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The Aquabats are definitely a novelty band; there is nothing out there quite like them, and their wacky antics are rarely challenged. But this band also presents a love/hate relationship, in that one either finds the band's unique, but purposely cheesy sense of humor funny, or one views the band as a ridiculous joke. I tend to drift toward the "love" side of the spectrum, although I don't claim to "love" The Aquabats. I do, however, find them to be funny, and "The Return Of" was one of the first ska records I owned.
The Aquabats have had quite a career, with four full-lengths on the shelves spanning the mid- to late-nineties, as well as early 2000. Now, the band has released a DVD titled "Serious Awesomeness," chock full of live songs, a band history and utterly confusing skits. While The Aquabats play a style of music that is by no means commercially accessible, they have built an extremely devoted fanbase, which is evident through the number of "Aquacadets" present at each show, decked out in Aquacadet garb (usually consisting of goggles, some sort of hat). With an expansive career and aspects of the band that can only be understood with a visual element, releasing this DVD is surely justified.
But developing a DVD that is engrossing after four hours of footage is a challenge. First off, the live set, which is on the first of two discs, is pretty entertaining. Much like other bands' recorded sets, though, much of the energy involved in a live show is lost in the conversion. The sound and video quality are quite stellar, though. It's a decent set to watch, but I usually just skip to the songs I really want to see live, rather than watching the entire thing. It's not the same from a chair. Also on the first disc is a history of The Aquabats, which has some really funny and strange footage. I laughed the most during this segment, and recommend watching through it. Rounding out the disc are videos for "Super Rad" and "CD Repo Man," both of which are pretty funny.
The second disc is comprised of clips from a number of live shows, each one containing a single song and an interlude, usually showcasing The Aquabats fighting off some strange villain(s). There's a lot of cheesy fighting, and overall, it's funny. But the idea is the same through most of the clips, and it gets a bit monotonous. There are about 15 of these songs and interludes, making for an entertaining disc, but it does seem to drag on when the later skits finally roll around.
"Serious Awesomeness" is pretty long, but it's got a lot of good footage from the past 10 years. If you're a longtime fan of The Aquabats, this is worth purchasing at the right price (it's going for $17 on Smart Punk; a bit steep). Otherwise, this will provide some entertainment for friends that are oblivious to The Aquabats' antics. Overall, a very good, easily-navigated and colorful product that will be perfect for a select audience.
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