If there is one thing that I truly adore about Pantera is the way that they interact with their fans. They don’t keep them at a distance or act like it is a chore to sign an autograph - I’ll even go so far as to say that they don’t consider people who come to their shows “fans” but rather friends. Having seen these guys more than twenty times I can say that their live shows are simply phenomenal but it’s what happens before and after the show that really impresses me each and every time. Dimebag [gone but not forgotten] walking around with a six pack, sharing them with anyone that looks the least bit thirsty, Vinnie tapping his drumsticks on anything that doesn’t move, Rex cracking everyone up with his ‘peck, peck, peck’ routine and Phil trying to keep up with everything that’s going on. The first home video I saw from Pantera was “Vulgar Video” and I fell in love with it, when I had the chance to pick up the two other titles I didn’t think twice about it. If there is one thing that I truly love about these home videos is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, is included. Since Phil is the frontman you’d expect to see him most of the time but that’s just not the case; all four members of the group have equal camera time.

If you are a fan of shows like Viva La Bam or Jackass then chances are most of the stuff that you see in this home “movie” will make you roll on the floor in laughter. These aren’t skits or stuff that they make up to amuse people - they are the real deal but at the same time they are 100% hysterical. Chances are if you aren’t a fan of the Pantera style of music then you’ll more than likely fast track through the live songs and videos but hey, check them out at least once, you might come across some stuff that you really do like. There is a moderate amount of swearing, mass consumption of alcohol and bong shots so this isn’t something for the kids to be watching. Read over the tally list and you’ll see that there are 37 sets of bare breasts [I may have missing a few when they visited The Clubhouse in Dallas, they went through that pretty fast] as well as other assorted naked body parts. Like I said, this isn’t something for kids of any age to be watching so don’t let them con you into buying it or at the very least watching it first to make sure that they are old enough to view it.

This has several full length videos on it including “Planet Caravan”, “I’m Broken”, ׃ Minutes Alone” and “Drag The Waters”. You will also get to see how they made ׃ Minutes Alone” and all the stuff that didn’t make it into the video. Personally, this was one of their best technical videos to date and when they started showing how they filmed it and some of the effects that were used, I had to watch it over and over again to take it all in. The bad thing about this is that the DVD version isn’t broken up into chapters so you have to sit there with your finger on the remote to fast forward through scenes or videos. To me this was poor planning and it gets frustrating when you want to watch a certain scene and have to sit there for five minutes holding down the button. There was talk about them releasing a newer version that had the difference sections of the DVD in a chapter format but so far no one on any of the Pantera boards has said one way or the other whether or not that is actually going to happen now that Dimebag [R.I.P.] is no longer with us.

Famous Faces, Famous Places

Fans aren’t the only people that you’ll see getting it on with the group, nope, there’s more than a few famous faces caught on film. Here’s a brief list of some of the people you’ll see ... Kato Kalin, Type O Negative [~^V^~Hi Peter~^V^~!], The Incredible Hulk, Joey Buttafucco, Marilyn Manson, Scott Ian [Anthrax], Rob Zombie, Evan Seinfeld [Hi Evan!], KISS and more ... but I do have to mention, if you are a KISS fan this is something that you will definately want to check out because there are about eight minutes of footage [mostly concert footage but there is some backstage stuff] of KISS and Pantera in Mexico [March 1997]. One of the coolest things about these scenes is that they are all laid back and relaxed, there’s no hamming it up for the camera or someone trying to take center stage. When you go to a Pantera show or a store to get an autograph you will get treated the same way they treat the ‘famous folk’ - a smile, handshake or kiss and a sincere thanks for being into the music. One thing that I was really happy they included was when Dimebag was presented with a limited edition Washburn guitar that they made just for him - brown snakeskin of course. Vinnie gets his two minutes of fame when the issue of Modern Drummer is released and he’s on the cover as the “best thrash drummer” in the business.

