Rating: 
Summary: ORIGINAL BLASTER FAN
Review: A few weeks before the Blasters played outside of Downey, I was lucky to have met Dave Alvin & Bill Bateman. A good friend of mine, Anna Statman called me, together we went to their first gig.From the time of hearing the first drum beat, the first guitar chords, the first vocal from Phil Alvin, this great band has moved my soul. After leaving the first show, I was hooked, and knew this band was going to be special. I had to see them over and over again. Fast foward 20+ years, the Blasters have given the world a true gift. The years apart cant be told here. The band plays better than ever. It would be harder to find a better rhythm section than Bill Bateman & John Bazz. Gene Taylor is a monster piano player. No one should be able to rock the 88's that good. Brothers Dave & Phil Alvin bring a true love of the legends of American Music to the band's sound. Dave is the author of many songs performed on this DVD. He also distinguishes himself like few others on guitar. Brother Phil, is the the voice of the Blasters, and my what a soulful voice. Do yourself a favor, give yourself a well deserved gift. Buy this DVD, you will play it over and over. On the 20th play, you will be glad of the purchase, the music will have grown on you. Your soul will be moved. Long live the soul of the Blasters.
Rating:
Summary: ORIGINAL BLASTER FAN
Review: A few weeks before the Blasters played outside of Downey, I was lucky to have met Dave Alvin & Bill Bateman. A good friend of mine, Anna Statman called me, together we went to their first gig. From the time of hearing the first drum beat, the first guitar chords, the first vocal from Phil Alvin, this great band has moved my soul. After leaving the first show, I was hooked, and knew this band was going to be special. I had to see them over and over again. Fast foward 20+ years, the Blasters have given the world a true gift. The years apart cant be told here. The band plays better than ever. It would be harder to find a better rhythm section than Bill Bateman & John Bazz. Gene Taylor is a monster piano player. No one should be able to rock the 88's that good. Brothers Dave & Phil Alvin bring a true love of the legends of American Music to the band's sound. Dave is the author of many songs performed on this DVD. He also distinguishes himself like few others on guitar. Brother Phil, is the the voice of the Blasters, and my what a soulful voice. Do yourself a favor, give yourself a well deserved gift. Buy this DVD, you will play it over and over. On the 20th play, you will be glad of the purchase, the music will have grown on you. Your soul will be moved. Long live the soul of the Blasters.
Rating:
Summary: Move Over You Fakers... This Is A Band That Truly Mattered
Review: Having seen the original Blasters in the 1980s and on their reunion tour in 2003, I am a witness to the greatness of this band. The intensity of their performances, the nervous anticipation felt by their fans whenever The Blasters took the stage and the sheer joy of watching five extraordinary players give life to the true spirit and abandon of rock-n-roll was back with a fury in 2003. If you love real music made with passion, not the kind that corporate Svengalis market to the soul-less, clueless and tasteless masses, then my friend: go home with The Blasters.
Rating: 
Summary: Amateurish filimng/editing mar great performance...
Review: I am a huge Blasters fan (seen then in the early 80s as well as the reunion tour) and was excited by the concept of this DVD. While the band is in great form (5+ stars), the filming and editing are amateurish (1 star) and really impacted the communication of onstage energy. For example, Dave would be soloing while slithering/shuffling/jumping across the stage and we'd instead see a tight shot on Gene (or just piano keys), Bill, or (ugh) the audience. Very, very disappointing! When we did get a shot of Dave soloing, it was often framed so tight on the guitar that you still missed a lot of his 'energy'. While the close-ups on Dave's guitar are definitely of interest, the filming crew overall missed the point of the DVD project and really missed the larger moment at hand. As such, so do we. In addition, intersecting interviews within the concert, which is liberally done here, is something that should *never* happen. It only breaks-up the flow and energy and there are interviews already in the "Special Feature" section of this DVD. The old clips range from what looks to me as nothing more than a lip-syncing rendition of Red Rose to two truly great clips (one w/ Lee Allen) from '82. Stage diving in 1982? Yes, and years before Nirvana and Peal Jam. Would I buy the DVD? Yes, but it is so disappointing to know what this package could have been and what is actually delivered. This was a one shot chance at capturing the Blasters live and deliver the experience to us and I'd say the filmmakers blew it.
Rating: 
Summary: Live Video of a Great Live Band
Review: I'll be honest right from the beginning, that I've been a Blasters fan for years. I was in high school when the Los Angeles punk movement was at its zenith. Seeing a band like X, Black Flag or the Minutemen was easy to do because shows were happening all the time.
