Bad Brains

Over the past 27 years, anybody who saw Bad Brains live has sworn up and down that the group put on the most amazing live show in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. The recently released DVD, Live at CBGB 1982, proves the hype is not exaggerated. It’s not quite accurate to say that the four black (off-and-on) Rastafarian reggae musicians set the standard for the nascent punk offshoot hardcore: A quarter of a century later, their stage presence, across-the-board speed, and instrumental proficiency still haven’t been matched by anyone in the lily-white subculture. Drummer Earl Hudson makes every other percussionist look slow and lazy, but the star of the disc is frontman H.R. The legendarily flaky figure never kept his act together for long, though he’s at his best here. An unpredictable force of nature, the singer goes from sedate to wild-eyed in less than a heartbeat at the start of songs, spasming across the stage, apparently unrestricted by any kind of conventional skeletal structure. Seldom have a performance and song title matched each other as well as “Supertouch Shitfit.”