Review of Busted: Live A Ticket For Everyone

Introduction

The 90`s and the first few years of the millennium have brought around the age of the karaoke singer. Exacerbated by the likes of Pop Idol, X-Factor and Fame Academy, the charts are filled with manufactured acts who could sing and dance (and, boy, do they like their aerobics routines…), but could do little musically. It was ever thus; in my heyday we had the likes of The Nolans, The Three Degrees, Tight Fit (wee ooh wee ooh, wee ooh wee ooh, wee um um away) and Bucks Fizz amongst others. In those days, however, the charts were also awash with quality bands and the manufactured bands were there just to make up the numbers. Well, that`s how I remember it anyway, but then I was too busy listening to Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Human League, Duran Duran, Japan et al to really notice if it was any different.

In 2002, however, a manufactured band came along with a bit of a difference. They actually were the first, according to me anyway, UK-manufactured boy rock band. Okay, so the rock was mix of the punk-yet-not-punk school of rock demonstrated by the likes of Blink 182 and Green Day, but still…

Busted were formed after Matt Jay (bass) was talent spotted at a karaoke contest, and was eventually put in touch with James Bourne (guitar) - although their paths had crossed previously at different auditions and gigs. In the best traditions of fledgling rock bands, the third member was found through an ad placed in the NME, and so the trio was now fully formed by Charlie Simpson (guitar and occasional drums).

The scene was set, now all they had to do was take the UK by storm. Well, that they certainly did. Their style is a mix of pure pop with whirling noisy guitars, which seemed to be a breath of fresh air for the kids who were used to a diet of insipid syrupy ballads. Frowned upon by some established rock acts, who really should have known better, Busted have steadily kept on rising and now have two hit albums to their name. Recently they won the ITV programme `Record Of The Year` with the song `Thunderbirds Are Go`, which isn`t even one of Busted`s best tracks, let alone record of the year (from a year which saw the likes of Keane, Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters come into their own).

After all that, here comes the now obligatory DVD just in time for Christmas (well it was when I got it…). A 17 track live concert filmed at the M.E.N in Manchester in March, 2004.

Video

Well, it`s a concert video. There`s a mix of steadicam and wide-angle shots, and the image is always clear. I personally would have preferred the opening overhead projections to be just shown on screen so you could get an idea of how the concert opened, but here you get a mix of both that and above audience perspective shots.

Audio

It`s loud and the 5.1 mix helps it get a bit louder.

Features

Behind The Scenes Documentary - a short film with some behind-the-scenes footage and a lot of screaming girls, a lot of it set to portions of Busted tracks. If you were looking for an in-depth look at how this was all put together then you`re going to be disappointed. Would do OK as a segment on CD:UK or something similar, though.

Puntercam - I`m sure this sounded like a good idea at some point. Someone obviously sat down and said `Hey, I`ve got a great idea. I know we`re filming this concert properly, but why don`t we put someone in the audience with a camcorder and record the whole thing from their angle as well?` Interesting for about 5 minutes, which is where this should have been cut, but blurred imagery and filming the back of peoples heads doesn`t make for a good viewing experience in my eyes.

Additional Video`s - Selected promo video`s (that means ` not all of them`) from the Busted back catalogue. Tracks are What I Go To School For, Thunderbirds Are Go and Crashed The Wedding. Also included is identical performance footage for Teenage Kicks, the Undertones cover. In the concert, this track is filmed in black and white for some reason. Now you can watch exactly the same thing, but hey, it`s in colour!

DVD-ROM stuff:
web links - self-explanatory, although one curiosity is a Busted game based on their first single. Reminds me of the old ZX Spectrum classic Skool Daze, although this new version is nowhere near as sophisticated.
Screensavers - two screensavers available, and no, I didn`t download either of them…
Spincam - presumably this is supposed to be a feature where you can spin around a performance, but wasn`t working when I tried it. Three tracks should become available at some point (Teenage Kicks, Crash The Wedding and Year 3000).

Conclusion

They`ve not been around too long, but might just buck the trend of going the way of most boy bands. For a start, they ain`t that big on ballads, which is a big plus. On top of that, manufactured bands tend to fall by the wayside as their fans grow older and their tastes get more sophisticated. The plus factor for Busted is, of course, that they can take their guitar sound anywhere they want in future, plus some of their catchier songs will still be as catchy in a year or two.

As with bands like the Spice Girls, Busted have their own identities for people to aspire to and copy. Matt has jet black hair and a penchant for black Fred Perry shirts. James has blond hair and a liking for cargo shorts. Charlie has black hair with blond highlights (or vice-versa or whatever), bushy black eyebrows and wears a tie sometimes. How could you ever get them confused?

I have to admit, I quite like this band. Not enough to buy a single or album, mind, but I`ll sing along if I hear one of their more well-known tracks. So what are they like live? Quite good really. Nice entrance by jumping onto stage via hidden platforms in a blaze of firework explosions after some detailed overhead projection stuff. This will obviously work better on the day rather than on DVD. The songs are tight, a couple of slow ones, but mainly up-tempo. Their performance is full of the same energy as you see on the likes of CD:UK or TOTP, and here`s where it falls down a bit for me. I can`t really see why the boys, who play two guitars as well as the bass, really need another guitarist to back them up. Maybe I`m missing something and the songs are really complex and need three guitars, but I`m not convinced. It just left me wondering if they could play anything beyond the obvious power chords that makes up their music. It also left me looking for a hidden bass player. I`m probably being a bit unfair and doing Busted a terrible disservice, but then I can`t find an explanation for the extra musician anywhere on here so I`m just left pondering.

The boys do have a limited vocabulary and stage rapport with their audience, but then they are very young and will grow into that with experience. It`s obvious that some of the songs contain the schoolboy humour that the English are quite renowned for. They also tackle some subjects that could be semi-serious if they didn`t have to nervously declare that it never happened to them - Fake is about a girlfriend who faked an orgasm and the subsequent pressure for the boy(s) to perform. The songs are likeable and catchy enough, the picture quality is good and the sound is loud and proud.

For the young teen MTV-style audience this is aimed at, this is a good document of a concert by their favourite band. Me, I`m left thinking that Busted are a latter day Status Quo with catchy songs using the same power chords. A little variation maybe, but still…