Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Jeff Krulik's "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" is a documentary about an assortment of people gathering for a Judas Priest concert. Lemme tell you, these people are REALLY into the music. I was only a baby at the time that the documentary got made, so I missed this whole era (just as I missed disco, the hippie movement, and doo-wop). Nonetheless, I can say without a doubt that this is some fun stuff. Even if one considers the music corny, the fact remains that it was real music (by contrast, Justin Bieber's "music" is just corporate stuff).

I don't know how available the documentary is on video, but it's available on YouTube.

This little bootleg-movie takes you back to another era, when rock dinosaurs walked the earth and there was no difference between the looks of a guy and a girl. "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" is a hilarious short documentary that gives us an impression of what it meant to be a metal fan in the 80's. The movie starts in the early afternoon as the first people arrive at the parking lot of a concert venue where a Judas Priest concert is going to take place later on. They come, they see, they crank up the volume of their car radios and get wasted. The whole thing is extremely entertaining to watch and also makes you a bit sentimental. In the end, you'll have to wipe a few tears from your eyes and come to the conclusion that metal fans just aren't what they used to be in those days.

Jeff Krulik is the king of independent filmmaking in DC. "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" displays all his talent and charms: he actually seems to enjoy learning about and interacting with the subjects of his movies, while also reveling in how bizarre they are. A great way to spend a half hour, and a nice trip down memory lane for those of us unfortunate enough to remember all those hair bands.

The film was shot at the now defunct Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. This was the former home of the Bullets (now Wizards) and Capitals. It was torn down around 2002 and replaced with a shopping mall. When it opened, the Captial Centre was a state of the art facility - by the time the movie was made, it was THE place to see major acts (as well as stuff like pro wrestling and monster truck rallies) in the metro DC area. Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a great movie both for metal fans and for those of us who grew up in the DC area during the 80's.

C'mon folks... This is the Spinal Tap fan-base without the script!!! Heavy Metal Parking Lots are now a thing of the past as cops patrol and the bands are more about being depressed and less about the RAWK! Back in the day, 20 years ago, the parking lot was where everybody was allowed to get messed up before a show. For those of us who lived it, the movie presents some of those people we met all those years ago.

The editing is what makes this work. Sure, the film concentrates on the basest members of the band's audience, but it is really fun to laugh at how we ALL loved the rock and roll spirit in the 80s that had been handed down to us from the 1970s.

A classic timepiece that needs to be treasured forever.

Great movie.