The Blasters were a little different and proved why the punk movement at that time was so special. There truly was musical innovation going on at that time so that a blues/rockabilly/folk/country band could be on the same bill with a thrashing punk band.
The other difference with the Blasters is that they featured one of the great American songwriters in Dave Alvin. Dave has since left the Blasters and his brother Phil and earned a Grammy a few years ago for his folk CD In The Public Domain. Recently, as a bid to firmly establish and memorialize the Blasters' unique role in rock history, Dave rejoined the band for a limited tour and for the release of their compilation CD.
This DVD contains the band's most recent final show at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana. In short, a great show with special guests and a great example of why the Blasters were a great band that performed a number of incredible songs.
As a longtime fan of the band, I can't give this DVD five stars because of a couple of quibbles that shouldn't be a problem for casual fans. My first problem is that this live DVD and companion CD does not live up musically to the Trouble Bound CD that was recorded about a year earlier during another part of their touring. Trouble Bound was recorded at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip and is one of the best live CDs of any band. Going Home is great too, but I only wish they would have filmed the show where Trouble Bound was recorded.
What is really great about this DVD is the other stuff that is thrown in with the performance. The interview with Dave rambles a bit but I enjoyed hearing from him. The video of the band in the 80's also provides the historical perspective that demonstrates why this was such a great band.
Rating:
Summary: Great band,great dvd......
Review: I've been a Blaster fan ever since the early 80's and I can't figure out how come they're not as famous as some as the bands that came out the same time.This is real rock and roll,played by real musicians who have that passion and soul that's needed and is missing in most music today..Maybe the camera work could be better,but who can argue with the songs,the tightness of the band and the joy that these guys have playing with one another again??????....I hope that the unconverted gets this dvd,then gets their cd's,too....If I had one quibble(and it's small,mind you)I wish that the rare concert footage was a little bit longer.Does anyone remember when MTV had Saturday Night Concerts in the early 80's?? The Blasters were on there and I think it was an hour long(as most of the shows were).....RECOMMENED HIGHLY!!!!...
Rating:
Summary: Just what I needed!!
Review: Just had to post a few comments about this. When i heard that the Blaster's first and only concert video would be released on DVD i just had to go out and get it.. all you blasters fans out there will know that these guys are all about playing live! - well, this DVD totally captures the energy and atmosphere... and if you never got to see them play... u just have to get this!! - The companion CD that comes with the DVD is just as awesome in it own capacity.. it features 16 tracks from the live concert co-produced by The Blasters themselves. The CD and DVD features performances of "Blasters" classics such as "American Music", "Marie, Marie" and "Border Radio". They are also joined on stage by rockabilly guitarist Sonny Burgess, Chicago blues great Billy Boy Arnold and the surviving members of the California doo wop legends The Calvanes and The Medallions.
go buy this now!!
adios
Rating:
Summary: Great Band - but that guy's teeth...........Yikes!
Review: These guys sure did put out some cool music. It's too bad they didn't seem to have a decent dental plan because it was much needed.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great dvd
Review: This is the whole truth, this dvd is awsome. The sound is great , so is the picture quality.The Blasters material is a little stronger then when they play with there special guests.Phil s voice is just incredible.This dvd was made by the former Rhino people,and it shows.Enjoy this dvd.....
Rating:
Summary: The Blasters Have Left The Building...
Review: Up until a few years ago, I'd resigned myself to endlessly spinning my old vinyl Blasters albums until they were worn down to nothing more than one long runout groove since the only thing available digitally was "The Blasters Collection," an admittedly admirable, workmanlike compilation but lacking so many great songs desired by completists like yours truly. Fortunately all of that's changed with what seems like a plethora of Blasters compilations, live albums, and this wholly worthwhile DVD. Let's face it - the camera work and editing are far from perfect - but if you're old enough, think back to a time before MTV killed rock and roll and all that it stood for or for that matter, to a time when the release of a DVD like this seemed about as likely as Joe Strummer checking into the wooden Waldorf at the tender age of 50. Jaded, us? Although the years are beginning to show on Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, and Gene Taylor (those b*st*rds John Bazz and Bill Bateman haven't aged a day!), these guys are still able to summon the muse at will, still fully capable of knocking most any band on the planet into a cocked hat, Dave Alvin's songs bursting from the speakers like a spray of sweat. Bonus features include the rarely-seen video of "Red Rose," two early 80's performances in California nearly ruined by dimwit surfer boys, interviews, and live footage of two songs by the Phil and Bazz-led "current Blasters line-up" (read "imposters"). If you're looking for the bottom line, here it is: If you're a Blasters fan, this one's a no-brainer. If you're not, I hear Janet Jackson's new one ain't half bad.
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