Shine a Light – the Martin Scorsese/Rolling Stones Concert Movie
I have never been to a Rolling Stones concert before. Shame on me! I keep missing out on the opportunity to see them live in concert. Every tour they go on always feel like it will be their last. Even if no one gets all that excited about their recent albums (“A Bigger Bang” is much better than you expect it to be), no one would dare miss them in concert. They still sell out seats like crazy in concert, and some are willing to pay hundreds of dollars to get a decent seat. Heck, as long I have my binoculars with me, I am confident I can get a good view for less than what most people pay. But then again, I still have to spend a lot of money for even a crappy seat at a concert. Come to think of it, I haven’t been to a concert in a long time. Maybe I am saving up too much money!
Anyway, I caught the new Rolling Stones documentary called “Shine A Light” which was directed by Martin Scorsese. Not only that, but I saw it in IMAX where movie screens don’t get much larger, and where sound systems don’t get much better. Right now, it may be the closest I ever come to seeing a Rolling Stones concert. I have to tell ya, it was quite the experience. Even after being around for 40 or maybe even 50 years, they still put on a fantastic show like no other. The band members have been beset in the last few years with legal and medical problems. The drummer Charlie Watts had a cancer scare, Mick Jagger continues to father too many children, and Keith Richards continues to astound medical experts everywhere who expected him to be dead by now. But they are still here, and they are rocking as hard and with as much love as ever.
Oscar winner Martin Scorsese (how nice it is to FINALLY say that) is a master of musical documentaries, having directed one of the greatest ever, “The Last Waltz.” That one was about The Band at their very last concert ever, and how they (or Robbie Robertson anyway) wanted to get off the road before the road claimed their lives like it claimed Buddy Holly among others. But “Shine A Light” is not at all a film about a band on its last legs. Instead, it is a film about a band that continues to play with the same love, passion and excitement that they had when they started so many years ago. It is not an in depth documentary about the band (which I imagine might have been quite sordid), but a celebration of one of the greatest rock bands ever and their music.
We see the band and Martin Scorsese going over the details and where the cameras are going to be as the movie starts. There is a moment where Marty is talking with Mick Jagger via speakerphone, and how Mick is worried that all the cameras will be distracting not just to him but to the audience as well. Marty and cinematographer Robert Richardson don’t even get the set list of songs until just seconds before the show begins. Mick and the band keep going over what songs to play, having so many to choose from. The one thing I have to give them credit for is that they don’t start off the show with their most well known hits like “Start Me Up” or “Sympathy For The Devil.” I guess you could say that it makes this show a little more unique than hundreds of other concerts they have performed. They even perform songs that are not as well known as others they have done like “She’s Hot” from the “Undercover” album (which has one of my all time favorite songs on it by them, “Undercover Of The Night”).
This particular concert was filmed at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan, New York over a two night period. When the movie starts, it only appears as a small square on the enormous IMAX screen. I thought to myself, why did I spend $16 dollars (you heard right) to see this in IMAX? I could have seen it on a regular movie screen and save myself a couple of bucks. The band is meeting with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and also with Hillary’s mom. Hillary looks very happy here, so I can only guess that this all happened before her current presidential election. This turns out to be quite the star studded event as Bill Clinton introduces the band himself, as this concert is actually a benefit for the awareness of climate change (note to everyone: it is a fact, NOT a debate). If you look closely enough, you will see Bruce Willis out in the audience wearing a yellow hat.
But then the concert actually starts, and the picture goes from a simple box on the IMAX screen to encompassing 80% of the screen. From then on, we are instantly taken in at why this is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. They may be eligible for senior benefits now, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they perform. During the movie, we get to see footage of the band from the past. Between songs, we see Mick Jagger in a black and white interview in which he admits that he is surprised that the band has lasted as long as it has. And that’s after the band has been together for two years, and Mick thinks that they will remain together for another year at best.
Seeing the band come onstage and perform their hearts out is inspiring. Age has not affected their love and passion from music, and I think it’s what makes this documentary especially good. No, it doesn’t get deep into the personalities of the band members and what makes them tick. But it does show that even in their old age, the play still play rock and roll brilliantly. Even Keith Richards, who always looks like he might just keel over any second, still plays a guitar like a master. One too many cigarettes has not taken away from this man or his singing. Keith gets his on solo and sings to us with all the should of a well seasoned blues man. I find myself picking on this guy a lot, but he still has more than a pulse going on.
Their concert at the Beacon Theater also features some well known guests performing with the Stones. Among them are Jack White of The White Stripes who sings along with Mick on “The Loving Cup.” Jack is no slouch on the guitar or on the vocals, but we should have known that after the albums “Elephant” and “Get Behind Me Satan” among others. But the real big treat was when Buddy Guy, one of the great bluesmen guitarists, came out to jam with the band. Keith must have been such a big fan because at the end of the song, he ends up giving Buddy the guitar he was playing on. You can even hear Keith saying:
“It’s yours!”
You even have Christina Aguilera singing with Mick to a song that was first written and performed before she was even born. I haven’t bought any of her albums, but there is no doubt that she has one hell of a voice. Does she even need a microphone? Her voice alone probably powered the extremely bright lights onstage. That’s how good she was when she was singing along with Mick and the boys.
Kudos also goes out to the Stones for being backed up by an array of fantastic musicians. Among them are Darryl Jones of Living Color fame who has been the bass player for the band for over a decade now. Also among the musicians is the great piano player Chuck Levell, and you may remember him brilliantly stealing the spotlight from Eric Clapton on his Unplugged session from MTV. Granted, the Rolling Stones don’t need all these people to sell out shows, but it certainly adds to the experience and makes their music sound even better.
Scorsese and Richardson do a great job lighting up the band and keeping up with them as they do their own thing. The other thing that really added to this experience was the sound system in the IMAX theater I was in. On top of the digital picture which was pristine, the surround sound stereo system sucked you into the experience and made you feel like you were part of the crowd. You felt like people were clapping to the left and to the right of you, and even behind you. There were points where I started looking around me to see if the people in the audience were applauding, or if it was just the sound from the film. After awhile, it felt like a combination of both. But I can tell you that the applause at the very end of the movie from the audience I was in was definitely real.
This all reminded me of when I saw “U2 3D” a couple of months earlier on the same IMAX screen. The 3D effects made you feel like you were right in the middle of the concert. When people put their hands up onscreen, I almost told them to put them down so I could see. Then I realized that it was onscreen and not in the audience. Even though “Shine A Light” was not filmed in 3D, it didn’t need to be. You got sucked into the experience to where you can say that you really felt like you were at a concert. It was also a loud film to, and I kept wondering why I didn’t bring any earplugs with me.
In the end, I’m glad that the movie was not a simple documentary that delved into the psychology of the band members and how they survived the record industry and drugs among other things. The movie is about the fact that after so many years, the Rolling Stones continue to rock harder than ever. This is as certain as the fact that Johnny Depp’s character of Jack Sparrow from the “Pirates Of The Carribean” movies was based largely on Keith Richards. It doesn’t (and shouldn’t) matter how old these guys are now, but that rock on with the same love that they always had for rock and roll. You can hear it in their music, and you can see it in their eyes. Mick continues strutting all over the stage as though he was still in his 30’s, Keith plays the guitar without missing a beat (that mascara around his eyes though is scary), Ron plays a mean slide guitar, and Charlie Watts (even after fighting off cancer) beats away at the drum like nothing ever happened. Why does age matter when you have passion for what you do?
I hope I have the same love and passion in what I do as they do in music at that age. I’m pretty sure I won’t need a boatload of drugs to get there, and I’m pretty sure that even Keith Richards would agree. Or maybe not. I guess it doesn’t matter. Or maybe I should just shut up for now…
