… in honor of Woodstock, which recently had its 45th anniversary, Jason Bailey at Flavorwire has put together a list of the 45 Greatest Concert Movies Ever Made.
I liked the brief paragraph describing Gimme Shelter:
In another — and much grislier — case of a documentary film crew getting more than they bargained for, the Maysles Brothers figured they were just doing an on-the-road rock doc. But the Altamont Free Concert wasn’t just the end of the Stones’ 1969 US tour; it was, for many, the end of the ‘60s, a woozy bad-vibes fest that culminated with the killing (caught on camera) of a festivalgoer by the Hell’s Angels. It’s a harrowing film, but not just in that moment; the Maysles make the viewers breathe in Altamont’s sinister air, the darkness tingeing the frame, the music, the fans, and the moment.
I re-watched that film recently and yes, harrowing is the word for it. That final freeze-frame of Jagger’s face, used by Criterion as the cover-image on their release of the film. Incredible.
And of course I’m thrilled at #43 and #16 on the list. Yes, yes, and yes.
Gimme Shelter is an incredibly good movie. I totally agree. It really eclipses the genre and commemorates a moment when a whole lot of genuine optimism was lost. The Stones remained wonderful, and in fact got much better as a performing band. But when that guy rushed the stage and knocked Mick down, probably in much the same motivation that a big St. Bernard puppy might knock down his master in his enthusiasm, that was the marker. Ten years later, in case someone didn’t get the message, John Lennon was assassinated. I’ve saved several Stones music movies and was watching one last night: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones. It’s really well done. Featuring Mick Taylor as it does, it features a high point in the musicality of the band. Jagger sings great. Keef does really good harmony work, and the Glimmer Twins interact in subtle ways throughout. As a presentation of the art they have built with a lifetime, Ladies and Gentlemen is very good, and so is Shine a Light. Shelter is a little more like watching an explosion–an amazing but very real historical event.
// It really eclipses the genre and commemorates a moment when a whole lot of genuine optimism was lost. //
Yes!
And how about Melvin Belli pontificating in his office, organizing the concert, acting as a mediator? It makes you realize that Brian Cox was not exaggerating in his performance in Zodiac. That guy really was like that.
There’s this ominous feeling as you see the helicopter shot of the long road into Altamont with all the cars parked along the road … of course that is retrospect speaking. If nothing bad had happened at the concert, you wouldn’t have that impression.
It’s a hell of a film. Especially the Mayles’ deciding to show the various Stones watching the footage. It’s bold. I know it was criticized at the time – capitalizing on the murder that occurred and all that … but I think time has blurred those critiques now. It was, as you say, a historic moment – and the Mayles seemed to have some consciousness of that.
Each time I watch Gimme Shelter I’m surprised there wasn’t more death and destruction than there actually was. I mean the band was down at the bottom of that hill, the Angels by that point didn’t seem interested in “security” and that crowd just kept surging forward.
Also always of interest is just the total chaos the was a Stones concert back then. The footage of shows earlier in the tour showing fans rushing onto the stage and grabbing the guys…crazy.
// Each time I watch Gimme Shelter I’m surprised there wasn’t more death and destruction than there actually was. //
I know. In the three or four songs leading up to that murder – you can just feel the entire event tipping off the rails. The crowd was too thick, they were too close to the stage, the Angels hulked on the periphery – and that stage was crowded with people – it made the band look like they were under siege, as indeed they were.
It’s fascinating to watch all the eye contact flying around on that stage – Mick and Keith sharing a look – all that stuff – They were used to chaos, but they knew this was something different. It was in the air.
Amazing.
Earlier, when “Sympathy for the Devil” gets interrupted, Kieth Richards keeps time throughout the mayhem, quietly, while the rest of the band stops. When the mayhem abates sufficiently, he rips back into the song as the rest of the band takes its time from him. Musically, it’s very powerful. As film footage, his keeping time througout reminds me of the Gorch brother, in “The Wild Buch” gently switching his drink from his right to his left hand as all hell is about to break loose, but doesn’t, in the General’s palace: a slow, quiet gesture of control as the world crumbles.
// a slow, quiet gesture of control as the world crumbles. //
amazing observation.
Yes, Keith is this quiet steady presence, and Mick is trying to keep control. I can’t imagine what it actually FELT like to be there. The sense of danger emanates off the screen.
I love movie lists. Festival Express is amazing, you get to see all these legendary musicians (The Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy and many more) hanging around on this train ride, goofing around, getting drunk and stoned, and jamming, just playing improvised, wonderful music, just for the joy of it.
Altamont represents the end of the “Spirit of the Sixties” to many, but really it was just the chronological end of the sixties, as it happend on 12/6/69.
Festival Express is proof that the Spirit lasted at least a little longer, as the mood of the film is unbridled joy (tinged with the sadness of what’s coming). I think it really ended on 9/18/70 with the death of Jimi Hendrix, followed 2 weeks later by Janis, 9 months later by Jim Morrison. The 27 thing freaks me out, but that’s your end of the sixties, bing bang boom.
Crazy, right? And then there was the Manson murders, of course. The dark side of all that peace-love stuff, the end result (sometimes) of what happens when “everything goes” is seen as a moral imperative. It had to have seemed like the entire world was falling apart.
I haven’t seen Festival Express! There are a lot on that list I haven’t seen – haven’t seen the Ziggy Stardust movie either, and that’s on my way via Netflix.
and Bill Janovitz, again, in that link about Gimme Shelter – kind of captures what that song captures … the feeling of dread that was in the air as that decade came to a close.
I loved that Gimme Shelter post, that song gives me chills every time. The idea that a woman could roll out of bed and sing that song unprepared like THAT, just one of those unexplainable alchemic artistic bombs that sometimes go off. Incredible.
Festival Express is kind of obscure. .I had never heard of it..a friend recommended it to me a few years ago, its well worth the effort to seek out.
Oh man, Merry Clayton, I know. Those two voice cracks. Goosebumps.
I’ll see if Festival Express is on Netflix!
But where is Joe Cocker and Friends: Mad dogs and Englishmen on that list? One of the best concert/timewarp movies ever.
Lists can be annoying that way, but there’s still a lot of great stuff there. I haven’t seen that one, Larry – will add it to the list !
Not sure how I missed watching it for this long but I just saw T.A.M.I. Show last week. Wow! Amazing performances without all the post-production. The commentary track with Steve Binder is worth a listen. This weekend, Stax/Volt Revue!
Isn’t TAMI Show amazing?? Uhm – James Brown? You may already be aware of this, and I haven’t listened to the commentary track so perhaps it’s addressed – but this is some great context about that performance and the Stones’ jittery reaction to it:
http://www.openculture.com/2014/08/james-brown-debuts-his-cape-act-and-blows-away-the-rolling-stones.html
Keith Richards talks about it in his book too. He called following James Brown that night the worst mistake in their career.
The Stones did okay, but really, to follow that performance by James Brown? Couldn’t be done.
Have you read Elijah Wald’s book How The Beatles Destroyed Rock & Roll? (Provocative title, but it’s not an anti-Beatles screed, I swear!) He compares the TAMI Show lineup (integrated, appealing to both black and white kids) to Woodstock (few black performers, mostly not the ones popular with a black audience) to illustrate how much things changed in a few years. He also makes some good points about the early 60s as a time when girls were the taste-makers, and how the later conventional wisdom that “nothing much was happening until the Beatles showed up” may have more to do with the fact that rock critics are, and were, mostly male. Strongly recommended.
Oooh, that book sounds right up my alley. Thank you for the recommendation.