Punk DVDs are becoming increasingly popular which in my opinion is certainly a good thing. Whereas live albums don’t really always get the right effect and are often only good for the chump in the front row whose heckling becomes immortalised, live videos or DVD capture the band exactly how they should be, the movement and energy should be prevalent and overall fun should be had. The latest in Kung Fu Records’ ‘The Show Must Go Off’ series is that of Chicago pop-punkers Mest, who while having taken the States by a relative storm in the past 2 years, have yet to make any kind of indentation in the UK.
The DVD, like many in the genre, makes use of a number of cameras to bring you all the action and like The Vandals DVD it is very good in this sense. It’s shot reasonably well and there are plenty of options for the user to enjoy, with a band commentary, split screen, trailers and the obligatory post-show footage from the Anaheim show, of which the live performace is taken.
Of course it is all well and good having a shiny DVD which is good to look at and has p[lenty of options but if the quality of the band doesn’t match up then it kind of defeats the object. While there’s no doubt Mest are nothing more than a pop-punk band, and the fans at the show certainly enjoy the performance, the odd moment aside there’s nothing to get too excited about. ‘Fuct Up Kid’ is one of the better tracks (even if it is introduced with an unneccessary f-word salvo) but it really follows the same pattern – that Mest play far too clean pop-punk. The drums sound good, the vocals are ok too, but the guitars are far too low in the mix and nowehere near brash enough.
‘Misunderstood’ has the band bouncing all over the stage with gleeful abandon, but it really is about as exciting to watch as a Westlife gig. The jumps seem a little choreographed, I don’t know, it could be so much better. ‘Opinions’ is a decent pop-punk song but it’s too clean, while the onstage banter isn’t particularly funny with both vocalists continually plugging their records. It’s like, dude, we get the point that nobody has bought your records… ‘Long Days Long Nights’ is one of the better songs, and it is their ‘hit’ single ‘Cadillac’ that gets the best reception, but with just one guitar it sounds flatter than a pancake.
The DVD series could well be the jewel in Kung Fu’s crown, but this certainly isn’t their best work and it is a surprise why they decided to opt for Mest when they aren’t on the label. Still, the Alkaline Trio DVD is up next and that just has to work. It has to…
www.mestcrapp.com
Paul