[.ca] The Cramps: Live at Napa State

Exploitative....yes. Damn good show....YOU BET!:
Definitely worth a look. A rockin' show that certainly appears to be thwarting the effects of thorazine for some of the patients. The poor video quality (of the VHS I saw) only adds to the experience. It might as well have been an expose' video for "20/20". I just have one question. I'm in the medical field. I worked for a brief time at a state mental hospital in the early 90's. How come no one like the Plasmatics or The Damned ever came around to entertain the inhabitants? Actually, that brings up the most amazing thing about this video. HOW EVER DID THEY GET PERMISSION!!???!!

The Most Entertaining Music DVD you will ever see:
Having seen the Cramps live in NYC many times. This DVD is a very rare sight to behold. THE CRAMPS play before a bunch of mental patients at a California mental hospital. Some of the patients just stand around, but the ones that are by the stage REALLY get into it. Especially, the guy standing to the left of the stage rocking back and forth, when they play "UFO". When Lux Interior (the singer)tells the audience the Cramps "drove 5000 miles to play for you people, and that they aren't crazy" all hell breaks loose. It's very entertaining to see one of the female patients try to steal the show and mic from Lux. I never get sick of watching this video/dvd. When ever you're down in the dumps, slap this baby in the old dvd player and enjoy. You don't even need thorozine. Medication time!

A lot of fun...:
I have to say the quality of the audio and video is really pretty decent for a 1978 recording. I was pleasantly surprised. With that said, this DVD is a lot of fun. The Cramps just fit in with this unique environment, a psychiatric hospital. I agree with another reviewer; I spent many years working in a psychiatric hospital and wonder how this concert was ever permitted. Overlooking the fact that the Cramps were allowed to play at a psychiatric hospital, how was it ever allowed to be recorded then distributed? This DVD isn't for everyone. You must appreciate The Cramps and their humor. You must not be politically correct. I laugh with and at the patients in this DVD. The whole thing is just hard to believe. Never, in today's world, would this be allowed to happen. It's unique. It's funny. Drink some beer and enjoy the show.

One of the greatest thing I've ever seen:
Of course only the cramps would do something like this. Like Johnny Cash use to play at prisons through his career. The cramps should have done a mental hospital tour. I would have faked being insane just to see them. I don't have one complaint about the DVD I know how it sounds kinda crappy but that is what makes it good. I've liked the Cramps for years this made me fall in love all over again.