another, here they treat each other more like common co-workers than cherished friends. In fact, they barely look at each other at all.

The group may have been a trio during most of their time together, but just like on their albums, Beyonce Knowles clearly steals the show. She's mesmerizing -- both visually and vocally -- throughout Live in Atlanta. Since she sings lead on most of the group's early material, the focus is on her more, but interestingly, through the opening songs of seven songs, she appears to be the only one actually singing, while the other girls lip-synch their vocal harmonies.

One of the great things about this DVD is that it encapsulates the entire body of the group's career, from beginning to end. Early hits like "No No No," "Bills Bills Bills," and Bug-A-Boo," from the late 1990s are included, just like their more mature, refined songs, such as "Cater 2 U" and "Girl," from their final studio album, 2004's Destiny Fulfilled. Also, the show's entire production is very well done, and despite Beyonce being much of the focus, each singer gets her turn to shine. Kelly Rowland, Beyonce and Michelle Williams all have moments in the show where they perform their solo material.

Beyonce, of course, gets the most solo time, since she's had more solo hits. And she owns the stage while singing four songs from her first solo LP, Dangerously in Love. Kelly does a rendition of her biggest solo success to date, the love song "Dilemma." It's a lukewarm effort, mainly because the rapper Nelly, who appears on the studio version, wasn't present to perform live. And Williams sings her gospel hit "Do You Know." Williams' performance is particularly strong and shows that, although she was the newest and least-recognizable member of the trio, she has the biggest, most powerful voice of the three.

Besides the girls themselves, there are other interesting moments to fill out the concert. Troupes of female and male dancers perform throughout the show, and even have their own segments while the singers undergo their (numerous) costume changes. There's also plenty of shots of the audience, which is good, because it not only enhances the experience by showing the enthusiasm of the crowd, it also reminds us of the cross-section of fans the group has; Both young and old, black and white audience members are shown grooving to the music, serving as a reminder of what a large cross-section of fans Destiny's Child was able to cultivate during its career.

The DVD's bonus features are nice, albeit nothing spectacular. The most interesting of them is a 30-minute retrospective, which includes old interviews with Patti Labelle, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott, among others. Home videos of the group practicing and performing as pre-teens is especially endearing. If there's one big flaw in the feature, it's that it merely skims over the departures of three of the group's members during it's recording history. A little more insight would have been nice.

But overall the feature, like the concert, is a fitting tribute to the group's success.