Leeway - Haunted Hardcore Vol. 1
Crash Music - CMU61164 - Jan. 24, 2006
by Amanda J. Carlson
For a hardcore band that hasn't released an album in over ten years, it seems odd to suddenly come out with a DVD of shows so many years ago. The DVD contains two live performances from 1999 and 2001 in small New York venues, as well as an interview with singer Eddie and guitarist AJ. They say they made this DVD to give their fans something better than the bootleg videos sold on eBay, but quite honestly, the quality is not much different from what you’d expect to see from some random guy with his video camera in the back of the club.
At both shows the lighting is horrible; there is one spotlight over center stage, so anyone not directly under it is in darkness. Makes it especially irritating when the singer steps towards the front of the stage out of the light to bark at the crowd, and the camera focuses on his silhouette for extended periods of time. The sound of the first show is good enough to showcase each instrument, but that of the second performance is much more muffled. There are at least two cameras at the latter, though, which is a welcome change from the amateurish, shaky center angle. What is shown of the second show is a handful of chosen songs already played in the first; they’re just done under a different color light in a different venue with the musicians wearing different clothes. That's something only a Leeway fan would appreciate, not someone new like me.
Though I'm not a fan, the interview was interesting. Both band members mention numerous other hardcore bands that they associated with, which goes to show that there is a lot of tightness among musicians in the genre; I admire that. I’m also impressed that these two talk like serious musicians who put a lot of thought into what they do and know what it takes to be a real band. They didn’t put a great deal of effort into this DVD, but since this is technically Vol. 1, one can only assume there will be another. Perhaps they'll do better.
5.5/10
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