Aaron Brown finds hardcore veterans the Casualties to be a band playing at their top of the game in a new DVD filmed at a home town gig at the Knitting Factory in New York City
While many of their contemporaries have bowed down to inevitable and watered down their sound with the hope of signing to a major for big bucks, the Casualties have not changed at all and and are still going strong six albums and ten years later. Their latest offering was made in New York City, and, while being mainly a live DVD filmed at the Knitting Factory, also delves into the hardcore veteran’s working class background for a warts and all documentary. The gig itself captures a band at the top of their game, playing to an over-enthusiastic New York crowd more prone to invading the stage. The Casualties appreciate their fans and the band seems quite happy to share the stage with anyone that knows the words. One lucky 15-year-old cannot believe his luck as guitarist Jake hands him the guitar to run through 'For the Punx', with the young punk making a decent effort of it. What I like about this is the fact that it is raw, and it hasn’t gone through the grinder of over-dubbed processing which most live DVD albums do. The Casualties stick to the classics. The explosive 'Ugly Bastard' goes down a treat turning into more of a sing-along, while the crunching 'Unknown Soldier' is probably one of the best punk rock tracks since 'Holiday in Cambodia'. Being a hometown gig, the band cannot finish their set without a reworking of the Ramones’ 'Blitzkrieg Bop', making a decent stab at the local legend's classic. A DVD purely for the fans, the aptly named Casualties Army should enjoy this fine offering of New York street punk.