Can't-Miss Concert Documentaries
With the Talking Heads and Taylor Swift performances hitting theaters soon, we recommended two of our favorite concert docs
For at least the next few weeks, concert movies are very back. This weekend A24 is re-releasing Stop Making Sense, the iconic Talking Heads concert film, into theaters almost 40 years after its debut in 1984. And on October 13th, Taylor Swift is taking over theaters with her The Eras Tour concert film, which promises to be one of the biggest movie events of the year.
For today’s recommendations, we are spreading the love for two of our favorite concert films. Before you head to the theater to watch the Talking Heads or T-Swift, you can’t go wrong checking out either of these classics.
No new podcast this week, but we’re planning some fun episodes for the next several weeks. Thanks for reading and listening!
Drew recommends…
The Last Waltz
One of the greatest concert documentaries ever made begins with a simple title card containing a little advice: “THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD!”
From there, The Last Waltz director Martin Scorsese escorts us through The Band’s farewell concert performance on Thanksgiving 1976 in San Francisco. Several all-star special guests – Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, and more – pop up throughout the night to pay tribute to The Band’s importance and influence. This was a major moment in rock ‘n’ roll history that has been enshrined in gold due to the quality and longevity of The Last Waltz.
This isn’t the only concert in history to be stacked with all-time musical legends, but it is the only one to be filmed by Scorsese and a few award-winning cinematographers, Michael Chapman (Raging Bull), Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and László Kovács (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces). The Band’s Robbie Robertson recruited Scorsese to the project because he was taken with the director’s use of music in Mean Streets (Robertson would later become Scorsese’s music supervisor). With this much talent behind the camera, there’s a reason The Last Waltz looks so amazing.
On the stage, The Band interspersed their classics like “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” with guest spots from friends and collaborators. In tune with The Band’s identity as a rock group that combined elements of folk, jazz, country, and blues, their guests were equally as varied in genre and style, from Clapton and Dylan to Joni Mitchell to Muddy Waters. Standout performances abound, with The Staples Singers joining for a wonderful rendition of “The Weight” and Van Morrison electrifying the stage with his own song “Caravan.” Of course, Bob Dylan commands the stage near the end with a few songs, including the show-stopping “I Shall Be Released” as the finale. Turn up the volume on The Last Waltz and revel in the musical celebration that defined an era.
Available to rent on digital platforms
Billy recommends…
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Did you know that Jonathan Demme had the option to film a Joe Rogan special or this concert documentary featuring Neil Young? And he chose Neil! What a shift in the cultural landscape. Maybe Neil would have been the one with the most famous podcast in the world and Joe would have left Spotify.
I love music, but what I almost love more than music is an artist larger than life that can move you by just their presence. Jonathan Demme directed the iconic Stop Making Sense that shows a performance by The Talking Heads. David Byrne leading the charge in all of his goofy glory. An infectious concert that has you standing up dancing in your living room.
Another strong presence is Neil Young, but in a very different way. This concert movie directed by Demme has more of a documentary feel to it. A short 10ish minute opening establishes that Neil Young is playing his first show after a brain aneurysm and recovery from that health scare. The small acknowledgment brings even more weight to a musician that lays down so much weight on his listeners. An artist that so easily strips you, the audience or listener, down to their most primal introspective emotions.
Demme has spent a surprisingly large amount of his career directing concerts. Stop Making Sense deservingly takes the top spot, but his collaborations with Neil Young are lovely in a different way. Enjoyment for 100 minutes filled with a mixture of deep thought and calm.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+
From the DYLA Archive
Links
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is now tracking to make between $100-125 million in its opening weekend. For context, the highest-grossing concert movie ever is Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which made $73 million at the domestic box office over its entire theatrical run.
Variety has an interview with Gareth Edwards, the director of the upcoming sci-fi action thriller The Creator, where he explains how he made such a grand-sized movie on a more modest budget and his experience on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.