What a concert! If you only buy one concert DVD this year, this is the one to buy. Body Count shows their skill & professionalism, playing their great old songs well, even tossing in a couple of new ones as if they were hungry to please the crowd rather than like a buncha tired old geezers wheezing their way to retirement. Distinctly absent is a sloppy, lazy, 'take the fans for granted' attitude. The crowd responds as they should as Ice T & his gang tore into one favorite song after another, thrashing & moshing & doing all the stuff the crowd on the other Body Count DVD refused to do. As I watched this, I couldn't help but to reflect on their career. I don't know why this band never developed a huge following. They were writing & performing really clever, catchy thrash songs way back when speed metal was in its infancy, hair metal was dying & still managing to suck with a measurable velocity & Metallica wasn't a punch line. They had controversy & publicity when "Cop Killer", (still a socially relevant song 20 years later) was introduced, yet they offered so much more depth than mere sensationalistic stories in the news & organized protests from police groups. They had so much talent, a famous singer, everything a band needs to become legends. They should have been propelled to fame & instant recognition, it just doesn't make sense that it never really happened.
In the concert Ice T mentions that three of the 5 original members had died; two from disease, one in a drive by shooting. Maybe that had something to do with Body Count's failure to thrive. The cool thing is they don't play their set list as if they rolled out of retirement in order to reline their swimming pools or whatever it is the obscenely rich like to spend money on. They play perfectly, with no need for stupid gimmicks & superfluous trappings designed to distract people from the music in order to put on a show. The music is the show & that's more than sufficient. I thought it was entertaining enough to see a guy with dimples singling such offensive, tough guy stuff. How delightful would life & music be if every actor were required by Screen Actor's Guild policy to be in a 'hardcore, gang banger, speed metal band' rather than in a meaningless, generic noise generating thing like J. Ho & Lin Lo & all those other pop star wanna be actors? I have always had a love/ hate relationship with concert DVDs, in that when they are great, they can only be watched, not listened to while driving or whatever. This DVD provides the live CD from the concert, and features two new songs as well, which was a nice bonus. The back of the DVD case claims there are in depth interviews with Ice T, which I didn't watch, because I couldn't find any special features on the DVD at all, maybe the promotional copy is different than the one you'd end up with if you bought it. Even without it, this is a DVD you'll want to watch often. I watched it & liked it alone this mawnin' before the kids woke up, & I plan to watch it & like it again tonight, after ToFo & I put the kiddies to bed. This is a great DVD for any metal fan.
