Various Artists – DVD Vol. 3

So first and foremost, let me get this out of the way: I was quite disappointed with how Dive-Thru Records And Rushmore Records DVD Vol. 3 came out. It really is that simple. While I still haven’t seen Vol 1, I really enjoyed Vol. 2 which filled me with very high hopes for the new version. I mean, they could only go forward right? Sadly, I was wrong, and while the Vol 3 isn’t the worst DVD I’ve seen, I think they could’ve done so much better.

First up, the viewer gets treated to a collection of thirteen music videos from various Drive-Thru and Rushmore Records bands. Everyone from Allister to Self Against City and I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business make an appearance in this section, even the recently reclusive RX Bandits; and really, this section hits extreme highs and extreme low. There are some videos which are pretty interesting (Allister‘s A Lotta Never and An Angle‘s White Horse), some which are just weird (Home Grown‘s Feliz Navidad and Hellogoodbye‘s Bonnie Taylor Shakedown) and some which are really good and worth multiple viewings (Houston Calls‘ boxing video Exit,Emergency). But then, at the same time, there’s a few which are just plain boring like I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business’The Best Happiness Money Can Buy or Day At The Fair‘s Eastern Home, Western Hearts (which is a shame because that’s a good song).

But those are just music videos, most of which you can get off the internet easily enough, and not the main selling point behind the DVD. The main reason people will buy it is for the live performances and the extra features like interviews and behind the scenes clips. And since the live portions aren’t anything spectacular (none are worth watching more than once if that), the rest remains in the interviews – and it really seems as if Drive-Thru went half-assesd with this part this time. Only a few of the bands, most noticeably Hellogoodbye, really say anything interesting – the rest are pretty nonchalant and offer no real insight into the band. Some of the “making the video” segments are interesting (like The Early November on the set of Something That Produces Results or Halifax filming Sydney). Sadly, probably the highlight of the entire DVD comes from the little “Scare Eric” section which has various band members and DTR employees sneaking up on and screaing the hell out of one guy repeatedly.

It’s not a horrible DVD by any means, but its just that they could’ve done so much better than they did – especially with the amount of bands they have on the two sister labels. Nevertheless, I’m sure huge fans of the labels will jump through hoops to get their hands on it.