Johann
06-09-2011, 12:56 PM
Creature Come
Creature Creature
My Own Double Feature
This is one of the best concert films ever made.
Emmett Malloy followed the Whites Stripes on their tour of Canada in 2007. They played every province and territory: even a *literal* one-note performance in St. John's Newfoundland.
I was there for their historic performance at the Ottawa Bluesfest (where I also saw Bob Dylan and Van Morrison- pretty awesome Bluesfest..)
Little did I know that Meg and Jack also played the Bronson Center (where I saw Jello Biafra do a spoken word show too).
They did little spontaneous concerts/gigs apart from their main shows. On the DVD sleeve they're called "B" shows.
These B shows were everything from The Black Watch armory in Montreal to a flour mill in London Ontario to a bowling alley in Saskatoon.
They even played on a downtown Winnipeg bus!
They are endearing characters, Meg and Jack.
He's the exact same age as me, so I feel he's a bit like a brother. He's keen, and very conscious of everything going on around him. The man is ALIVE. And Boy can he shred on a Danelectro guitar!
He shreds on just about every instrument he touches!
Pure musical talent just flows from these two souls.
They have a lot in their bag of tricks but critics have been harsh, saying things like "Everything about the White Stripes is a lie" and "They are the most real "FAKE BAND" in the world"-Jack's personal favorite review.
No Sir.
There is nothing fake about the White Stripes.
You can't fake guitar solos. Especially the ones Jack White does. You can't fake sheer passion. It's here in spades, and if you can't see it or feel it then maybe you need to go back to the woodshed. Or better yet, behind the barn. I'll hold the shotgun to the back of your head and tell you "it'll only hurt for a second". You won't be missed in my world. Passionless people can get off the fuckin' planet.
There are a couple performances here that should knock your socks off, up and down the block.
If you're watching closely, you will notice the editing. Songs are expertly mixed (by Jack himself). True audiophiles will be able to pick up all of the "touches" to the performances. I just basked in the musical greatness.
Meg White is an Angel, simply put. Anyone who criticizes her has no brain. Yes she's quiet, but that brain of hers is ON.
Proof is during an interview where Jack asks Meg if he always hogs the spotlight, never allowing Meg to talk during interviews.
She says: I don't think you have anything to do with it.
She's not a media whore, like Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton. She's just a kick-ass drummer who's shy. That's it.
She's also a beauty...what I wouldn't give to make a movie with her as the star. It would be poetry.
There's a scene at the end where Jack is singing to Meg while seated at a piano.
It reminded me of Kubrick's Paths of Glory, believe it or not. An intensely emotional scene with a woman crying.
Meg cries when Jack sings a line or two and you know that the meaning of it is massive.
The only thing I could think of at that moment (while tearing up) is HUG HER JACK!
And then he did!
It was beautiful.
Jim Jarmusch comments on the liner notes:
The history of music is like flowing waves in a body of water, like branches on a tree.
And, please, I like my rock and roll spiked with some visual style, whether it's Bo Diddley or the MC5.
Rock 'n Roll with no sense of style is half-hearted and boring.
As Joe Strummer famously said "Like trousers, like mind".
Plus, let's face it, Meg and Jack are beautiful. Their luminous features and physical motions have always reminded me of silent movie stars.
And onstage Jack can also be funny as hell. Some of his "watch-me-do-this" moves have actually made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
FYI: (Meg & Jack were in a black and white vignette in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes)
The film is in black and white and color, with reds and blacks, the color scheme of the band, which has been there since their inception.
The credits are amazing: opening and closing.
In the end credits they thank "THE GREAT COUNTRY OF CANADA" and list and thank every city/town and "B" show location they played.
This film is something to treasure.
As a film buff, it's awesome. As a fan of great music, it's awesome. As a nice travelogue of Canada, it's awesome.
They did everything right. It was an inspired idea to begin with and the finished product is something to treasure.
The racket these two can make is INCREDIBLE.
It's so stripped down yet so damn FULL!
I'm glad I was there in person for this tour, as the band no longer exists.
That's History. Music, Film and Cultural.
The songs.
The stories.
The travelling.
The photography.
The Purpose.
The Art.
The Beauty.
The Symphonic Sonic.
Thanks a million to Emmett Malloy and Meg & Jack, from a grateful Canadian.
