Every Time I Die - Shit Happens: The Series? (DVD)
Record Label: Epitpah Records
Release Date: October 26, 2010
If social networking isn't legal voyeurism, then I need to up my privacy settings even more for all of you standing outside my window. We don't need to "call and check up" or "reminisce about old times" when our feeds give us a constant daily (mostly hourly) play by play of even the most long forgotten friends and acquaintances. Beyond even that, it also lets us into the minds of some of our favorite bands, celebrities and pseudo-celebs as they take us with them on their adventures. While, I'm not too big on the Twitter thing unless I'm covering shows, there is one person I tend to check in on besides this guy - Keith Buckley. Strange? Obsessive? Fandom? I don't know - maybe the dude and his band just make me laugh. For anyone who's seen Shit Happens, the band's first full-length DVD, laughter was abound with (mis)adventures of tour, gig life and just laughing at old ladies at the Bills game. (Sorry for your pitiful season boys.)
Much of the same can be seen on Shit Happens: The Series?. Instead of one long block of a documentary (can we call it that?), this time around, Every Time I Die have chopped up their stories into themes and episodes about their touring crew, tatting each other and even more dicking around at Warped Tour. Surprisingly this time around, the shinfo is kept to a minimum, only popping up here and there. Even more missing is my least favorite part of the band's last shitty effort - the live bits. While it has been discussed that these DVDs - starting way back with At Home With Every Time I Die - it's not about the music, it's about the mass hilarity of these guys.
While Shit Happens and Party Pooper (released with New Junk Aesthetic deluxe edition) were quite entertaining in their own right, The Series? feels a bit taken back in its delivery of laughter. That's not to say that anything is forced, but the execution of the same intro and outro to every episode kills the flow just a bit. Instead of footage into footage into this roll on the floor laughing thing - or ROFL if you're unfamiliar with the times there bro - I felt like there could have been more seen in that time space. I felt, well, just a tad bit cheated. Maybe that's the fanboy speaking.
Much like social networking, this is what we are allowed to be shown and brought us a little bit closer to understanding and enjoying a band somewhat beyond their musical accomplishments. It's about seeing that the best way to get around a broke down van or filling in for unforeseen tragedy, is making the best of it. I sometimes wonder what keeps bands striving forward. If the money isn't right, what is the psychological fuel that keeps the legs strong and passion from weakening. Through all of Every Time I Die's DVD collection, we've seen that it's making the best of any situation and having your closest friends taking part in the adventure. Every Time I Die don't just show us the key to surviving gig life, they show us the key to making the best of all our lives in general. Whether it's on film or in a social feed - there's bound to be something to make us smile against the shitty grain of the everyday. For The Series?, it's definitely the Oscar nominated (ahem, needs to be) monologue of Charles Barkley.
If that's not enough - well hell, it comes with a free copy of New Junk Aesthetic too - which totally rules. If you haven't heard it, it's one of the best albums of last year. Just ask me or Drew. /shinfo
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