Concrete Wave has released their third volume of the Evolutions DVD that they give out free to subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber, they’d like to entice you by letting you watch the whole thing online via Google video. They also have an arrangement with Silverfish Longboarding to make the whole thing avialable for download in compressed AVI files. Concrete Wave is famous for their extensive, some might say over-extensive coverage of longboarding, downhill and slalom. There’s plenty of that kind of footage to be sure, but there are other styles to balance it out. You can watch the videos and get my 2 cents after the jump.

Concrete Wave Evolutions: Volume 3

View the cover larger here.

This is the third installment of the series, and there are a few changes under the hood. First off, there is a little bit more “mainstream” skating, some of it in the form of a very boring video from Birdhouse. Also, there are a few videos from shall we say, ancillary companies. The first being Ollie Pop gum. Who knew they had a team? Well, they do, and before you get out the shotgun you might find it interesting to know that the company was started by and is still owned by a skater. So there’s no point in crying exploitation because it’s a case of skaters controlling their own image, even if it is aimed at kids.

The second surprise video is from FreshPark, the guys that make those portable ramps and fun boxes. I have to say I thought these were a pretty lame concept until I saw the video. I questioned their sturdiness and usefulness for anyone besides little kids, but they were being ridden hard in the video. The ramps make perfect sense in situations if you are scouting out terrain and need to modify or create and approach that didn’t exist. Sure you could scrounge for found objects to do it with, and that will always make the better picture, but if you want the convenience and more skate time these will do the trick. Of course you can just ride them like a standard obstacle if you want, and throw them in the van or garage when you are done.

Another surprising video that turned out to be entertaining was the one from SofTrucks, the makers of the fake trucks for practicing your ollies on. While having a training device for skateboarding goes against my personal passion for skateboarding, I can see how they might make sense for some people to, you know, get ready for the Olympic tryouts… Regardless, the video was kind of funny. You can witness a guy sarcastically talking about practicing his kickflips while brushing his teeth and eating his breakfast, but then he actually does it.

Some things haven’t changed. I kind of chuckle at all the speed metal music used in the slalom sequences. Slalom racing can be intense to the racers, but it just doesn’t translate well to video. The visually slow slalom footage juxtaposed with a metal soundtrack can make it seem absurd. Powell has the main spot again, and geez, would it kill them to put together some new content instead of just recycling the Bones Brigade commercials? The good news is that they appear to be actually working on the long overdue Special Edition version the Bones Brigade Video Show.

Scarecrow has excerpts from their video Agents of Chaos that is pretty good. It reminds me of the old videos from the late 80’s, and no it isn’t because of neon clothes and crappy production values, it’s just got that fun vignette vibe. One of my favorites was Coast Longboarding’s free-for-all anarchic thrash and dorks session video. It’s got a lot of aggro scenes that should appeal to anyone, regardless of board preference. Near as I can tell it’s just a loose association of longboarding pirates. The brutal skate hockey game looks like a blast for spectator and participant alike. Also of note is a piece by Bart Saric which is about skating with his now four year old son. Anyone who skates can appreciate it, regardless of whether they have kids because it’s not dumbed down or sappy and it’s well done to boot. What else? Uh, yeah. I liked the Cold War video as well. I wonder why?

There are a lot of giveaway DVD’s that come with magazines or are free at skateshops, but the Evolutions DVD is unique in that it allow the little guys to rub shoulders with the more established brands and get exposure.

If anyone has actually transcribed which companies are in which sequence, please let me know and I’ll update. Enjoy.

Part 1 of 4

Part 2 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Part 4 of 4