2010

Perusing the handbill for the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, one can’t help but notice the degree of music related content prevalent throughout this year’s festival. From high profile documentaries, to risqué themed narratives, to films with excellent soundtrack material, the Tribeca Film festival provides music-loving film buffs with plenty to ponder seeing.

Since few folks actually have the time and energy to really dig into the festival in great depth, we thought we’d give a brief rundown of some of the compelling content to be on the lookout for as many of these films will surely find their way to wider releases over the course of the coming year.

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage – Already one of the most highly regarded films at the festival regardless of genre, this Rush documentary is garnering some serious praise. From interviews with contemporary heavyweights like Billy Corgan, Kirk Hammett, and Jack Black, to heaps of rare live and behind the scenes footage, Rush fans may finally have their defining documentary. By most accounts, this is one of the highlights of the entire festival and a masterpiece for fans of either the band or music films in general.

Last Play at Shea – Set to the music of Billy Joel’s final performance at the storied ballpark in Flushing, Last Play at Shea ties together the history of the stadium, it’s Amazin’ Mets, and one of its most beloved musical performers in what sounds like a pretty touching documentary. Review

READ ON for more musical-themed flicks at the Tribeca Film Festival…

Pretty Lights @ Roseland Theatre – April 13, 2010

Back in Sacred Heart grammar school, Mr. Shields was the roving music teacher. With an upright Baldwin piano on wheels, Mr. Shields would twice weekly enter the classroom to instruct us on the finer points of his interpretation of music. “What is music?” he would ask at the beginning of each class. “Music is sound”, we’d answer in unison. “That has what three qualities? he would ask. “Rhythm, melody and harmony” we would echo back. Twice a week. This was the prerequisite quizzing we got before being allowed to explore the delicate intricacies of “Kumbaya” and the choral arrangement of Sounds Of Silence.

I probably have Mr. Shields at least partially to thank for my open mind regarding music. Between the classical and folk introduced to me on that old Baldwin and what there was around my home, I pretty much was open for anything. I’ve been to dozens of symphony concerts, choral masses, open mike nights and one person shows over the years and, with very few exceptions, really appreciated the music. Hip hop, rap, techno, emo, death metal, and quartets of both the string and barber shop varieties, I’ve seen a little of everything.

But as I have aged, I’ve become a tad more selective in spending my entertainment dollars, gravitating more toward the solid rock and singer songwriter acts that fall in my comfort zone. I had my ‘Rave Phase’ back in the mid nineties. We’d hook up with a bunch of friends and head off to a warehouse in the industrial section. We’d take E and dance for hours and drink like fish, stay out till three and have a great time. The DJ’s played house and techno and kept the party going in shifts, never letting the beat drop. Mainstream acceptance of the rave culture was still years away and computer geeks of their day were still figuring out that they could make wonderful music with the assistance of a powerful laptop and a file full of samples.

Fast forward about 17 years. I’m at the Roseland Theater in Portland for Pretty Lights. The guy in front of me in line is expounding to his two friends about how this should be fun, cause DJs aren’t really musicians. They only use other’s music, he was saying, almost like parasites. They can’t write their won stuff, they just distort other’s hard work. This guy won’t shut up. In his dubious opinion, he was about to witness the musical equivalent of summer reruns on shuffle. If I may quote no less a scholar than Bugs Bunny, ‘What an ignoraminous!”

READ ON for more from A.J. on Pretty Lights in PDX…