The Bollweevils DVD

The Bollweevils – Weevilive In Color DVD
Go Deaf Records

Back in the 1990s, The Bollweevils were the best of all the active Chicago punk rock bands at the time. Every time they played a show it was a really fun time, the guys in the band were all super nice, and they wrote a lot of really catchy melodic hardcore songs. When they split up it was a very sad day in Chicago punk and really the punk rock scene was never the same, and it still isn’t as times have changed and with modern technology the “scene” has become rather obsolete.

A far happier day was a couple of years ago when The Bollweevils decided to get back together and play at Riot Fest. First we had Naked Raygun doing that and deciding to stick together and continue as a band, and now we have the same in The Bollweevils. The Bollweevils play like time stood still and they never took a decade off; their shows are every bit as enjoyable as they were in the old days and the band sounds great. I for one am very glad to have them back and I’m sure quite a few folks feel the same way.

This DVD is part documentary, mostly live performance filmed at their two Riot Fest related shows two years ago. The majority of the DVD is the live performances recorded at the Double Door and the Congress Theater in Chicago. The video quality looks great at both shows but the Congress is far superior as their stage is lit by far more than four light bulbs. The sound is also top-notch as well and the band delivered a spot-on performance.

In between songs, singer; Daryl, as well as other members of the band at times talk about the history of the band and what each song was about and how they were written. There is at times some great old footage from when they were an active band in the early 1990s that was an amazing trip back in time. The stories were all very interesting and it was really cool to hear from the band themselves what the songs were about and how they came to be.

The main feature is about 70 minutes long and is wonderfully entertaining from start to finish. The video is widescreen and the sound is standard 2.0 stereo with a very good mix. Bonus features include some additional live footage from a couple of shows and made for a nice added bonus.

The packaging to the DVD is meant to look like a comic book and looks very cool and the interview footage on the DVD was made to look like it was inside comic panels too which made for some neat continuity.

The Bollweevils are still one of the best bands to come from Chicago and they certainly are the best band from their era of the Chicago punk scene. This DVD is a great addition to any collection for Bollweevils fan and also a great start of anyone who hasn’t heard them before.

Check out the trailer for the DVD: