The concert film, “Stop Making Sense” by Talking Heads, had its IMAX debut by A24 and will return to theaters this month, remastered and better than ever.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rjMwSTeVeo[/embedyt]
What is a Concert Film?
There are a few variants. Some concert movies follow an artist or a band on a tour, getting backstage footage, interviews and performances. Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, the highest grossing concert movie to date (although Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ is set to surpass that within the opening weekend of its debut), is set like this. It includes home videos and YouTube clips, documenting his rise to fame from a young age. Concert movies add the personal anecdotes and the feelings of the artist, which appeal to the young audience of musicians like Bieber, One Direction and Katy Perry, whose movie films also follow this storyline. These kinds of movies are for the fans, as the average person won’t throw on Madonna: Truth or Dare just for the heck of it. Instead, they are intended to make fans feel closer to the artist.
Concert Films as Documentaries
The next kind of concert film resembles a documentary, providing historical context and giving the concertgoers voice more than a passive role.
Questlove’s Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is an example. Using archival footage and testimonies of artists and viewers, the movie recounts the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an almost-forgotten musical affair only 2 hours away from Woodstock in the heart of NYC. The film showcases superstar voices like Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and a young Stevie Wonder. In addition to the music, the movie gives a snapshot into Harlem’s cultural moments and provides a powerful tribute to these iconic artists, allowing viewers to peek into the past and be guided by the stories of those who were there.
Because the film features an array of artists as well as offers a historical and cultural point of view, Summer of Soul can appeal to more than just a fan of music.
Talking Heads Performs ‘Stop Making Sense’
And finally, we come to Talking Heads and Jonathon Demme. Stop Making Sense is an 88-minute story, not just songs sung one right after another. There are no interviews or context given before you watch. You’re immersed in what is happening on that stage, in that room, for the entire 88 minutes.
So, what makes this film so compelling that 40 years after the tour ended, Talking Heads is selling out the biggest screens in the world?
Just listening to the album is a pure joy. Talking Heads has a sound like no other, and fans know that. David Byrne, founding member and lead singer, said in an interview with Dan Condon, “I look back at it as us being on the fringe of mainstream.” They knew they were making music that not everyone loved or understood, or could even fathom as music. But those that did could not get enough.
No one could deny they had hits and that there was a strong demand for more. Thus, they set out on tour, produced music videos, and started having fun. Fans got to see the visual side of the band in a way they hadn’t before.
By the time Jonathon Demme saw the Stop Making Sense tour in Los Angeles, the band was known for their wacky shows and their eclectic look. Demme was already a fan and saw the show for what it was: a film. Byrne agreed, knowing that the show had an arc complete with characters and themes. Working in tandem, Talking Heads and Jonathon Demme began to work on what is considered the greatest concert film of all time.
The Concert Film Experience
Shot like a feature film, Stop Making Sense begins with Byrne strolling on stage to set down a boombox to start the show with a park-and-bark “Psycho Killer.” Byrne asserts himself as the protagonist, the hero of the performance. As each new song begins, a new player enters the stage and the story until the scene is set.
It becomes obvious that this is a buddy comedy and an ensemble piece:
Bassist Tina Weymouth, as a zany and goofy sidekick, starts moving with Byrne from everywhere on the stage. Chris Frantz plays the drums, and though he spends the entirety in the back of the stage, you cannot deny that his energy is infectious and has his star moments. Jerry Harrison proves himself to be a versatile player, traveling all over the stage as a guitarist, keyboardist, dancer and hype man.
Together, the four of them along with the rest of the band play off each other with knowing looks and smiles that leave audiences feeling that they are in on the band’s jokes.
And for the next hour or so, you are in their talented but oddball hands. You can’t help but smile and dance as the band has the time of their lives. You can close your eyes and with the remastered sound, you can hear the cheers of fans coming from somewhere behind you, and it feels like you are in that room with them. However, you can’t keep them closed for too long because you need to see Byrne swing his hips in his big, gray suit and the backup singers’ hairography. Everyone around you is smiling and bopping along. Someone even gets up from their seat to dance along.. Time flies by and before you know it, the band is closing the show and running off stage.
You clap and cheer, and for a second feel nostalgic for something you never got to see in person. You sit in your seat and you think about how intimate and revolutionary that felt even though it’s been almost 40 years. The love shared among the four band members and their passion for music radiated through the screen. This was a labor of love and sweat. The band isn’t even together anymore.
So, until time travel becomes possible and you can dance with the best of them, the next best thing is going to have to be the concert film.
Catch a screening at https://tickets.stopmakingsense.movie/.
