Directed by Kevin James Barry
Starring Joey LaRocca, Jason LaRocca, Jake Margolis, Derik Envy, Trevor Jackson
Unrated
Runtime: 80 Min
Available On Demand February 15

by Whitley Albury, Staff Writer

Surprising literally no one, I was (am still am) one of those really annoying punk kids growing up. Not quite to the point of spiking my hair with Elmer’s glue, not that it didn’t cross my mind a few times. But I was very much into bands that never played within a hundred miles of my hometown. Which is why it’s still a shock to me that I didn’t know about The Briggs until watching this documentary.

If, like me, you’re unfamiliar with the band, here’s a quick summary (which is thankfully covered at the very beginning of the documentary): the band started in 1999, became fully formed in 2001, toured with bands like Anti-Flag and Bad Religion, and were on Warped Tour four times. They’re very much a West Coast punk band, as Joey LaRocca has LA inked on his entire ribcage and their song, “This Is LA”, was used as the introduction music for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. The documentary covers the band’s “last tour” in 2015, a seven-show run up the Pacific Coast. (Yes, I’m also confused as to why it took seven years to edit and release the doc, as well. But that’s documentary films for ya!)

What makes this different from all the old punk tour documentaries I grew up watching is the fact that the band is, well, older. They’ve all got families. They grew up. There’s a shot where one of the guys is FaceTiming with his daughter and she wants to see the rest of the band. Except they’re all asleep on the seats of the cargo van. It’s a small moment like that that just makes this such an endearing documentary. Another wonderful moment that made me nod earnestly in agreement was when merch was being discussed. “I’m just going to stand over here, I don’t want anything to do with merch.” Again, it’s a small moment, but as a former merch worker, I couldn’t not laugh about it. I’ve been there.

If anything, this documentary is perfect for anyone who wants to relive the glory days of going to punk shows and being tossed around a mosh pit like a rag doll while laughing the entire time. Which, honestly, feels like that might be the majority of us, given the last few years of our nonsense. All five guys seem like such wholesome guys who just want to have fun and play loud music. The last scene is of a St. Patrick’s Day show, with the guys holding their kids on their hips and singing as loud as they can. It’s a shot that blurs the line between being a rock star and being just a normal dad. It just makes me a little sad that the band is, from what I can tell, not touring or recording new music. They’re just being “normal” guys. With lots of tattoos. And incredible stories from the road.