Punk music is easy to write and play. The lyrics aren't noted for their poetic subtlety, and it doesn't take a great voice to sing the stuff. The major attraction of the genre is the high-speed energy at which it's performed, and a punk band proves their worth best at a live show. The Huntingtons released their superb live album, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, earlier this year, and now label-mates MxPx are following their lead.
MxPx has five studio albums worth of material to draw from, and they make good use of it, grabbing songs from all of them, from Pokinatcha ("Want Ad") to Let It Happen ("GSF"). All in all, they blast through twenty-three songs in just under fifty minutes, which is pretty darn fast. Very few of the songs are over two minutes long, and "Forgive and Forget" is an infinitesimal twenty-nine seconds. Lead singer Mike Herrera doesn't chatter much from onstage, either, apparently choosing to let his music speak for him. (Perhaps this is a good thing. On one of his few monologues, the introduction to "Party, My House, Be There," he says, "This song's about having a party, my house. So do yourself a favor and be there." Deep thought, Mike.)
Live At the Show was cropped from two shows in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC, in the middle of a tour with Blink 182. MxPx is a surprisingly tight band live - most of the songs sound very similar to their studio counterparts, only with the added energy a live setting provides. All this only goes to show what a superb band MxPx really is. If you're a fan of punk music, or you want to hear what a live album should sound like, pick up Live At the Show.
4 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltFor a band that puts on a killer live show, this album is a great idea. I, for one, was not hooked on this band until I had seen them live several times. Infectious songs like "Punk Rawk Show" and "Teenage Politics" were nice highlights, but it was their incredible tightness that pulled me in like a caught fish into this band's musical grip. Adapting 50's bopper pop music into a punk rock format…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by TimAnother MxPx record. Sounds like everything else they do, but the quality is great. Better than their normal albums. Buy it if you like MxPx. C+Decapolis 1999Reviewed by ConradIf you like MxPx you should get this. I like live CD's. The production kicks, they're really a tight band. The choice of songs gets weird in the middle. A solid live album. B-Decapolis 1999Reviewed by dmkWithout all the shiny studio production values, the Bremerton boys are allowed to let loose in a breakneck performance that has become their trademark. I have a soft spot for live albums and this one definitely shows off their strengths. Fast-paced and fun. BDecapolis 1999Reviewed by TomThis CD certainly should have been out a while ago. But I guess that is what happens when you sign to a major label, and then the label no longer exists. I suppose the good thing is that they recorded this CD when A&M was still around. This CD was recorded on two separate nights in August of last year, in Washington DC at the 9:30 Club, and in Philadelphia PA at the TLA. Both Stephen Egerton, and…Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestIf you like punkrock and you haven't heard of MxPx, or Magnified Plaid, then I guess you come from another solar system. Since their first CD, Pokinatcha, in 1994, they took this solar system by storm with their energetic punkrock. They started with one of the first releases on the Tooth & Nail roster and all the time they were their best selling band. Nowadays they're on A & M Records. This…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Aaron BellIt has taken a long time for MxPx to finally do what many have expected for a while--A live album. MxPx finally delivers with At The Show, a best of live collection recorded in Washington DC and Philadelphia. After touring for three years, it's evident that this band is tight. Their abilities are not in question. The production is not bad for a live album, and does a good job of capturing MxPx…Similar sounding releases
2002Authority ZeroA Passage in Time
1999Diesel BoySofa King Cool
2002Ghoti HookGhoti Hook
2004El CentroProhibido
2005Strike AnywhereTo Live in Discontent
2002NOFX45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other RecordsMore from MxPx
1998Let It Happen
1994Pokinatcha
1996Move To Bremerton
1996Life In General
1995Teenage Politics
2002Ten Years and Running
