Audio Adrenaline: Live Bootleg (1995)

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. We're a Band
3. Can't Take God Away
4. Soulmate
5. Scum Sweetheart
6. Rest Easy
7. Don't Censor Me
8. Medley
9. Big House
10. Happy and You Know It

Audio A hit the road in late 1994 to promote Don't Censor Me and decided to reward their fans with this live document (supposedly recorded without the band's permission, hence the Bootleg title) of those shows the following year.  It made sense as a marketing move, it had been nearly two years since Censor had hit the streets, but the record is far from essential.  It's a decent document of the band's early live sound as they continued to try to morph into a full-on rock band.  And for the most part, they pull it off.

That their ambition is to impress their audience that the are rockers is reflected in the opening "We're a Band," and continues throughout, as Stuart repeatedly makes mention of how they're playing for "rock people" and hoping that they're rocking enough for the crowd.  As usual, the rock energy is mostly carried on Blair's guitars, although guest drummer Brian Hayes does a decent job pounding the band through fairly hard versions of their songs.  

It's also clear that the band is already leaving the debut album behind.  The only full song from that disc is "What You Need," and they splice "My God" and "DC-10" into a long, drawn-out medley with lots of shouting and singalong parts.  In fact, AA is big into audience participation and silliness, as the closing track is a slow, ragged version of the Sunday school classic "Happy and You Know It."  So they're a rock band that still loves to party, and bring the crowd along for the ride.

Aside from those moments, and a nice little devotional thought from McGinniss, there's really nothing new or revelatory about Bootleg, other than they finally show that  they can rock out, they are indeed a band, and they know where they're gonna go.  An inessential, fun album in case the studio version of "Scum Sweetheart" left you wanting more.