By Orren Merton

By Orren Merton

"And one time, at band camp..."

Spit In Your Eye is a video tour album of four Canadian teen queens supporting their hit album "Spit." See Kittie perform to rabid crowds. Watch Kittie goof around with each other in the "backstage" and "tour" footage, where Kittie is "letting it all hang out." And you know what? They're just like you and me! Well, assuming that we are teenage girls at a high school slumber party, I'd imagine. Watch Kittie play with food, make fun of each other, be loud, be raging metal girls, be PG-13 sexual, talk "locker room" talk with each other and the crew. If their target audience for this video is young teen female metal fans, they have succeeded admirably, because they come off as much like any group of gregarious, bright, fun-loving teens (just wearing a bit more leather). The teen audience focus is also obvious from the segments where each girl sits still for a minute and talks about the other three; in videos by older bands, aimed at older fans, they usually let the member's actions speak for themselves, and don't feel the need to explain "personality types." These moments--along with the slices of Morgan standing up for their "artistic integrity" by disdaining patronizing questions and tabloid journalism—seem particularly contrived, considering in all of the other "candid" moments they seem concerned about nothing more than hamming it up and having a good time.

What doesn't seem contrived at all, however, is their punchy live performances. As opposed to the amateur, hand-held vibe of the touring segments, the performance footage is very professional, well edited, and natural. Despite the fact that Morgan strains unsuccessfully for her vocal melodies at times, Kittie holds together as a tight musical unit--and I don't mean "for young girls," I mean for ANY rock outfit, of any age and sex. They're still discovering their stage persona, therefore a bit rough around the edges, but that doesn't take away from what they have. For those moments the girls close their eyes, and truly connect with what they are singing and playing, they are truly magical. And besides, what hetero male on the wrong side of 25 doesn't feel a little guilty smile come on hearing Fallon scream "Pedophile?"

In the end, this is definitely worth renting for anyone who wants to see early live Kittie (this was filmed during their first US and UK outting). And to be fair, the girls themselves wield the camera for much of the slumber party/band camp antics, which lends "Spit In Your Eye" a sort of natural unpretentious charm in it's lack of polish—so teens who want to feel like they could be "one of the gang" with Kittie will probably enjoy this greatly, maybe even want to own it. Teenage males hoping for some risque footage will be disappointed--other than language, there's nothing dirty to be found. Older adults may feel that they are not the audience being pandered to, and they're right. But if the music appeals, and you missed them live, fast-forward the schoolgirl antics and catch the live footage--it's the real deal.