Live album showcases Dispatch's diverse talents
By JOHN FANNING
Scene Music Critic
December of 2001 saw the release of Gut the Van, a double live album showcasing the highpoints of up and coming band Dispatch's 2001 tour. Drawing mainly from shows in the Northeast, where the band has their strongest following, the material comes from all four of the albums the group has put out since forming in 1995.
The strange album title makes reference to their rickety but faithful tour vans, Peg and Wimpy, after whom each of the two discs are named. The record was released on their label Bomber Records and mixed by Brett Eliason (who has also worked with Pearl Jam).
Dispatch, formerly known as One Fell Swoop, has been writing, playing and recording together since it's three members Brad Corrigan, Pete Heimbold and Chad Urmston met in college. With their self-professed influences coming from sources as diverse as Blind Melon, Ben Harper, Sublime and Rage Against the Machine, the band has developed their own very unique sound, and in the process, a very large underground following. In fact, these various influences can easily be traced throughout their successive albums, all released by their label Bomber Records.
In comparison to their previous work, Gut the Van iseems the perfect culmination of Dispatch's gradual progression and experimentation with different genres and styles. While many would claim that releasing a live album after only four studio albums and little mainstream exposure may be a little pretentious, this is not at all the case, Dispatch's motives are much more respectable. Namely, the album showcases the diversity of the band's talent and style, and also establishes them as a band whose live show is a drastically different experience from simply playing their studio albums at high volume.
The first of the two discs, Peg, is appropriately more energetic and relies heavily on Who Are We Living For?, their most recent album. In fact, the first two tracks "Open Up" and "Passerby" come from this latest effort, as do five of the total 12 tracks. However, the live versions are notably more energetic and also, in almost every case, longer as the band seems to be treading into the feared "jam band" territory.
The jam segments on the album do not go on for endless and debatably pointless minutes as is common in the live recordings of other bands of the genre, however. Rather, the multi-talented trio simply builds upon their already impressive work, showcasing their impressive musical talents and adding phenomenal build up into each of their dynamic songs. The most notable examples of this are seen in "Here We Go" from Bang Bang, whose two minute intro slowly draws the listener into the momentum of the song before bowling them over with its rapid-fire lyrics and guitar riff. Moreover, the mediocre "Bullet Holes" from their first album, Silent Steeples, becomes as exciting as anything else Dispatch has done with the addition of keyboards and funky guitar solos between the verses.
So as not to disappoint their less devoted fans, Dispatch also includes more true to form versions of their best known hits such as "The General" and "Bats in the Belfry." The only real addition to these songs being a little bit of energy and the audible audience singing along to every word.
Attending a Dispatch show is a truly amazing experience as Heimbold, Corrigan and Urmston are constantly trading instruments, each taking his turn on the drums, bongos, harmonica, electric guitar, keyboard and acoustic guitar. And where Peg demonstrated the more amplified aspects of Dispatch's sound, Wimpy brings the group back to their roots, exposing the pure power of their three part harmonies, acoustic guitar work and song writing.
Though Wimpy is a little bit of a downer after Peg, the talent still shines through, just a little more quietly. The second disc opens with "Elias," which begins with an African chant sung over bongos, and then segues into an acoustic masterpiece. From here many of their hits are included such as "Bang Bang," "Steeples" and "Water Stop," which, while not as drawn out as the electric songs on Peg, are still full of impressive acoustic and harmonica solos. Overall, where a little energy is lost, precision and finesse seem to be gained.
Finally, to tie up the album, the trio finishes with two electric songs, the popular closer "Mission," and the newer "Time Served" — retaining their focus on forward progress and avoiding the stigma of a live "greatest hits" album.
All in all, though their experimentation is not flawless, and works better in some songs than in others, the attempt is always admirable and usually successful. Rather than allowing themselves to be pigeon-holed into one restricting genre, Dispatch has gradually expanded its sound to include more and more musical techniques and influences, while managing to tie them all together nicely into their characteristic sound. And with Gut the Van, Dispatch has added their live show to their catalog of diverse sound and style, and has established themselves as an up and coming musical force to be reckoned with.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, February 5, 2002
