Music Reviews - December 2011
| The Jesus Lizard - Club
MVD Visual This is seriously one of the best DVD's I've ever seen in my Life! It's so fucking beautiful that it scares me and thrills me and makes me cry, sometimes all three at the same time. The fucking Jesus Lizard captured live and with amazing sound quality and with many multi-camera angles to capture the drunken, witty charm of front man David Yow and his crazed crowd interactions - yeah, this release had me at Sold when I first saw the previews of it months before it's release. Just. Fucking. Phenomenal!! The Jesus Lizard are one of the Greatest bands to ever emerge from any music scene, and they remained largely underground while creating some of the harshest, most challenging, melodic blasts of Anger and Resentment ever heard by the likes of Man. Their live shows are the stuff of Legend, and if you were ever lucky enough to see them live yourself, then you know this cannot be disputed. These guys destroyed clubs and blew away audiences everywhere they went, and this video shows exactly why they did. This DVD release is just mind blowing, with the band showing no signs of losing anything after their 10 year layoff (this gig was recorded live in 2009 on their reunion tour). The choice of songs played is impressive, running the gamut from songs off of their first releases all the way to the last album they did with original drummer Mac McNeily (Shot). Nothing short of brilliant, this DVD is an absolute must have for any serious fan of music in general. Seek, Consume and Worship at any cost. |
| TheCore - Change
Self Released YES!! This release from Local heart throbs TheCore is just what I needed to hear right now! Passionate vocals over some catchy ass jingly jangly noodling guitar work, all layered on top of thickly thumping bass and drum work, with plenty of face slashing, hard hitting riffs thrown in for good measure. And it's catchy too! :-) Sounding sonically miles above and beyond their previous release Mind Your Demons, this CD is really fucking good, with standout tracks like Meet Me At Nipseys, NoLa, and Let Them Eat Cake highlighting what this band is all about - great vocals, catchy music, and some really cool sounding lyrics! I wish my copy of this came with a lyrics sheet, but whatever. Minor complaint at best, like mentioning that When Will We Learn sounds A LOT like Seeing Double At The Triple Rock by NOFX. ;-) Some of these songs I've heard played out live numerous times, but some of these songs on here I think I'm hearing for the first time - Rad! TheCore redid the song they had on that Punk Rock Heart Transplant compilation that came out a while ago (Scene Kid Sacrilege) and the version on here just smokes that earlier release. These songs are such a fantastic sign of the bands musical progression that I'm anxious to see what's coming from them next. Great release by TheCore. Kudos Gentlemen - Kudos! |
| Culture Shock - Everything
Alternative Tentacles At one time I had all 3 of these CD's, but now I only have one. I bought this box set to remedy my loss, and it was well worth it! For those of you won't don't know, Culture Shock was the band Dick Lucas formed immediately after the Sub/Hum/Ans broke up for the first time back in the 80's. Experimenting with different sounds and atmosphere's, Culture Shock played an interesting mix of Punk, Ska and Dub music, with Dick's unique vocal delivery and lyrical bent on top of it all. The band gigged around for a few years before calling it quits, putting out some fantastic music along the way, and this collection puts all 3 of their releases together, along with a couple of Demos the band released along the way. The booklet that comes along with this is excellent, with Dick Lucas writing about the history of the band and including some never seen before photos. Although the collection is called Everything, the band's live cassette only releases weren't included in it for whatever reason. Fans of the Sub/Hum/Ans will definitely dig this, and if you see it somewhere check it out. Culture Shock were a cool band, and this box set does them up something proper. |
| The People's Whiskey - 8 Tracks And Dub Sacks
Self Released These guys... Fuck. I love these guys. I'm beyond hyped about them, because they're seriously one of the better bands gigging around the Vegas scene right now. They finally released some of their music to the unsuspecting masses and it sounds glorious! The People's Whiskey play a contagious amalgamation of musical styles that combine like Pinhead Gunpowder's lyrical stylings and vocal delivery with the Smashing Pumpkins sense of sonic bombast and with Black Flag's reckless abandonment thrown in for good measure. The guitar work is crisp, the bass is thumping and LOUD, and the drum work is really fucking Ace. This sounds like it could of come straight outta the East Bay, and that's meant as a pretty high compliment. Every song on here just slays me, but that song Pills... fuck. What gives you the right to be so fucking sad? It's 4 in the morning and you're still not making sense. Brilliant. That song haunts me it's so fucking good. Damn! This 4 song CD is hopefully a teaser of better things to come release wise from these guys, because I couldn't help but notice that Fist Fights And Miller Lites wasn't included on here, but I know it was recorded... hmmmmmmm :-) Anyways, this is a fantastic release from The People's Whiskey, and you can get it from the band at any one of their frequent gigs here about town. Check them out. You will NOT be disappointed. |
| Nirvana - Live At The Paramount
DGC Records Remember Nirvana? I do! Do you remember what a fantastic live band they were? So do I!! :-) Did you ever get a chance to see them live? Oh, that's too bad. Sorry. :-( If you weren't one of the lucky ones to see Nirvana live as many times as I did, then this DVD is made just for you, and is about as close as you're ever gonna get to seeing just what the big deal about the band playing live was all about! Powerful stuff. Filmed when the band was on the cusp of mega super-stardom, Live At The Paramount shows just what a phenomenal Punk Rock N Roll machine the band truly was in a concert setting, just before the Rock Star excess bloat moved in and ultimately destroyed them all. Booooooo. This gig was recorded just as Smells Like Teen Spirit was rising up the charts, and it perfectly captures the band in all their ragged pre-stardom glory, before Kurt got sick of playing and singing the songs, and before the band started giving a fuck about playing 'the hits'. What you see are 3 friends just playing these songs that they're really proud of, and it's great to see. Great to hear too! The sound on here is AMAZING and the camera work is excellent. The hometown crowd gives them lots of Love, and Nirvana delivers on all fronts. This stuff has been pieced out, for both official video clips and officially released b-sides and live compilations, all throughout Nirvana's career, but this is the first time this concert has been presented in it's entiriety. If you're a fan you will LOVE this, and if you're not, you might not like it. You won't get. You won't understand what the big fuss is about Nirvana, and that, in general, is really sad. If you buy this DVD, keep your eyes out for the 3 Easter egg videos hidden deep within this DVD. It's early club footage of the band playing in Vancouver, and it's pretty sick. |
