Adolescents

Adolescents: Live at the House of Blues DVDLive at the House of Blues DVD (2004)
Kung Fu Records

Reviewer Rating: 2.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: KirbyPuckettKirbyPuckett
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on June 22nd 2004The Adolescents are old, they can't conceal it, it's impossible to escape it. It's apparent by easily eyeing the band up that the 20-some years of the punk rock life has caught up to them and is taking its toll. Do yourself a favor and don't tell them that they belong in a retirement home and not .

The Adolescents are old, they can't conceal it, it's impossible to escape it. It's apparent by easily eyeing the band up that the 20-some years of the punk rock life has caught up to them and is taking its toll. Do yourself a favor and don't tell them that they belong in a retirement home and not the stage at the House of Blues. Despite their age, the six gentlemen still have the heart, soul, and energy that adorned their youth.

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not very familiar with the Adolescents' music, in fact I wouldn't even consider myself a fan, but I did enjoy this DVD.

The crew over at Kung-Fu's video department have put out another quality compilation of footage for their 10th release in the Show Must Go Off series. Editing is once again top-notch, as I hardly recall seeing any of the cameramen pop in the shots. The cuts are quick on the rash edgy So-Cal punk songs and the clips flow great among the members during the set. The sound of the show is admirable as well and since the DVD is accompanied by a free CD of the show you can listen to it while your mom is watching Friends reruns on the tube. The only default I find production wise is the brightness of the footage; it's rather dark and dreary. This could very well be a lighting issue from the club, as the other DVDs in the series are vibrant in color so I won't hold that against anyone.

Even though the Adolescents have been playing these songs for an eternity its still an awe to ogle their talent, as minor mishaps occur during the fifty minute long set. The longevity of the band is illustrated very well in their songs. Lyrically many of them still hold true to modern times even though they were written two decades ago. I wish I knew the band better so I could discuss how the songs translate from studio records to the live atmosphere, but all I can really inform you is that they rip through the 19 songs one after another. There's little time to breathe for the energetic crowd as few pauses separate the music, but that's what helps keep the intensity of the show.

After watching the DVD, I can definitely say I'm interesting in finally checking out this band that I've heard so much about over the years, maybe they can do the same for a few other new listeners out there. This video makes a good place to start for any new fan and those who are already aware of the Adolescents you won't be the least be dissatisfied with their performance and how Kung Fu captured it.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

doccantgetme (September 28, 2004)

this is my review for the self-titled album which is nowhere to be found... punk rock with a surf guitar feel that's awesome

Anonymous (July 21, 2004)

As much as I love Rikk Agnew, I actually like DI's version of OC Life a bit better. It just sounds better production-wise and Casey's vocals seem to have a little more bitterness in 'em. But goddamn, Adolescents are a classic band and their first album is one of the best punk records to ever come outta Orange County!

DS

Anonymous (June 26, 2004)

Eh I have them on vinyl so I have to do that anyway.

-BSD

Anonymous (June 26, 2004)

The One Man Army DVD from "The Show Must Go Off Series" also has a lighting issue in my opinion. It seems a bit dim, yet the bass player (whose name slipped my mind for some reason) complains that the house lights are too bright.

Anonymous (June 25, 2004)

This review made me want to dig out my Adolescents album - but I couldn't find it, so I looked on Interpunk. Apparently Frontier is now releasing their albums and have taken "All By Myself" and released it separately. So no more listening to Amoeba, Kids of the Blackhole and OC Life without changing disks.

lushj (June 24, 2004)

I've only heard the audio of this so far, it's musically pretty spot on, although Tony's voice is a bit hoarse.

P.S.- Rikk Agnew's "All By Myself" is a GREAT record!!!

Anonymous (June 24, 2004)

"Adolescents are quality and the album is still packaged with rikk agnew and welcome to reality EP. "

It certainly is and I must say I listen to the Rikk Agnew stuff more so than The Adolescents...that man is a genius.
If you haven't heard 'All By Myself', do, if only for "It's Doing Something" and "Yur Too Late"...

-Janelle
Adolescents, D.I., early Christian Death - has he the golden touch?

