The Starting Line – Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us (2009/Image Entertainment DVD/CD Set)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: B-     Concert: B-

 

 

In 1999, a band was formed in Churchville, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia) that managed to have sustained success and made pretty good music in their time, but one you may not have heard of.  Why?  Because despite loyal fans, ambition and good music, the major record labels are in such flux that two major label album launches fell through and that left The Starting Line literally living up to their name.

 

A decade later, they are breaking up because the system that should have made them successful for doing what all bands who deserve to be successful was punished with the opposite by executives who only know money and do not know or love music.  Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a farewell concert now issued in a solid DVD/CD set.  As energetic as ever, the band performs their most popular songs from their three studio albums including:

 

1)     Given The Chance

2)     Greg’s Last Day

3)     Almost There, Going Nowhere

4)     Direction

5)     Up & Go

6)     Inspired By The $

7)     Are You Alone

8)     The Drama Summer

9)     Ready

10)  This Ride

11)  Bedroom Talk

12)  A Goodnight’s Sleep

13)  Surprise, Surprise

14)  Something Left To Give

15)  Island

16)  Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us

17)  Photography

18)  Best Of Me

 

 

I had only heard of the band in passing prior to this release, but here, you can see a band that is a real band.  When they come together, they are this band and the chemistry they have is like the best bands.  Good musicians with good showmanship, this is a band that cares about their music and their fans.  You can see them really connect with the audience and this set (especially the DVD) captures that.  Kenny Vasou (vocals, Bass), Matt Watts (guitars), Mike Golla (guitars, backing vocals), Tom Gryskewicz (drums) and Brian Schmutz (keyboards, backing vocals) are playing music that is about relationships and works better than most of their contemporaries in the same period.  I have a feeling they are going to be appreciated later when they should be appreciated now.  This set will hopefully bridge that gap.

 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a little soft, but it is still not a bad digital video shoot and the color is not bad.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad, though DTS would have been nice, but the PCM 16/44.1 2.0 Stereo on the CDs are also good, but the recording can be rough at times.  Surrounds on the DVD’s Dolby mix are not bad.  There is only one extra and it is great.  We get a documentary on the band form its formation, to its rise as a band, to its two very bad encounters (maybe too typical) with two of what now is only four major record labels left and its eventual decision to fold.

 

It is a great untold story of the music business, reminds us of everything that is wrong with it and in combination with the concert, is one of the greatest testaments yet (intended or not) of how bad the music industry is with new music today and that to the detriment of us all, we have lost at least two generations of great music to insane business practices.  In the Blu-ray and DVD era, maybe rediscovery and renaissance will happen.  Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a great step towards that.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo