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SF International Film Festival Castro Theatre April 18, 2003 Review by Jake Thomas This is my second year making it to the live band portion of the San Francisco International Film Festival, and I wasn't disappointed. Last year Superchunk (along with the help of Chuck Johnson of Spatula and Idyll Swords and Ash Bowie of Polvo, Helium, and Libraness) performed a magnificent score for the film 'A Page of Madness' and they subsequently released the live recording of this event for the home listener. It was a vast departure from anything else they had ever done, and it was probably one of my favorite performances I've ever seen. But enough about last year... This year the film was Murnau's 'Sunrise' and the band chosen to accompany it was another Merge recording artist, Lambchop, and there as a result of Mac from Superchunk hooking the gig up. The story for the film was fairly simple, about a couple who fall back in love after some very trying times (you know, husband cheats on the wife and nearly kills her, stuff like that). I would have enjoyed the film without the live band accompaniment, but that just made it all that much better. I've been a Lambchop fan for a long time now, but this was my first time seeing them and I was not disappointed in the least. Whereas the Chunk had taken the route of playing an entirely instrumental score for their film, Lambchop played a blend of songs that ranged from score-like pieces to songs that sounded like any other song they might play. I didn't recognize any of the material so I'm assuming it was all written for the show that night. I really enjoyed all of it and hopefully someone recorded the affair and Merge will also release this soundtrack like they released the Superchunk one (even better, release a DVD of the film with an alternate audio track of this performance, where the viewer can choose whether or not they want it to accompany their viewing of the film). As a score, they were hit and miss; sometimes the songs overshadowed the film in my opinion, particularly with the vivid vocals the Kurt Wagner dredges up in their songs. That said, it was still damned enjoyable, both the music and the film, and I look forward to next years performance by hopefully another Merge band. Crooked Fingers anyone? The Clean? Spoon? There are so many to choose from it would be tough to pick a loser. --- Check out photos from a previous Lambchop show: Photos: March 16, 2002 @ Great American Music Hall ©2003 playinginfog.com |