The Tally

Bare breasts: 37 pair [possibly more]
Butt shots: 4
Penis sightings: 4
Lightbulbs smashed: 12
Sexual acts caught on tape: 1
Shower heads destroyed: 3
Lamps smashed: 7
Televisions totaled: 2
Shots consumed: 43 [that’s when I stopped counting]
Beers tossed to the audience: 39
Beers caught by the audience: 22
“F*cking Hostile” shouts: 7

The Extended Family

Most of the time when you see one of these types of “home movies” it’s about the band and not much more - not in the case of Pantera. They include everyone that works for and with them - something that they started with the very first video [Cowboys From Hell] and continued with on the two subsequent tapes. Everyone from Big Val [C.J. Bichehak] who handles security to Aaron McLarin [mixing and sound boards] are shown in some of the funniest moments caught on tape. The most popular faces are John Brooks [The Klapp, The Klown, The Katt] who is Vinnie’s drum tech [big wet kiss out to ya Johnny Grunge], Grady “The Dragon” Champion - guitar tech and Jeff “Pudding” Judd, Rex’s bass tech. I have to mention the following people as well: Darryl Arnberger - video assistant, Guy Skyes - tour manager, Sterling Winfield - sound man, Walter O’Brien - manager and one of the coolest bus drivers in the world - Tony Wiggins [Natural Born Wiggins], the man with more different hair styles and colors it’s hard to keep up with him.

My Favorite Scenes

There are so many awesome scenes in this video that it’s hard to just pick out a few of them. These aren’t in any specific order so don’t get jealous if you are at the bottom of the list. One of the funniest is when Grady decides that he is going to photocopy his butt; you don’t really find this out until a few of the guys walk in and see glass on the copier smashed. Even funnier is Dimebag cleaning off the blood from it and putting band aids on the large cuts. Another favorite is when The Katt is getting fried and basted on the bus wearing a gas mask, ”If you could see my eyes ...” but the best part is seeing the time on the camera - 3:19 a.m. A true classic is Dimebag thrashing what looks like a Cougar outside his old house. Don’t worry, it’s not an animal but a rather worn but still functional vehicle. Katt is running the cam and says, “I still got that sledgehammer in my truck” [you gotta love his southern drawl] and that’s all Darrell needs to get the party in full swing [no pun intended]. Be sure to look for “Dimebonics” too - if you are lucky enough you’ll be able to find out what Darrell is saying in a few scenes. An honorable mention goes out to Type O Negative too, you can spot them in a few scenes, some of which appeared on their After Dark video release. Trust me, there are more awesome scenes but if I started listing them, we’d both be here all day. If you were a fan of Darrell’s and miss his antics, this is a suiting video diary of some of his crazier moments.

The Bets

No Pantera home video would be complete without the guys betting one something like drinking tobasco sauce or eating a huge birthday cake. This one has a lot more coverage of this backstage event than the other two home movies and it is truly hysterical to watch. In case you are planning on trying to win some cash if the group ever decides to tour again; here’s some examples of what they are paying. Seven Seas Salad Dressing - $150.00, ten screwdrivers [the drinks] - $500.00, glass of raw eggs - $200.00, Chinese food - $100.00, hot sauce - $200.00 and the grand daddy of them all - the birthday cake. It started off with “The Hammer” trying to down an entire birthday cake for $1,000.00 then it went up in hundred dollar increments until he quit. When he backed out they called up Big Val and the price increased, over time, to $4,200.00 if he could finish it.

The Bottom Line

It’s hard for me to pick out which of the three Pantera home movies I like best because each of them captures a different era of the group. This one covers them traveling all over the world - from Tokyo to Australia, Boston to Chicago, Ohio to Massachusetts. In every scene the guys have huge smiles on their faces, love meeting fans and take great joy in tormenting each other. Most of the time when you see the rock diaries or ‘home movies’ everything is so squeaky clean and hacked to pieces to try and portray one image of the group that it just isn’t “real”. That’s why all three of the videos are so special to me. With Pantera, what you see is really what you get. Whether they are playing in front of 20,000 fans or 5,000 - they have the same intensity and take their balls to the wall with each show. They don’t have inflated egos, live in million dollar homes or try to keep themselves separated from the fans. These are the kind of guys that you could see walking down the street and if you asked them for an autograph they’d bust out in a smile and gladly oblige; to them they aren’t rock stars - they are guys that love to get together, drink, get stoned and play music - and that is what you get when you watch this. Sadly a lot of that came to an end with the death of Dimebag; that’s not to say that the guys don’t still party or have fun but it’s kind of hard to think about “The Blacktooth Grin” without picturing Darrell pouring shots and outdrinking everyone around him. So here’s to you Darrell “Diamond” Dimebag ... where ever you are I am sure you have everyone around you in stitches with your humor and infectious laughter ... you are missed ... you are one of the true “cowboys from hell”.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


Related reviews ...

Pantera - Walk
Vulgar Video






Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age