Search - Forensic Report on DVD

San Francisco's Best

Johnny Velvet | San Francisco | 03/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oddly enough although Mutants (they always eschewed the "The" before their name), were part of the burgeoning late 70's/early 80's punk/new wave scene, I never considered them either. They were simply a rock band. Some may focus on their stage shenanigans - the comical belligerence of alternative chanteuses Sally and Sue towards lead singer Fritz, not to mention their Alice In Wonderland ensembles, but what always impressed me was the casual yet stunning virtuosity of the band's musicians and the quirky yet brilliant timing of all three singers interplay. I am a music listener of eclectic tastes, everything from Zappa to King Crimson, Blue Oyster Cult to Prince, Dino, Desi & Billy to Billy Joel, Little Johnny Taylor to John Cage. I mention this to emphasize I am no dilettante when it comes to understanding and appreciating the nuances of both trite and significant music. That said I consider Mutants the best band San Francisco has ever produced and I say that for one simple fact - their songs. Simply magnificent. Last year they played in San Francisco, at the Fillmore as part of a retro-punk night. This was preceded by a show at a small venue. Yes over twenty years after their so called hay day, and every song was thrilling.

It's not surprising this band never made it `big'. Rumors of their infighting abound and their discography is a blip, if that, on the industry's radar screen, limited to one nearly impossible to find LP (although it has since been re-released on CD containing a number of superb demos heretofore held only by those of us who taped them from the local radio stations, KUSF & KALX) and some independently produced singles. (By the way, do yourself a favor and search out the CD. You won't be disappointed.) But studio recordings, while cherished, were always stepchildren to their live performances, which brought their songs to a stunning assemblage of driving rock at its finest.

And now a DVD. I'm drooling. So okay I have yet to actually see it so I cannot comment on its quality, but I rarely missed a Mutants show and was at all of those listed on the DVD and lemme tell ya, these shows will blow you away.

I was 12 years old, sitting in front of a black & white TV set, watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. It was a seminal moment in my life. Everything subsequent to that night was markedly different in profound ways not only for me, but for the world. It has been well documented so no point in waxing poetically about it here. And although listening to Mutants songs did not produce a similarly seminal moment it surely gave me similar goose bumps. Who's to say why certain music triggers the pleasure zones, gets those endorphins flowing, and who knows if Mutants music will do that for you, but attending a Mutants show was always a carnival of sights and sounds, and when listening to their music, well, as the old carny saying goes, you'll be walkin' in high cotton."

Watch Out for the Furniture!

Creekster | Walnut Creek, CA, USA | 05/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A fan of the Mutants from the first time I saw them in late 1980 (opening for and IMO upstaging the Feelies), I approached this DVD with a little trepidation. That's because following the commercial failure of their 1982 album "Fun Terminal," the band went through a slow, painful-to-watch breakup and gave some less-than-stellar performances.

Fortunately, I needn't have worried. The 1989 reunion set (about 2/3 of the DVD's running time) is great, and the opening interview segments are full of entertaining anecdotes about the band's earliest days as art-school provocateurs (particularly the story of the show where they threw dead fish at the Fab Mab audience, who threw them back).

For those who have only heard of Dirk Dirksen, the notoriously irascible "godfather of punk" in San Francisco, the concert portion offers a glimpse of him in fine form as MC, genuinely annoyed that the club management wanted to wrap up the live set so that the DJ could start.

Will anyone who isn't already a fan be interested? Probably no more so than with any other rock video, but if you don't already own their CD reissue, check out some of the clips on their web site, [...], and see what you think.


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