Foot-tapping extravaganza from the original LA punks
On listening to the Skulls, two things become immediately obvious: one, their songs should be played loudly and two that this is stuff that should bring a smile to your face. On watching them, it's pretty clear they like to entertain even if the crowd is quite sparse. 'The Skulls - Beyond Warped' is an array of audio and visual delights. A lot of thought went into this; however, it's debatable if some of the features work.
The DVD is packed with things, not least the Warped Tour set which is short and sweet as you might expect. And a pretty good set it is, too, despite singer Billy Bones appearing to try just a little too hard. Proceedings kick off with 'Aye Aye Aye', and there's plenty of energy with all four playing like there's a crowd of thousands watching. From the moment you spot bassist Hardslug sporting a bird mask or guitarist Andy Andersson spinning around on the spot, you just know it'll be a good performance. Then again, I defy anybody to not at least tap their foot along to these tunes.
Highlights of the set come with 'Building Models' and 'Victims', and by this time I'm beginning to think they're British - they sure as hell sound it. It's a shame to see that the crowd there is not really getting into it, and Bones tries to get the crowd to respond but it's to no avail. These are two cracking tracks, played at breakneck speed but life affirming all the same. This is punk rock the way it should be played.
One of the most amusing things about the whole set is Hardslug's facial expressions which range from silly to stupid. It provides entertainment and a few laughs along the way - 'Can Punk Rock Pay the Bills' is all the better for his grinning headshaking.
The Warped performance may be crystal clear, but the club footage that comes as part of the extras is more on the grainy side, with crackly sound to match. This being punk rock, the spirit of DIY lives on and it comes out better for it - it makes it sound better for a start. The three tracks are 'What a Waste', 'I Don't Care', and 'Incomplete Suicide' and even though they're filmed in different places and sound is terrible sometimes, it's almost better than the Warped set itself.
Sadly, the rest of the extras leave something to be desired. Trying to find the promised interviews is mission impossible, (it involves signing up to a website) and after a while, I just gave up in despair. As for the audio, it's nice to have the CD as well as the DVD – there's something about being able to listen to live recording from DVDs away from a PC. It may not quite be the same without the visuals, but it's still fun.
With a bit more care and attention, this DVD could've been brilliant - the music and performances were there, ready and waiting, but it was far too complicated. Still, it's worth it for the music so go on, get yourself a copy - it'll make your February brighter.