The best way to judge whether a live album is a success hinges around its ability to transport you to the place where the gig took place and make you feel like you were there. In the case of this particular one, which features Coliseum and Burning Love, it succeeds on both these criteria, delivering an awesome snapshot of two bands at the height of their live powers.

Up first is Coliseum, who has made the transition from speedy d-beat to a more textured, mid-paced, and dynamic sound on their most recent critically acclaimed platter, House With A Curse. Many of the songs from that CD are featured in their set and are given a jolt of extra energy. In their case, the songs are beefier, grittier, and burn with an undeniable life that is hard to beat. It’s also interesting to note that the band manages to work in all the musical nuances of the House With A Curse material, while maintaining a white-hot power. So they keep up their side of the bargain.

But don’t you go thinking that Toronto’s Burning Love are any slouches in the live department either, because if anything they match their cohorts awesomeness in a much different way. The band, which is fronted by ex-Cursed frontman Chris Colohan, manages to win you over with a mix of hooks, ripping guitar solos, and high energy delivery. In some ways they are a more traditional sounding hardcore band, in that they play faster, but the way the band mixes in the hooks and the guitar solos makes them far from your standard mosh starters. Also, any band who names a song “Alien vs. Creditor” has to be all right.

So this is definitely one of the better live releases to be put out this year. If you need a jolt of punk rock energy to get you up and going this is your jam. Highly recommended.

(Tee Pee Records, 30-98 Crescent Street, Apt. A1, Astoria, NY 11102)