Bottom Line:
I didn't have nearly enough time to really give this awesome DVD justice. With more than 3 hours of videos, interviews, documentaries, stories, and miscellaneous, Bloodied But Unbowed delivers hard-charging kick-ass entertainment from the Americana side, roots rock, blues, country, and that pure genre-less sound that just characterizes the whole "movement," if you will. Bloodshot Records has their tongue firmly in cheek and their cards on the table with this one.
Some of the guys on this DVD haven't been through Phoenix, so I haven't had a chance to see
them live. This gives me a little taste, and if you're as unlucky as I am (to live in a town where
small live venues are as scarce as pots full of gold at the end of rainbows) then this may be the
only way you get a chance to see 'em, too. Is it worth it? Yee haw, you bet. The folks at
Bloodshot Records know talent, and they're pretty terrific at packaging it, too. There's videos
from a diverse swath of Americana musicians here, from the gritty sounds of Bobby Bare Jr (son
of the great outlaw himself, of course) to the gentle tones of Ryan Adams and his quiet guitar
work. I absolutely fell in love with Jon Langford, whom I've never heard before ("Nashville
Radio" is one of the funniest, best songs I've heard in a while!), and I really enjoyed seeing
some videos that just don't get played on either CMT and GAC, including Robbie Fulks' live
version of "Dirty Mouthed Flo" and Wayne "the Train" Hancock's "Neon Signs and
Thunderstorms." Never knew how much I'd like The Sadies and Devil in a Woodpile
because I'd never had the chance to hear 'em.
There's so much good music out there not getting played on the radio it's great when some of
these independent labels put together collections of their various and diverse artists in a
showcase like this, so we can get a chance to give a listen to someone new and different - and,
oh, wow, we might just like (no matter what corporate radio thinks). I mean, gee whiz, these are
artists who don't look like air-brushed supermodels nor do they think they're Mick Jagger on
stage. They're good singers with good songs - and be honest. If you NEED a pyrotechnics show
in order to be entertained, how good is the music you're listening to? But the DVD doesn't stop
with just showcasing the artists on Bloodshot. Heck, no. There's stories to tell, too. Some of
them straight-up documentaries, some of them funny as a Daily Show sketch. "A Bloodshot
Primer" is a tongue-in-cheek hoot of a "tell-all" about the life and times of the label itself;
"The Sundowners" is a pretty honest documentary, and there's clips from festivals and
television shows (a lot of the footage was shot at SXSW - South By Southwest - the original and
now, to hear some tell it, commercialized - Austin showcase for independent and new artists).