The Interrupters
Live in Tokyo / This is Our Family
Hellcat Records
It’s hard to capture the excitement of a live show on film. The image can be captured, the sounds recorded, but the spirit, the soul, the essence that makes a live show a transcendent experience is usually lost. This Is Our Family gets that intangible element. The concert segments crackle with energy. The interview segments are informative, amusing and (best of all) don’t interrupt the flow of the movie. That’s quite an achievement for any concert film.
This Is Our Family is built around an Interrupters concert in Tokyo, Japan (which is available as a separate live album). Interviews with the band members show them to be goofy, relatable people. They talk about their love for female-fronted Two Tone bands like the Selector and the Body snatchers. Rhonda Dakar of the Body Snatchers and Specials a.k.a. and Aimee Interrupter share mutual admiration which is a perfect set up for “What’s Your Plan Tomorrow?” It’s fun seeing Aimee going all fan girl when she gets to meet childhood hero, Joan Jett. I can’t help but smile when Aimee tells the story of how she enrolled at the University for the sole reason be becoming a DJ on the college radio station so she could hype her own band in Missoula, Montana.
The Bivona brothers share fun stories too. Drummer, Jesse and bassist, Justin are twins. Older brother and guitarist, Kevin, jokes that the rhythm section benefits from their twins psychic connection. The backstage rituals are disgustingly wholesome.
The concert segments bristle with ska/punk energy. Kevin acts as hype man, pumping up the audience. Aimee is the energizer bunny bopping all over the stage and out into the audience. The audience joins the band in a punk rock revival meeting where the Interrupters are preaching, love and unity to all. When they sing, “This is Our Family,” they are talking about themselves and everyone in the room. This is our chosen family.
Now, a documentary isn’t something you can put on your car’s sound system and rock on down the highway with. Hellcat’s got you covered there too. The Tokyo concert is available as a stand alone record, Live In Tokyo. The recording let’s you blast out the Interrupter’s high energy ska-punk anywhere you want. I can’t imagine a better soundtrack to your summer road trip. Put the windows down, turn the volume up and sing along as your roll down the backroads wherever you live.
