ALL'S WELL

If Live+One sounds a lot like a Descendents' live disc, that might be because three out of four members of All are also in the Descendents. This also explains the second, bonus disc. Not only do you get 22 sweaty punk rock All tracks, recorded over two nights at the Starlight in Ft. Collins, Colorado, but you also get a live Descendents disc. Still not convinced? Then listen: I used to loathe live discs. For years, I shunned them, considered them to be what a band did when they wanted the hell out of a contract but had an album obligation to fulfill. Then a whole slew of live albums changed my views: Mighty Blue Kings’ Live From Chicago; The Slackers’ Live at Ernestos; The Ramones' We're Outta Here. All great live discs. They were recorded well, covered a breadth of the bands' material, and made you feel like you were right there in the front row. Live+One does that, too. The minute All kicks in to "Fairweather Friend," you almost swear you just got punched in the head by a rowdy crowd-surfer. And the band doesn't let up for the rest of their 50-minute live performance. The roving, Minutemen-ish basslines, the crunching guitar, the surf-punk drum beats-- it's all there. Classics included are "Skin Deep" and "She's My Ex," and more recent numbers like "She Broke My Dick" and "World's on Heroin" are there, too. At one point during my first listen, I thought I saw a meathead-stage bouncer looking to toss me out of the venue. Then I remembered I wasn't even in a venue. I was in my bedroom. Hell, All even recorded an encore. They leave the stage, the crowd chants "Allroy" and a few other indecipherable mantras, and return to make your ears bleed with three more tracks, including one of my favorite newer tracks, "Teresa." Then it's really over, and your "at the concert" fantasy abandons you. At least you can hit play and do it all over again.