Reviews

I won’t lie; generally the mere thought of band DVD’s makes me cringe because the footage is often times so poor and so grotesque in quality that a blind person would probably stab themselves in the eyes after watching it. Yes, a blind person. But the combination of Immergent Records, Epitaph Records and 5.1 Entertainment complemented by some skilled cameramen and impeccable editing makes for ninety minutes of acceptable entertainment.  The Epitaph Tour 2005 DVD was filmed at one of the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville NJ which, as far as larger venues goes, is an absolutely thrilling place to see a concert, especially a good one. Located on a random street in a random town surrounded by a bunch of random nothing, it’s the perfect location for a bunch of kids from New Jersey who feel sorry for themselves to hang around.
 
Scatter The Ashes play first on this DVD and I can’t say too much about them other than they don’t move around enough on stage but they still looked like pretty big rockstars in front of these cameras. From First To Last were filmed shopping in this famous punk rock clothing store that I can’t for the life of me remember the name of, but the owner of it looks like Vince Neil and couldn’t stop carrying on about how these guys were “the magic.” This band is a nice blend of hardcore and melodicore, but no one pulled a rabbit out of a hat or levitated an audience member or anything so the “magic” just wasn’t all that visible. Their best song by far was “Kiss Me, I’m Contagious,” because it was the only one where their seventeen year old vocalist didn’t sound like he was finally hitting puberty.
 
Motion City Soundtrack is a good band. Don’t deny it. Don’t say you never find yourself humming along to “Modern Chemistry” while folding your socks.  They have this presence on stage that just makes them absolutely captivating to watch.  Not only that, but they have this ability to go from playing shows with bands like The Weakerthans and Onelinedrawing to touring with From First To Last and Matchbook Romance and still being able to fit in. They make a terrific addition to this DVD and provide for one of the more intellectually stimulating interviews.  I need to reiterate how clear and precise all of this footage is, and how the sound quality is right up there with a real live show.
 
One of the highlights of this DVD was an interview with headlining act, Matchbook Romance, formerly The Getaway, formerly Fizzlewink, but I’m probably not supposed to say that.  The band talks about their roots and how their love for music in high school brought them together as a band.  They forgot to mention that it was their love for the internet that brought them a record deal.  The band performed more of a sing-along than a concert, with hits like “Playing For Keeps” and “Tiger Lily” as well as an acoustic performance that included a whole venue full of backup singers.
 
There’s nothing anyone loves more than special features, and this DVD has those, but I can’t talk about them or they won’t be special anymore. So as far as tour documentaries go, this isn’t nearly half as good as Against Me’s, but it’s a whole lot better than most of what’s out there and if you like these bands, which I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t, you’ll like this DVD because it makes them look real good.