Fang Mail, Pt. 21

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from folks who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD:

"For the first time on DVD, a completely electrifying proto-punk group who made their first appearance in the '70s. They were on the scene a while during that period without having had the chance to record an LP. Which is very sad, because the potential was there. This was proto-punk in the same vein as the DOLLS/STOOGES/BLUE OYSTER CULT/DICTATORS with a volley of super titles," writes Arsene Obscene leader Francois Ibanez on the Rock In Nice message board here.

"Obviously, you won't listen to this using the latest sound technology," Ibanez continues. "The guy shot the film -- in trashy black and white -- from 100 meters behind the audience, which didn't move the entire hour. I imagine that in 1974 the crowd had to be a bit blase. The film dwells for five minutes on some girl's doughy butt -- the only person moving -- oscillating between the songs as in a trance.

"The sound quality is still strangely 'almost' acceptable, and the band give their all, especially the singer with his pants kissing his pubic hair a la Iggy. There's a pathetic, albeit intentionally humorous, side to all this, which adds an aspect of the beautiful loser. A good, though forgotten, group."

Special thanks to original Back Door Man staffer/South Bay homegirl D.D. Faye for the French-to-English translation.