See David Byrne and the big white suit in Stop Making Sense.
Psst! We鈥檝e got your backstage pass to great music documentaries.
One of the venues for the Atlantic Film Festival is right here at Dalhousie. The Dal Art Gallery is hosting a series of music documentaries to mark the film festival鈥檚 30th anniversary and long association with the music scene in Atlantic Canada.
鈥淲e wanted to develop a series that would appeal to the incoming students and that would also celebrate the support between the music scene and the cinema here in Atlantic Canada,鈥� explains Ron Foley Macdonald, film curator for the Dal Art Gallery.
The series starts and ends with two docs with special relevance to Halifax. Monterey Pop kicks off the series on Thursday, Sept. 16. The film of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival sports a stunning rendition of California Dreaming by The Mamas & the Papas, with lead vocals by Denny Doherty, a denizen of Halifax鈥檚 north-end who died in 2007. The Mamas & the Papas actually organized the three-day rock festival and arranged its filming.
The final film in the series, White Stripes Under Great Northern Skies, unspools Saturday, Sept. 25. The final third of the doc was filmed in Halifax and Glace Bay, where Jack White met up with his Nova Scotian relatives. It features a pre-show fiddle duet from Jack鈥檚 cousins Ashley MacIsaac and Buddy MacMaster.
鈥淛ack White's real name, by the way, is the very un-rock-star-ish John Gillis,鈥� notes Mr. Macdonald. 鈥�(It鈥檚) rather Antigonishy.鈥�
Screenings run September 16 to 25 at 5 p.m. in the 黑料吃瓜网Art Gallery, which is located downstairs in the Dal Arts Centre. Admission is free.
Monterey Pop (D.A. Pennebaker, USA, 1967, 78 minutes) The quintessential 鈥淪ummer of Love鈥� event, the Monterey Pop Festival 鈥� organized by the Mamas & the Papas witnessed聽incredible performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar.
Screens Thursday, Sept. 16.
Don't Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, USA, 1967, 95 minutes) A touchstone of the cin茅ma v茅rit茅 movement, this on-the-fly portrait of Bob Dylan鈥檚 acoustic 1965 U.K. tour sees the singer/songwriter confronting and confounding the machinery of celebrity and fame.
Screens Friday, Sept. 17.
Gimme Shelter (The Maysles Brothers, USA, 1970, 95 minutes.) The disastrous Altamont Festival and the Rolling Stones鈥� 1969 tour leading up to the concert gets self-consciously de-constructed, right down to Mick Jagger reacting to footage of the violence.
Screens Saturday, Sept. 18.
The Kids Are Alright (Jeff Stein, UK, 1979, 99 minutes.) The Who in all their glory, revealed through archival footage, interviews and live shots. Released just after the passing of the band鈥檚 drummer Keith Moon.
Screens Sunday, Sept. 19聽
Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, USA, 1984, 88 minutes.) The New Wave finally hits the big screen, with art-punkers Talking Heads delivering a standout performance with songs like Psycho Killer, Once In A Lifetime and Burning Down the House. Cue the giant suit!
Screens Monday, Sept. 20
Down From the Mountain (Chris Hegedus, USA, 2000, 98 minutes.) A film of the concert of the American Roots music associated with the Coen Brothers鈥� classic film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Down From the Mountain features bluegrass mainstays like Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Screens Tuesday, Sept. 21
Festival Express (Bob Smeaton, Canada, 2003, 90 minutes.) The summer of 1970 saw a trainful of musicians 鈥� including Janis Joplin, The Band, Ian and Sylvia and The Grateful Dead 鈥� tour across Canada whistle-stop style. The footage was fashioned into a feature film 33 years later.
Screens Wednesday, Sept. 22
loudQUIETloud (Matthew Galkin/Steven Cantor, USA, 2006, 85 minutes.) Alt-rock greats the Pixies are caught on film during their 004 reunion tour doing what they do best, with Frank Black and Kim Deal.
Screens Thursday, Sept. 23
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Sacha Gervasi, USA/Canada, 2008, 80 minutes) and Heavy Metal Parking Lot (Jeff Krulik, USA, 1986, 17 minutes.) Documentaries hard-luck rockers Anvil and Judas Priest.
Screens Friday, Sept. 24
The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights (Emmett Malloy, Canada/USA, 2009, 92 minutes.) The red, white and black minimalist duo鈥檚 2007 tour of Canada, with emphasis on the North and a moving conclusion amongst Jack White鈥檚 relatives in Glace Bay, Cape Breton.
