Strapped Live!

Although released in 1993, the Pietasters self-titled debut was actually recorded two years earlier. Oolooloo arrived in 1995, and caught the band very much in transition, as member after member departed. Most groups would have folded under the strain, but Strapped Live! explains not only why the Pietasters' popularity has continued to grow, but what caused so many of the band to call it a day. Having formed in 1990, the Pietasters spent most of their time on the road, touring the clubs, developing a fan base, but finding little economic security. As guitarist Tom Goodin joked, "those of us with poor judgment carried on." And on, and on, year after year, honing their songs and their live set, a process somewhat slowed by the subtraction and addition of musicians, but reflected in their ever more polished stage shows. The end result was Strapped Live!, recorded in the summer of 1995 during two shows performed before a hometown crowd at Washington D.C.'s Black Cat club. Go back to the band's beginning and play this set against their eponymous debut album — half-a-dozen of the latter's songs are performed live — to hear just how little things have changed in the interim. What's striking is how close to the originals most of these tracks are; even the dynamics are the same. Not surprising, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and although a few tunes have been slightly simplified and brightened for live consumption, that's about the only change. Which will please fans, as only 5,000 copies of the band's first album were ever available. So, the band kept these songs alive, mostly "as were." The newer numbers, meanwhile, make clear that the group's unique vision remains intact, and regardless of the internal disruptions, really nothing's changed at all. The Pietasters know just what fans want, and deliver it with delight, as they sail through a set that easily shifts in styles and moods, flips from frenetic skankers into more easy paced numbers, and keeps the energy high throughout. A perfect snapshot of a band determined to carry on, and carry the crowds with them.