Well anyway, the Smoking Popes, don't know them, so I'm diving into this without being able to compare this to their earlier releases. What I can do is review this live CD/DVD. Because that's what it is. It's a live cd with a dvd to go with that. What I like about DVD's is extra's, interviews, history, nutty things on tour, why the drummer has a curly nose and what sluts they banged along the way (in no particular order). Well, it doesn't contain anything like that. It's just the concert. But that's okay, the extra's make you wanna buy the dvd, but if you're into the Smoking Popes you will buy it anyway.

 

A concert on DVD is always fun to watch. Usually there is a lot of show, light and shots of the public. Sadly enough, the Smoking Popes stand around most of the time, apart from the obsessive compulsive pelvic trusts of their members. And normally, when people do pelvic trusts, things really get going. But not on this DVD, it's slow and nagging. Emo from back in the day is really 'clean' except for the distortion on the guitars. It's a sort of hippie record, with happy lyrics and easy-going melodies. No problem, just not my thing. "Have I told you that I really really like you a lot", "I need you around", "I'm in love with a girl, she affected my whole world". Basically the whole record is about this stuff.

I also don't really like the vocals very much. It's all so nagging and slow. it sort of makes everything sound the same. Not that he has a bad voice, it's just so monotone all the time, except for some chorusses maybe, or some vocal lines. For instance, 'Gotta Know Right Now' is a nice song if you listen to it as an independant song, but when you hear it together with the rest, it's just another one of them songs.

To sum it all up, for me it's all a bit too quiet, not worth bringing out a live DVD or even a live recording for, esspecially since there are no extra's at all on this disc. I can imagine people to like this music, but I find it hard to listen to a lot of this, esspecially the full 1 hour and 20 minutes. But if you like the Smoking Popes, this probably a great addition to your collection and if you need some punky dinner music, this might be your thing. But then again, we all got Social Distortion.

 

If I get to choose; give me modern day emo, give me my Jimmy eat world. "I'm not afraid to cut my hair", you what?