Artist: Bayside
Album: Acoustic
Label: Victory Records
Tracks: 10
Length: 39 minutes
Reviewed by: Jeff K.

While on tour with Hawthorne Heights, Aiden, and Silverstein, Bayside lost their drummer, John Beatz to a car accident while traveling between shows.  After picking up the pieces, they continued on, playing the remainder of the tour as an acoustic set.  What resulted was a 3 day stint in Chicago in early December that produced a live dvd and studio acoustic album.

For the money, the cd isn't incredibly bad, but it's not anything earth-shattering either.  The thing that will make this release special to fans is the reasons why it was made.  For someone who is not a fan of the band, or hasn't been previously exposed to Bayside, this probably isn't the place to start.  Much of the cd, at first listen, sounds similar to much of the acoustic material one might hear from a band like Dashboard.  There is nothing that really grabs the listener here, although I'm sure fans would say something very different.

The dvd, shot at House of Blues in Chicago, is full of as much energy as one could come to expect from a live acoustic show.  What is apparent upon watching, however, is the emotion that is still so fresh for a band that just lost a friend.  While it probably won't do much for someone who doesn't particularly care for Bayside's music, its hard to deny the pain that is obvious among those in the band left behind.

This is definitely not the release from Bayside to cut your teeth on, but chances are, if you are a fan of this band, you already have this release, and love it.