Search - Minor Threat at DC Space/Buff Hall/9:30 Club on DVD

One For The Fans

David Hamilton-Smith | England | 12/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Minor Threat were obviously a massively influencial band who, in their short existence, practically defined Straight Edge and Hardcore Punk. MacKaye is a brilliant frontman, both then with MT and now with Fugazi, and this DVD proves that their music is still intense by today's standards.
The only problem is - the sound and picture quality on this DVD is extremely poor! And I mean that's the ONLY problem. The notes are informative and the interview is very interesting. It's just the quality of the feature presentations. I appreciate that they probably didn't have the cash to finance a really professional-looking film because it was never their intention to release something of this nature, but avoid this until you are accustomed to their studio-recorded material. The DC Space Show is unwatchable and the Buff Hall show, although brilliantly intense, has very muffled sound quality. In comparison the 9.30 Club show is great - it's clearly filmed and generally more satisfying. Maybe the bass is a little too loud, but it's nothing you can't look past.
Don't get me wrong - I like this DVD. But that's only because I already know the songs. If you don't know a lot of these tracks it can be a very frustrating watch, if only due to the fact that most of the singing is done by random punters grabbing the mic from MacKaye every forty seconds.
One for those who couldn't get hold of the old Live VHS."

Finally on DVD!

David Hamilton-Smith | 02/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"i basically grew up watching the VHS version of this since it came out in '88. but with the DVD release you get bonus footage of a show at Buff Hall and a funny little interview with ian. the Buff Hall video & audio quality isn't too hot...but hey, it was shot in 1982. what's more, you get to see ian a bit more confrontational with the audience than most people are used to seeing in his shows with fugazi. he even takes a swing at somebody! good stuff..."

More than a minor threat

PSM/Bokor | United States | 07/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This review is about everything, except the d. c. space performance; that video footage is a bunch of bunk. Please, just skip over it and enjoy the rest of the DVD.

I'm partial to the Buff Hall performance; it's the second show on the DVD. It's raw and captures the volatile violence just waiting to break loose - the kind of tension I remember when I was young and seemingly invincible and overly full of myself. And, Ian does get a little physical with a well deserving fan. The audio is more than good. A punk fan will get excited over this performance.

The 9:30 Club footage is excellent in the audio, but it is missing the tension of the Buff Hall performance. Don't get me wrong, given my experience with punk video recordings, the performance is well filmed and the audio is, as I stated previosly, excellent. There's a lot of stage diving, but it lacks the rawness of the Buff Hall performance.

Overall, the DVD is worth the price, just for the Buff Hall performance.

I'm proud to have Minor Threat's DVD in my collection.

"

Is it worth the money???

Gogol | England | 07/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Thats the question you have to ask yourself before buying any music DVD but this one is not bad value for money. I have to admit when I first switched this on and saw the DC space show the words "I want my money back" did come to mind. The quality is beyond awful, Buff Hall on the other hand makes up for it.

The show is intense with some real crowd participation. Stuff to look for; the woman shouting "It's my birthday" getting shoved off the stage and Ian making the guy who shoved her apologise, the kid in the far corner (is that his school uniform he is wearing???) even he is stage diving by the end. The sound quality I thought was pretty good considering it's a live show and all.

The 9:30 club is also of realy good quality but as other reviewers have pointed out, it lacks the intensity of the previous show.

I have now watched this DVD several times (even the first show which does grow on you after a while, I think they put that show in for nostalga sake as it can't be for quality) the only bad side is the interview. For some anoying reason they have chosen to separate the questions from the answers so you hear the questions (and see Ians puzzled expressions) and then have to click on to the answers (now was that necessary?????)

The booklet I felt was also a bit of a waste of time (apart from the lyrics sheet which I suppose is useful if you don't have any Minor Threat CDs (you may then ask who would get the DVD having not heard the band??))as there are mostly pictures and a brief biography. As this is a DVD the pictures are pretty pointless.

Still, worth buying and worth seeing again."