Search - Negative Approach: Fair Warning, Vol. 2 on DVD

Some of the most INTENSE hardcore ever captured on film and

T. Kasuboski | Winneconne, Wisconsin United States | 04/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off I have to admit that as far as NEGATIVE APPROACH is concerned I'm extremely biased. This is THE band (along with Dez-era Black Flag) that turned me into a hardcore fanatic. Furthermore, I've long considered John Brannon from NEGATIVE APPROACH to be the greatest American hardcore vocalist (with Jackal from YDI, Ian MacKaye from Minor Threat, Dez Cadena circa Black Flag, HR from Bad Brains, and Dave Dictor from MDC, all ripping at his heals for that top spot as the most enraged and passionate voice in American hardcore history). But I was totally SHOCKED when I received this "Fair Warning-Vol. 2" DVD in the mail. I very much enjoyed "Vol. 1" as it offered a classic glimpse at the legendary NEGATIVE APPROACH. But overall, the quality on "Vol. 1" was fairly typical of most early 80's hardcore footage: pretty rough. But I certainly expected that having previously owned several bootleg VHS tapes of grainly, poor sounding NEGATIVE APPROACH footage. So certainly, "Vol. 1" was a welcomed improvement from my battered VHS tapes, but along comes "Fair Warning-Vol. 2" and absolutely BLOWS MY MIND! First off, FINALLY a high-quality source of NEGATIVE APPROACH's performance on the cable access show "Why Be Something You're Not" from '82 has been found! This is full blown soundboard sound quality, great picture, and complete with the interview segments as well as the performances. That in itself is worth buying this DVD (especially when you've been watching the same footage on a grainly, choppy, bad-sounding 20th generation VHS dub for the past 7 years!). Next up is footage of NEGATIVE APPROACH at the Clubhouse in Detroit '82. This footage is more similar to that presented on "Vol. 1" but certainly no worse quality-wise and the performance is raging. The third segment features killer balcony (?) footage of a violent NA show at the Love Club in Philadelphia in 1983. Despite its flaws I really like this segment as the angle of filming really offers a unique perspective on the band/audience and the sound isn't that bad (I wonder if this was filmed by the same person who filmed much of the Philly footage, like YDI, that is present in the documentary "American Hardcore"). But the fourth segment is the TRUE GEM!!! I just about destroyed my apartment with hardcore thrashing when I viewed the The Graystone (Detroit) footage from 1983. I've always been a nut about the "Tied Down" LP (I certainly worship the EP as well) and this '83 footage features GREAT sound quality (from the soundboard), multiple camera angles (!!!), and a non-skinheaded John Brannon! TOTALLY AWESOME footage featuring performances of rarities like "Dead Stop", "Evacuate", "Hypocrite", as well as tons of other stuff from "Tied Down" and the EP. Man, I bet I've already watched that '83 Graystone segment 20 times! And last but CERTAINLY not least is bonus footage of an '82 gig at the City Club (modestly labeled on the DVD as "early NA Bonus Footage") . Once again, this is high quality footage (not quite soundboard, but excellent, well-shot, and highly audible sound) which is once again alone worth the price of admission (especially for the EP freaks as it features all pre-"Tied Down" material). So all in all this is an absolute FEAST for NEGATIVE APPROACH fans. I'm surprised that much of this footage wasn't placed on the "Vol. 1" DVD and then some of the lesser-quality footage placed on "Vol. 2" (which is kinda what I expected). Maybe John Brannon and Motor City Rock 'N' Roll did this intentionally, figuring that only the TRUE NEGATIVE APPROACH fanatics would come back for more following some of the rough footage present on the "Vol. 1" DVD. So they saved all the totally killer quality stuff for "Fair Warning-Vol. 2". Then again, maybe they just couldn't locate some of the footage on "Vol. 2" in time to put it on "Vol. 1". Regardless, let's all thank John Brannon and MCRNR Video for blessing us with two DVD volumes of footage of the GREATEST hardcore band of all time!!!! If you even think you're remotely a hardcore fan, then DO NOT hesitate! Buy NEGATIVE APPROACH-"Fair Warning-Volume 2" DVD immediately!"