Champion Different Directions

After seven years, one album, two seven inches and a split with Betrayed, Seattle, Washington's premiere hardcore act Champion decided to call it quits. They played their final show May 27th, 2006 to a sold-out crowd who had traveled from all over the world to see this inspirational act one last time. Thanks to the good folks at High Roller Studios, this event was captured in all its glory with six cameras and edited together with footage of fans and interviews with the band. It's an entertaining watch with excellent sound quality that serves as a fitting epitaph on the tombstone of one of the best traditional hardcore acts of the last decade. This release is packaged with both a DVD and a CD, either of which would be a worthwhile purchase for fans of the band. Together, they are an essential addition to Champion's legacy. The CD captures the entire thirty-five minute running time of the band's final set in a professional quality soundboard recording. The band's performance is spot on throughout and vocalist Jim Hesketh does a good job of actually singing the songs instead of allowing the fervent crowd to do all his work for him. The moments of audience participation are also well-defined and audible. Overall, this is one of the best live recordings of a hardcore act I've ever come across. It's not the kind of live record that would really bring new fans into the fold, but fans certainly won't be disappointed. The DVD portion of the release features the aforementioned audio along with a well-edited and adequately filmed video of the performance. It's obvious that the size of the stage and the capacity crowd put certain limitations on the angles they could get, making the overall quality even more impressive. I could have lived without some of the bits with fans and band members that run in between songs throughout the DVD, but they're limited enough to keep from really interrupting the flow of things. The performance itself has an awful lot of character and energy. Jim Hesketh should be recognized for his devotion to the fans, performing nearly the entire show while bleeding profusely after being inadvertently kicked in the face by a stray mosher. The release is packaged in a CD case rather than a DVD case, something I personally appreciated. Unfortunately, the packaging itself isn't particularly impressive, featuring lots of pictures that I'm sure mean a lot to the band but didn't do much for me. I would've loved some liner notes written by band members or associates or even a bit more information about the band or show itself. It's a small gripe for an otherwise great release. Bottom Line: Fans of Champion will definitely want to pick up this release as a great posthumous addition to their excellent catalog. Newcomers might want to start with their studio work first. This isn't one of those live albums that will change anyone's life, but it's a strong testament to the blood, sweat and tears that these guys gave to bring a positive message to the hardcore community.