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270 Miles From Graceland - Bonnaroo 2003Director: Danny Clinch Rating: M 124 Minutes Sanctuary Records/Sony BMG Bonnaroo 2003 sounds, looks and feels like it was an amazing experience for all who were lucky enough to be there. The lineup is incredible - everything from Ben Harper to the Polyphonic Spree; from Bela Fleck to My Morning Jacket; from Tortoise to Sonic Youth to James Brown. In contrast, although an exquisitely filmed collection of performances from this festival, this DVD is quite a letdown. The good news is in the cinematography and the sound. When watching from your lounge room at home, you can almost feel the music. Amazing performances by bands like Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips are captured in all their glory (the 'Lips, here seen performing Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1, seem to be performing exactly the same way as they did at the 2004 Big Day Out, including that freaky hand puppet). Bands I'd never heard of, like Nickel Creek, are equally impressive. And then, of course, there's the spectacle that is James Brown. Also the crowd shots that come before and after the performances are quite revealing; there's the overwhelming presence of the Polyphonic Spree chanting through the grounds to the amusement of passing traffic, scenes of the dancing crowd throughout Tortoise's amazing performance, and the quite hilarious preparation of the band, the crowd and the man before Mr. Brown climbs onto the stage to scream those unforgettable words - "I feel good." The problem with this DVD is simply the lack of information. For example, not all of the tracks seem to be in the order in which they are presented on the back cover, and there are no song titles, let alone any other information about the festival - exactly where it is in relation to anywhere other than Graceland, how big the place is, etc. It does give you the list of bands on their respective stages, if that helps (I'd suggest that it doesn't, since it shows that we at home have missed out on a performance by Neil Young and Crazy Horse). The second DVD is good mostly for its artist interviews, and although the Lips' Wayne Coyne is particularly insightful, most of those are quite dull. So in my opinion, it would have been much better to give us two DVDs worth of longer performances, with only a little more interview footage and extra information. Like song titles, for example. Still, for festival footage alone, this is quite a special release.  |
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