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DVD
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IDM 001DVD
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Crazy video documentation (long thought to be lost) of a live show by legendary L.A./South Bay proto-punk unit, The Imperial Dogs. Recorded at Cal State Long Beach the night before Halloween, 1974, fliers for the event promised "an evening of sex, violence, and public outrage," and this 64-minute DVD delivers the goods. Some people may know The Imperial Dogs from the Unchained Maladies LP that Dave Laing's Dog Meat Records issued back in '89. A few may even know the '78 single they released through Back Door Man. But neither of those actually prepares you for the amazing visual onslaught of the band. In a year perhaps best remembered for Terry Jacks' "Seasons In The Sun," The Imperial Dogs (fronted by wasted, he-man writer, Don Waller) were blasting out originals like "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" (later copped by Blue Öyster Cult) and slamming through Velvets covers as though other people on the planet actually cared. The introduction raps are worthy of transcription, the video transfer quality is shockingly good, the sound is great, and the performance is really amazing. It's almost unbelievable that this kind of ruckus was being created in '74, but it was and the evidence is finally available. The package is hep, too. Lotsa good color photos (like Iggy watching The Imperial Dogs playing at Rodney's English Disco -- the only live band there, ever) and thousands of excellent historical words that will place your ass in the ghettos of Long Beach, CA many, many years ago. Really one of the best, least expected slabs of wild history to come down the pike in many a moon. Let us pray a similarly-styled LP will follow before too long. 64 minutes; Mono; black & white; NTSC format, all region; includes a 20-page booklet with notes and rare photos.
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