Author: David Medsker (Page 57 of 96)

When alien civilizations travel here millions of years from now to learn what they can about our ancient society, they will surely be perplexed by “Los Straitjackets in Concert!,” the band’s first concert video. A group of 40-something men wearing black clothes, Mexican wrestling masks – God help bassist Pete Curry if he ever actually had to step in the ring wearing one of those things – and playing surf guitar instrumentals? They won’t make any more sense then than they do now, but thank goodness for them just the same. This show, recorded at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall, has everything you can expect from a Los Straitjackets show (though the world-famous Pontani Sisters are sadly absent), from the hokey choreography to the all-Spanish-then-accent-free-English between-song banter. The problem is that a couple of the cameras are constantly out of focus, and the Straitjackets, talented musicians all, will not inspire their fans to do more than nod their heads politely while they’re playing. Still, guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie Angel put on a surf guitar clinic here, and man, is it sweet. 

Los Straitjackets MySpace page

The top of the DVD says it all: "This is the Punk Cabaret." The Dresden Dolls taped two shows at the legendary Roundhouse in London and brought a small army of dancers, singers and musicians to assist them in putting on one of the most thrilling concerts you’re likely to see (Master of Ceremonies: Margaret Cho, no joke). Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione are cute and clever on tape but they’re positively ferocious live – put Viglione near the top of the list of best drummers in rock today – and there is much more to them than "Coin Operated Boy." Their pre-encore closer, "Sing," leads the audience to continue singing long after the song is over (think U2’s "40"), and you won’t believe what they do to Tears for Fears’ "Mad World." They even get Lene Lovich (!) to join them for a song. It surely cost them a ton of money to record this show for posterity, but thank God they did.

The Dresden Dolls

Eagle Rock has released so many shows from the Montreux Jazz Festival in the last few months that we’re considering adding a "Montreux DVD of the Month" slot on our Music DVD home page. That is not to say that the sheer ubiquity of the titles should result in listener fatigue. Indeed, this set by UB40 from 2002 is a keeper, with an impressive, comprehensive set list that covers all their U.S. hits (the Neil Diamond cover, the Al Green cover, the Smokey Robinson cover, etc.) and U.K. singles like "If It Happens Again" and "Don’t Break My Heart." And resist the urge to snark at a show by a band that’s 15 years past its heyday: bands like UB40 can put on a solid live show until they collapse into a pile of dust onstage. The one gripe about the show is that, as a live video, well, it’s awfully fun to listen to, at least. Pop it while cooking dinner: actually watching the band play is a bonus, but by no means essential to the experience. 

UB40 MySpace page