FortyMinutesWest (June 23, 2004)

YOUR OPINION IS DIFFERENT THAN MINE YOU SUCK!

Seriously though, Kirby, have you seen those "Gimme The Mic" commercials? Those people are all horrible. Does Pittsburgh really need its own American Idol?

Anonymous (June 23, 2004)

I gave it a five because it wasn't great, but good. To me that's what a five is. It was right there in the middle, enjoyable.

- Kirby

Anonymous (June 23, 2004)

I never bothered listening to adelescents, so my comment is useless. I bet i'll make a couple of you readers really mad too.

Anonymous (June 23, 2004)

Adolescents are quality and the album is still packaged with rikk agnew and welcome to reality EP.

-Strewtho

FortyMinutesWest (June 23, 2004)

Well a review of a DVD could be influenced by the quality of the video, and other things that go beyond the actual perfomance. I would have given it 4 stars though, as I enjoyed it.

Anonymous (June 23, 2004)

So basically this is a DVD of an old band... They mess up a few times... Other than that, they are really fast and energetic... But because of something out of their control (not that I think they care), that being that you're totally oblivious to pop-hardcore, you rate them at 50%. I don't get it. Not that this DVD is the be-all end-all of live performance, but you come off as really close minded.

-BSD

kirbypuckett (June 22, 2004)

Sorry BSD.

Scott sends me stuff, I watch/listen it then write about it.

And the answer is zero.

;)

- Kirby

FortyMinutesWest (June 22, 2004)

Good stuff.

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

score is for the adolescents.
do they still package the s/t album with the welcome to reality ep and rikk agnew's all by myself? i thought i remembered epitaph owning the rights to the album at one time, and maybe they got rid of the extras, like hetson's label separated group sex and wild in the streets. speaking of circle jerks, their dvd better come out soon, i'm getting anxious.

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

"OC life is not the life for me...."

I actually saw D.I. last Friday night at the Gene Autry museum in LA. TSOL and the Dickies also played. Really fun. I got a picture with Casey from D.I. wearing a red cowboy hat. He was drunk as shit, and forgot the words to a couple of songs...

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

Wow, I can't wait for you to give the Circle Jerks installment a "1".

"These guys are old and their songs sound like they were written a long time ago. I've never heard any of their records, but from this DVD, I'm thinking they must be pretty old and not as cool as Cursive"

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

Okay, asshole....

Leave DVD reviews to people who already fucking know about the bands that play on them. If you don't know about the Adolescents, buy/burn(ugh) their albums, but don't expect to like a live set where you haven't heard any of their songs...

"Mishaps"? "They're too old"? How many shows have you actually been to where Spitafield isn't headlining?

-BSD

lushj (June 22, 2004)

The 10's for the Adolescents "Blue" Album. Kirby, if you're not familiar with the band, go get that record now (it's on Frontier).

P.S.- What does this sentence mean? "Even though the Adolescents have been playing these songs for an eternity its still an awe to ogle their talent, as minor mishaps occur during the fifty minute long set." What is an "awe"? Or should I be asking, what is "an awe"? Are you "in awe" of their talent? Is "ogle" supposed to be a verb here? Drop the thesaurus and just use your natural vocabulary (and if this is your natural vocabulary, I hope you're really young). And while I'm nitpicking, the sentence following that one doesn't make much sense either. How is the band's longevity demonstrated by their songs? Is the band's musical style dated yet still somehow relevant to today? Is there a broad range of styles being played which show influences from different time periods? Do they play songs from many points in their career? Come on Kirby, you write like this is an essay assigned by your 5th grade teacher. Loosen up.

I'm not a grammar nazi, I just want to be able to understand your review. These are constructive criticisms.

ThreeChordsAndTheTruth (June 22, 2004)

Says 2.5 to me.

Good review.

kirbypuckett (June 22, 2004)

It's a 5, not a 2.5.

TahoeJeff (June 22, 2004)

I saw these guys a couple of months ago in Seattle and it was a damn good time.

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

how great is rikk agnew???? all by myself??? only theater of pain-era Christian Death???!!!!

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

Am I the only person who prefers DI to the Adolescents?

OC life is not the life for me....

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

kirby pucket is a douche.

-TJ, the dude that always wins.