loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies

I saw this film at the SXSW Film Fest in Austin - waited in line two hours for the pleasure - and let me tell you it was worth every minute. The film is beautiful and profound and really captures the essence of the band and life on the road in general. The Pixies are one of the all-time greats of my youth, so it's a little depressing to see them all grown up and coping with their very adult and normal lives, but on stage they rock like never before (the live footage is remarkably well shot and recorded). Off stage they don't talk much to each other, but somehow the film transcends that and really captures the essence of each of the band members individually as well as the on stage chemistry that makes them tick. Pixies fan or not, Don't miss this one.

Some people complain about this, expecting an episode of "Behing the Music" but none of that is forthcoming. Really this is just a live concert, but it is interesting to see the in between footage because almost nothing happens. For any other documentary this can be a hindrance but for these guys it is somewhat fitting, it is like watching a Jim Jarmusch movie or something, with those big wide open spaces of non event. It really makes you appreciate the truly great musical events on stage. They are all fantastic musicians, even if Deal is a little lacking on the technique on the bass, she has a beautiful voice and great bass lines.

There's no real revelations, other than the fact that it proves my theory that band reunions are mostly about money because of all the illegal downloading (the Pixies drummer confirms this). In the case of the Pixies, this seems to be a good thing because they obviously are as good as they ever were and other than Kim Deal, don't have anything really going for them individually. I would have liked to have learned more about the band but it's obvious that these guys aren't talking much about their past, they are seem way too cool for this (except maybe the drummer, who is great but kind of nerdy).

The title loudQUIETloud has double meaning, it is at one time about the movie itself, the loud on stage performances and quiet backstage areas. It is also about the grunge movement that these guys help develop, personified by Nirvana, play a quiet verse, hit a distortion pedal and then scream a chorus, then turn off the pedal for the verse (which, ironically, none of their songs do). If you think about it this way, the movie is actually quiet a profound experiment and needs to be appreciated as a gestalt and not picked apart for not revealing "secrets" of the band. Maybe there are no secrets.

Of the several ROCK-umetaries playing at this year's ROCKDOCS festival this one is undoubtedly the best. Due in part to the power of the band being profiled ("Pixies") and the expansive inside look presented by the filmmakers that details the individual member's lives inside and outside the band.

It was said about the Beatles that each musician was excellent in his own right but when the four of them gathered together something 'magic' happened. This also applies to the Pixies and their relationships to each other, as they are ironically the four most uncommunicative people in the world when sitting backstage, but put them in front of an audience and you get an eruption of music and lyrical poetry that stays with you long after the concert has ended.

Formed in 1986 by Charles Thompson (aka 'Black Francis'), the band achieved a modicum of success until in 1992 Thompson dissolved the band due to friction with co-lead singer Kim Deal (who also fronts 'The Breeders' w/ her sister). In the intervening years the band's music inspired dozens of other bands and became a cult phenomenon. Now some 12 years leader, Thompson has decided to put the Pixies back together and see if what they once had can be duplicated.

Of course, the long years between have brought about a number of changes among the members, most notably the rehabilitation of Kim Deal's alcoholic problems. Although she still drinks alcohol-'free' beers by the dozen her recollection of the Pixies concert years are a haze and now she's forced to listen to their albums to recall the parts she played. She enlists her sister Kelly to join her for the tour to segregate herself from the band and any partying on the road. Kelly also proves useful as she likes to 'interview' other band members with extremely pointed questions offering quite a bit of comic relief.

In addition to Kim, each member of the band has followed a strange road since the Pixies break-up with only Deal and Thompson able sustain solo careers in the interim. The documentary successfully brings all of their varied paths together within the framework of rehearsals, warm-up tours, and the inevitable European and USA venues with fan adulation escalating from one date to the next culminating at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.

Most poignant of the non-band stories is the movie is that of a teenage musician's adulation of Kim Deal and her gifting of the paperback book "Brave" to her idol. The novelette turned her on to the Pixies after they'd disappeared from the scene, but the music inspired her to form her own band. The end credits features the Pixies-wannabe's jamming in the basement and continuing the 'Pixies' legacy.

This coda completes the circle started at the beginning of the film with Kurt Cobain's quote on how the Pixies were one of the bands that inspired Nirvana. In fact, Cobain said that Nirvana was trying to BE the Pixies.

As you can see, if you're not a fan of this band now, I guarantee by the end of this film you'll be making a beeline to the nearest music store (as I did). So if you only make it to one movie at this year's festival, then let this be the one!

Anyone who is even a casual fan of the Pixies (or is it just Pixies?) has got to see this great little film. It's fun and entertaining and really enjoyable. It's all about the Pixies and you will learn a lot from it too.

Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about them you will still enjoy this film (then again, if that's the case you've probably seen it already, haven't you?). It's all about the music. Highly recommend for Pixies fans.

I had the pleasure of attending the NYC premier of loudQUIETloud: a Film about the Pixies, at the Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006.

The film documents the successful 2004 reunion of the Pixies and in the process gives the viewer a rare glimpse at the people behind the music.

I am nearly 40 years old, and have been a Pixies fan for nearly half of that time. The thing that always struck me funny about being a Pixies fan is this: first, Pixies fans have an almost insane love of their music, and second, most fans have no idea of what the people in the band are like. This film does a great job in addressing both of these points.

You get to watch as the band takes their first steps in the rehearsal studio, Kim Deal resorts to listening to her parts on an iPod to get the chord changes right, through their first live show in Minneapolis where the crowd goes absolutely wild. "Did you see that? Those people were freaking out! ", said Kim during a backstage break.

The film goes on to show the band members in their day-to-day lives, Joey and Charles managing their careers and young families, Kim dealing with sobriety with the help of her twin sister Kellie, and Dave coping with his father's illness and death. All in all, they seem like four ordinary people. The thing that makes them extraordinary is when they take the stage together; something happens that I can best describe as magic. The concert footage in the film is beautifully shot, and the band sounds better than ever. The Pixies are older, wiser and a little rounder, but they still know how to blow the house away.

The question of "are you going to record a new album" was posed to the band during the film and the answers were interesting. Charles said that he was still in the song writing business, and it sounded like he was open to a new album. He then went on to say that it would probably be best if they started over from scratch, maybe change their name to the "Vomit Squad" and start playing small clubs again, that would be the most honest way to do it.

You know what? That sounds good to me. "I'll take four tickets for Vomit Squad's Upchuck world tour 2007, please."