Search - The Blasters Live - Going Home on DVD

Michael D. from ROCHESTER, NY
Reviewed on 8/26/2009...

Didn't realize how good these guys were until I saw this video.A very enjoyable concert.

Move Over You Fakers... This Is A Band That Truly Mattered

Kevin M. Meyer | Rockaway Township, New Jersey United States | 01/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Live Video of a Great Live Band

John Standiford | Cypress, California | 08/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

The Blasters Have Left The Building...

Clark Paull | Murder City | 04/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."