"Revolting – verb 1) To renounce allegiance to, the act of revolution. 2) To be extremely offensive or disgusting" (from the liner notes). Are you prepared for a Five Iron Frenzy concert in your living room? No matter how ready you think you are, there's just no way you can be fully prepared. Five Iron Frenzy attempts to cram their wildly energetic live show into their fourth release, Proof That the Youth Are Revolting. The live CD was recorded over eleven festival shows this past summer and the best performances were chosen for the CD.
If you've never experienced Five Iron Frenzy before, you're in for quite a shock. If you've seen Five Iron live before, this will stir up some of your fondest concert-going memories. The CD starts with Reese Roper and his very best Stryper (see: big-hair 80's Christian metal) impersonation followed by a rousing rendition of 'Final Countdown.' At this point you're not sure if the team is about to take the field or if you're in fact listening to a Five Iron concert. 'Final Countdown' shifts gears into 'One Girl Army,' and rest assured, this is a Five Iron Frenzy concert. So hold on tight.
The live CD succeeds in capturing not only Five Iron's onstage wackiness--and there's plenty of that--it also captures their energy and intensity. The sound quality is impressive for a live CD--with an honest touch: the audience cheers are never cranked up at opportune times. The recording features all the Five Iron favorites, including 'A Flowery Song,' 'Handbook For the Sellout,' 'Dandelions,' 'Blue Comb 78,' 'Every New Day,' as well as the live version of 'Anthem' with the crowd echoing the added line, "Who holds your freedom? / Who holds your liberty?" Proof That the Youth Are Revolting also features a few new songs, including one written in response to the Columbine shootings and a cover of the Tom Jones classic, 'It's Not Unusual.' Five Iron Frenzy constantly sways between the serious and the ridiculous.
The album culminates with 'Every New Day' and Roper's passionate vocals rising to a scream as the momentum of the song builds. The song finally finishes and Roper's lone voice returns with a few lines of a worship song before the album slowly fades out--a common occurrence at most of the band's live shows.
If you're at all a fan of Five Iron Frenzy, this is a must have CD. If you're not quite as familiar with the band, be prepared for the ridiculous--you're supposed to laugh. The CD even comes complete with a hidden track of outtakes, and the liner notes unfold for a claymation poster from animator Douglas Ten Napel (who did the artwork on the band's last two projects). Proof That the Youth Are Revolting is as close as you can come to a live Five Iron Frenzy show minus the sweat, the wall to wall kids, and Roper in costume.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #81Reviewed by David M. PoggeFor all of you that have had the pleasure of seeing one of Five Iron's wacky performances over the past few years, you will be pleasantly surprised to know that the energy and pure insanity of their live show was somehow captured on something as one-dimensional as a CD. For those of you who have never seen them live, because: a) you still think that the Supertones are the only Christian ska band,…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Shari LloydFive Iron's wacky shows are always a lot of high energy fun. One never knows what to expect-- glam rocker Stryper outfits at this last year's Cornerstone. Well, finally this energy has somehow been captured on CD. Playing songs from all three of their releases plus a few new songs too, these guys attempted to capture a live show and generally succeed. The sound is studio quality. While there was…Bandoppler 1999Reviewed by James FlorenceWhen I first heard that the world's greatest ska band, Five Iron Frenzy, was putting out a live album, I was a bit discouraged. It seemed like a decade or so since their last release, which was a mere EP at that, and live albums are usually more of a cop out than EPs. Now I just have one thing to say: "What was I thinking?" What better band than FIF (besides the massive P.O.D.) is there to do a…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by ConradFIF is a ska/punk band that is really hyper and funny. You might not know who they are if you've been living on Mars, in a hole, with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears. I don't care if you don't like ska, these guys put on a great show - and this live album proves it. First off they're really talented all around, the horns are great, singing, rhythm section. Then on top of that they…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by Tom BastianThis CD is really cool. The beginning is so rad - it starts out with Five Iron Frenzy's introduction and the first song they did at Cornerstone 1999. If you were not there, which I wasn't, they came out and opened up with the intro to the Stryper tune "To Hell With the Devil." All I can say is that Reese should have been in an 80s hair band. I didn't know a singer for a ska-punk band's voice…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by TimThis record is great. I don't normally like live albums, but this one is great. The recording is really good. The music selection is good, so the CD is like a greatest hits album. They also talk a lot in between songs, and to me, that is the point of a live album, especially when the band is funny. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this the first few times I listened to it. After that, it got old. I…Similar sounding releases
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