Tsunami Bomb - Live at the Glass House

  by Alex Halls

published: 23 / 7 / 2005

intro

Tsunami Bomb's new DVD 'Live at the Glass House' is a recording of the last show of their Definitive Act Tour at the Glass House in Pomona, California. Alex Halls looks at a DVD which will be enjoyed by already established and new fans

Number seventeen in Kung Fu Records’ 'The Show Must Go Off' series presents Tsunami Bomb’s last show of the Definitive Act Tour, at the Glass House in Pomona, California. It certainly is a credit to the Kung Fu label as they have put together a quite impressive DVD – one that can be enjoyed by fans, supplementing their existing collection, and acts as a fine introducer to those who have never experienced Tsunami Bomb recorded, or live. 'Live at the Glass House' mixes the new songs from the latest 'Definitive Act' album with the older tracks from the 2001 EP, 'The Invasion from Within' and 2002’s 'The Ultimate Escape'. This allows Tsunami Bomb to be reflected in its past and present glories, every quality shining through unbounded. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you’ll only find a few old tracks on here, as there are fewer songs off the new album than from its predecessors. 'Dawn on a Funeral Day' and 'My Machete' are two of the new tracks, impressive to say the least and indicative of the band’s expanding technical merits and more complete songwriting. Aside from playing the gig in its entirety, viewers can choose to play any one of the eighteen songs individually, which allows for favourites to easily be watched without skipping through other sections. There are a number of other key features too. The commentary screen can be switched on at any point during the show, ideal for anyone wishing to hear what the band has to say in between songs. Although the commentary frequently has nothing to do with the gig it is mildly amusing and must have been a surreal experience for Tsunami Bomb to speak about the concert whilst watching it on a small screen. A small, self-made featurette of the band on tour is also included, showing a few more venues visited and what the band members do to amuse themselves when travelling America. This all adds up to playful banter and some comic moments extracted from what can’t have all been good fun. In addition to the customary web links on DVDs, there is the 'Dawn on a Funeral Day' music video, a nice touch for those who have no access to music television. This release meets those very expectations that were created when this form of versatile media was originally released. With three songs available in eight different angles, all recorded the very same night; the DVD truly comes to life. This multi-angle format allows the viewer to delve deep into each component that contributes to live music’s fascinating existence. If you fancy watching a section of the crowd continuously or focus solely on each of Tsunami Bomb’s four consistent elements, then Kung Fu might just have provided the ideal disc to satisfy your needs. All that is left to do is to find a large screen, surround sound system and crank up the volume. Granted it will lack the sweat and bodily torture but this feels as close to the real thing as one can get without actually going: close it certainly gets.