Welcome to Chinatown (Sudden Death)

For a guy who’s thoroughly milked his back catalogue, with frequent Greatest Shits compilations and repackagings, D.O.A.’s Joey “Shithead” Keithley hasn’t put out many live albums. So, amid the eye-rolling and tongue-clucking that D.O.A. (“the band that would not die”) has another gig at the Rickshaw on Friday (February 7), scarcely a year after its last farewell shows there, let’s hope it doesn’t get lost that Welcome to Chinatown is actually a pretty terrific live album.

Most of D.O.A.’s best songs are given a punchy, fiery, clear presentation here, where you can appreciate just how hot a live unit D.O.A. still is, particularly in the interplay between bassist Dan Yaremko (whose deftness, creativity, and precision can be hard to discern in the din and distraction of a concert) and Keithley (who always cooks, but it’s easier to notice when he’s not swinging his guitar in your face). Too bad none of the band’s reggae made the cut, or the fun ensemble encores from last year’s farewell shows at the Rickshaw—though oddly, the words farewell show never appear in the liner notes). They’re baaack…