Okay, okay, I'll dispense with the fake 80s jokes. Just trying to spice things up. Anyway, after the dissolution of the mighty Beat, each of the members played together in various permutations, including several spinoff bands, such as the New Beat, the New International Beat, the Jamaican Beat, the New International Jamaican Beat, and the Long Beach Beat All-Stars (actually, I'm not sure how many, if any, of those bands existed) – the point being, the magic of the Beat was close to the players' hearts, and they were still playing the songs. It was perhaps inevitable, and certainly it was fortuitous for the fans, that they decided to get together for one more go at it. The DVD captures the show with no real bells and whistles – it's smooth but not slick, catchy but not flashy, and, allaying my greatest fear of what this would be, warmly nostalgic without being state-fair cheesy. Very solid all around. It's not the kind of transcendent, breathtaking, triumphant musical moment that would convert a non-fan, but rude boys 'n' girls will lap it up like I did. It's a fitting reflection of a band that was always tasteful, fun, fan-friendly, and, at their best, ALMOST the best band in the world. There's an interview tacked on as a bonus feature that is interesting enough, but curiously, the audio isn't synched with the sound, so it comes across a bit more comically than the producers probably intended. So, any Beat fans who are also schlock Kung Fu-movie fans … this Bud's for you!
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