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Stones,'Shelter' produce satisfaction
By Lyle Henretty
Daily Arts Writer
The problem every great documentary film-
maker must live with is that his or her work is so
wildly up for diverse interpretation. Even a film
as skillful and enjoyable as the Maysles brothers
and Charlotte Zwerin's "Gimme Shelter" will live
or die by what each viewer takes from it. While
this could be said for any number of movies, the
content of this film will elicit, by its very nature,
directors points out to Stones front man Mick
Jagger, had a gun.
The Angels were violent from the beginning,
beating and threatening the largely peaceful hip-
pie audience needlessly. One of the bikers actual-
ly injured a member of Jefferson Airplane, who
had played for the crowed earlier in the day.
Airplane's Grace Slick and Keith Richards and
a strong response
Gimme
Shelter
Grade: A
At the Michigan
Theater
from the viewer. Whether you
see the movie as pro-hippie,
anti-hippie, pro-Hells
Angels, anti-Hells Angels, or
for or against the so-called
"establishment" depends on
what exactly you bring to it.
The filmmakers, who set
out to make a simple concert
film about The Rolling
Stones 1969 American tour
serendipitously stumbled
onto something much more
important. They were on
hand for the Stones' free-
concert at Altamont
Speedway in Northern
California. One of the con-
Jagger seem angrier at their own "security" than
they are worried about the fans. But the man did
have a gun, and the Angels were there to keep
back the crowds. Was the killing justified? Was a
group of 300,000 drugged out (very, very drugged
out) concertgoers just an accident waiting to hap-
pen? It is easy to find answers in the film, but not,
necessarily, easy to agree on what these answers
are.
The film is inner-cut with footage of the Stones
watching the concert (and the subsequent vio-
lence) after the fact. The directors wisely allow
the camera to linger on the faces of the band
members and you really get a feel of their inner
pain and conflict over what had occurred.
Drummer Charlie Watts appears especially
pained, though he says virtually nothing. These
scenes, especially, transcend the concert film for-
mat, and allow the viewer to decide whether they
are watching the aftermath of a tragic event or a
major turning point in the fall of civilized society.
Ultimately, though, one's enjoyment will stem
from their enjoyment of the music. The Stones are
in fine form, tearing through classics such as
"Brown Sugar," "Satisfaction" and an eerily
appropriate "Sympathy for the Devil." Other
bands along for the ride are the before-mentioned
Jefferson Airplane, and an interlude with Ike and
Tina Turner. Watching Turner nearly rape a micro-
phone alone is worth the price of admission. Even
The Grateful Dead show up in an amusing cameo.
The film's 30th anniversary re-release comes
with a souped-up soundtrack, so the music itself
sounds better than ever. While this film is not for
everyone, those that enjoy documentaries, love the
Rolling Stones or simply dig Keith Richard in leop-
ard skin pants should check out this fine film.
Courtesy of!
Shouldn't we be hopping into a boxcar about right now? No, we're waiting for Godot.
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cert promoters decided to save money by hiring
the notorious Hell's Angels biker gang to oversee
security. The result was several scuffles between
the Angels and the some 300,000 fans that came
from as far as New York to see their favorite band.
Four people died - one was stabbed right in front
of the camera, in full view of the stage, by one of
the Hell's Angels. The slain man, as one of the
Courtesy of Criterio
The famous faces-in-aface poster for "Gimme Shelter."
Flaming Lips get freaky on Friday the 13th
By Andrew Seifter
Fr the Daily
in a concert that can best be
dgscribed as wacky and unforgettable,
th Flaming Lips brought their eccen-
The Flaming
Lips
The Majestic
Oct. 13, 2000
phre" at the show,
tric concept rock
to the Majestic
Theater on
Friday the 13th.
Despite the date
of the show, the
pe r fo r m a n c e
shared more in
common with a
New Year's Eve
celebration than
a Halloween
bash.
B a s s i s t
Michael Ivins
had promised a
"carnival atmos-
and the band cer-
bunny and bear costumes pranced
through the audience, singer Wayne
Coyne resembled a mad scientist as
he sang passionately into a camera
zoomed in on his head while wearing
a yellow raincoat. That was only the
beginning of the fun.
The opening song, "Race for the
Prize," the first track off of 1999's
critically acclaimed The Soft Bulletin,
immediately set the mood for the
night. Coyne furiously hammered a
giant gong throughout the show, and
it-was at no time more exciting than in
this opening number.
Ivins had spoken prior to the show
of the power of songs to "emotionally
touch" the audience, and this effect
was achieved as Coyne sang of two
competing scientists who are "just
human, with wives and children."
A second heart-lifting experience
was the performance of "The Spark
that Bled. " The song first featured
Coyne's forehead dripping with fake
blood as he sang of being shot by the
"softest bullet," but it finished with
the singer and his audience raising
Wayne Coyne resembled a
mad scientist as he sang
passionately into a
camera zoomed in on his
head while wearing a
yellow raincoat.
their hands in glory as they bellowed,
"I stood up and I said, 'Yeah!'
"A Spoonful Weighs a Ton" soon
followed, with the opening footage
from the "Teletubbies" TV show pro-
viding the background for what
seemed to resemble a wedding party.
Coyne later explained the inspiration
for "The Spiderbite Song," which
stemmed from near-death experiences
bandmates Ivins and Steven Drozd
had had with a spider bite and a
bouncing tire, respectively. "Feeling
Yourself Disintegrate" featured guest
vocals by a lizard puppet on Coyne's
hand.
Then came the band's biggest hit
of their 17 year career. Ivins states
that success isn't "the natural state,"
and that "when it works, it's weird."
"She Don't Use Jelly" has surely
taught the band that success comes
and goes, and that it's important to
"keep an even keel about the whole
thing."
However, resisting the belief of
other non-commercial bands that it's
wrong to play their one hit song, the
Flaming Lips instead made their
biggest commercial hit into one of
the night's greatest moments.
Introducing it as "the song Beavis
and Butthead and MTV's
'Alternative Nation' shared with the
world," the band amazingly made the
performance of the 1994 "alterna-
tive" hit resemble a giant birthday
party, just as they had hoped.
Before the show, Ivins had stated
the band's goals of getting the "audi-
ence clapping and yelling," as well as
leaving them "emotionally touched."
This show was truly unique in its
ability to do both.
tainly remained true to their word by
constantly throwing balloons and
confetti into the crowd throughout the
show. As fans dressed in full-body
Consider the
University of Michigan
for graduate studies In
education
Attend a meeting for
prospective graduate students
Saturday, Oct. 28, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
School of Education Building
610 East University Avenue
Educational Studies Programs:
Curriculum Development (M.A.)
Early Childhood Education (M.A., Ph.D.)
Educational Administration and Policy (Ph.D.)
Educational Foundations and Policy (Ph.D.)
Educational Foundations, Administration, Policy, and
Research Methods (M.A.)
Educational Technology (M.A., M.S., Ph.D.)
Literacy and English Education (M.A.)
Literacy, Language, and Culture (Ph.D.)
Mathematics Education (M.A., M.S., Ph.D.)
Science Education (M.A., M.S., Ph.D.)
Master of Arts with Certification (M.A.)
Social Studies Education (M.A.)
Special Education (Ph.D.)
Teacher Education (Ph.D.)
Center for the Study of Higher and
Pntsenndarv Education Proarams:
DAILY ARTS RIDES THE SNAKE.
THE ANCIENT SNAKE.
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