Creature Creature
My Own Double Feature
This is one of the best concert films ever made.
Emmett Malloy followed the Whites Stripes on their tour of Canada in 2007. They played every province and territory: even a *literal* one-note performance in St. John's Newfoundland.
I was there for their historic performance at the Ottawa Bluesfest (where I also saw Bob Dylan and Van Morrison- pretty awesome Bluesfest..)
Little did I know that Meg and Jack also played the Bronson Center (where I saw Jello Biafra do a spoken word show too).
They did little spontaneous concerts/gigs apart from their main shows. On the DVD sleeve they're called "B" shows.
These B shows were everything from The Black Watch armory in Montreal to a flour mill in London Ontario to a bowling alley in Saskatoon.
They even played on a downtown Winnipeg bus!
They are endearing characters, Meg and Jack.
He's the exact same age as me, so I feel he's a bit like a brother. He's keen, and very conscious of everything going on around him. The man is ALIVE. And Boy can he shred on a Danelectro guitar!
He shreds on just about every instrument he touches!
Pure musical talent just flows from these two souls.
They have a lot in their bag of tricks but critics have been harsh, saying things like "Everything about the White Stripes is a lie" and "They are the most real "FAKE BAND" in the world"-Jack's personal favorite review.
No Sir.
There is nothing fake about the White Stripes.
You can't fake guitar solos. Especially the ones Jack White does. You can't fake sheer passion. It's here in spades, and if you can't see it or feel it then maybe you need to go back to the woodshed. Or better yet, behind the barn. I'll hold the shotgun to the back of your head and tell you "it'll only hurt for a second". You won't be missed in my world. Passionless people can get off the fuckin' planet.
There are a couple performances here that should knock your socks off, up and down the block.
If you're watching closely, you will notice the editing. Songs are expertly mixed (by Jack himself). True audiophiles will be able to pick up all of the "touches" to the performances. I just basked in the musical greatness.
Meg White is an Angel, simply put. Anyone who criticizes her has no brain. Yes she's quiet, but that brain of hers is ON.
Proof is during an interview where Jack asks Meg if he always hogs the spotlight, never allowing Meg to talk during interviews.
She says: I don't think you have anything to do with it.
She's not a media whore, like Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton. She's just a kick-ass drummer who's shy. That's it.
She's also a beauty...what I wouldn't give to make a movie with her as the star. It would be poetry.
There's a scene at the end where Jack is singing to Meg while seated at a piano.
It reminded me of Kubrick's Paths of Glory, believe it or not. An intensely emotional scene with a woman crying.
Meg cries when Jack sings a line or two and you know that the meaning of it is massive.
The only thing I could think of at that moment (while tearing up) is HUG HER JACK!
And then he did!
It was beautiful.
Jim Jarmusch comments on the liner notes:
The history of music is like flowing waves in a body of water, like branches on a tree.
And, please, I like my rock and roll spiked with some visual style, whether it's Bo Diddley or the MC5.
Rock 'n Roll with no sense of style is half-hearted and boring.
As Joe Strummer famously said "Like trousers, like mind".
Plus, let's face it, Meg and Jack are beautiful. Their luminous features and physical motions have always reminded me of silent movie stars.
And onstage Jack can also be funny as hell. Some of his "watch-me-do-this" moves have actually made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
FYI: (Meg & Jack were in a black and white vignette in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes)
The film is in black and white and color, with reds and blacks, the color scheme of the band, which has been there since their inception.
The credits are amazing: opening and closing.
In the end credits they thank "THE GREAT COUNTRY OF CANADA" and list and thank every city/town and "B" show location they played.
This film is something to treasure.
As a film buff, it's awesome. As a fan of great music, it's awesome. As a nice travelogue of Canada, it's awesome.
They did everything right. It was an inspired idea to begin with and the finished product is something to treasure.
The racket these two can make is INCREDIBLE.
It's so stripped down yet so damn FULL!
I'm glad I was there in person for this tour, as the band no longer exists.
That's History. Music, Film and Cultural.
The songs.
The stories.
The travelling.
The photography.
The Purpose.
The Art.
The Beauty.
The Symphonic Sonic.
Thanks a million to Emmett Malloy and Meg & Jack, from a grateful Canadian.