From the very first song on, he pauses every few minutes to chug one of several pints of beer which have been strategically placed around a lighted "Pub Open" sign that sits proudly on the rear of the stage. Sometimes he doesn't even miss a beat, continuing to play the song with his fret hand, while downing a brew with the other one - which he does so effectively during his "Iron Man" interlude. Now that's coordination. It is amazing that this guy can play with such speed and precision, let alone stand up, considering all the beer he drinks before and during the show. The backstage footage attests to that.
The set list focused primarily on BLS's two most recent albums at the time, 2003's The Blessed Hellride, and the album that sparked this tour, Mafia, from 2005. It didn't take more than the first song to realize that this video was going to be inundated with various annoying special effects. You've got your black and white look, your purposely fuzzy look, your acid-trip look, the multiple split screens, and on and on. Are there really people who think that this adds to the presentation? To be fair, I've seen them used much worse than on this DVD, but I'd still prefer to just see the band and their light show.
Wylde and the band tear through such monster tracks as "Destruction Overdrive," "Funeral Bell," and "Suffering Overdue" from The Blessed Hellride, as well as the excellent new "Been A Long Time," from Mafia. For the sixth song, Wylde dims the mood with his moving tribute to the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, with "In This River." The Mafia version is basically a piano ballad with guitar embellishments, but here Wylde transforms it into a stunning guitar arrangement that propels the song well beyond ballad territory.
Ten songs in, Wylde puts down his Les Paul to indulge in a little solo acoustic jam, where he lays down everything from DiMeola-esque fusion to some slow-burning blues. The end of the jam is highlighted by some riffs from the two Ozzy classics "Diary Of A Madman" and "Mama I'm Coming Home." Next, he finally takes us back further than just a few years, going all the way to the 1999 BLS debut album, Sonic Brew, with "Spoke In The Wheel." "Spoke" continues where the acoustic jam left off, but halfway through the song, Wylde straps on his Rhoads' Flying V and proceeds to WAIL! He eventually jumps down into the pit and solos away as amazed fans grope at him and his guitar. He eventually lets them take it from him, as frantic security guards scramble to get it back.
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