DVD Review: Adolescents “The Show Must Go Off #10”

Adolescents
“The Show Must Go Off #10”
(Kung Fu)

The average age of these guys has got to be, what? Thirty-five? I’d say forty, but they recently got a new drummer who I think is a bit younger, so I think he’s bringing the curve down a bit. What they lack in youth, the Adolescents clearly make up for in longevity, if not polish, as their old-school punk has got them through countless albums and over two decades of hits. OK, not hits exactly. Nobody’s claiming the Adolescents are their favorite band and they totally flip out over “Democracy” or “So Cal Girl” but nobody is ready to dismiss them as being over the hill or washed up. At least not yet. Kung Fu’s latest offering boasts plenty of quick-cuts and tons of varied camera angels-definitely an improvement over their earlier efforts. The nineteen track playlist features songs that pretty much all sound the same, as the years seem to have taken a little bit of the edge off of the Adolescents’ earlier, angrier work. Speaking of earlier work, the highlight of the entire DVD is the addition of footage from a show in 1982. 1982! If you look closely, you can see your dad in the mosh pit and your mom making eyes at the guitar player. It’s freaking sweet to see footy from that era-someone needs to compile a whole bunch and make a sick documentary for Sundance. Those movies always win at Sundance, have you noticed that?

Brian Greenaway