Just a Shot Away

I finally got around to watching Gimme Shelter, the documentary about the Rolling Stones US "tour" in 1969 (I put tour in quotes because all it really shows is them in NYC, at a studio in Alabama, and then in SF). It's really enjoyable at first to see the Stones all looking so young since I've gotten used to them as old men. Mick Jagger, even by today's standards*, oozes charisma and confidence on the mic. The rest of the band, at this point, is still developing their stage presence. They may have been exponentially better songwriters in their early years (the music after Some Girls becomes fairly hit or miss, though some people obviously have different cut-off points) but they did get better on stage as they got older. They sound better as they get older too, a lot of the songs in this film sound surprisingly weak.

*Bands and musical artists today are way, way more animated and expressive on stage than their old counterparts. This isn't necessarily better, as most bands are just playing a part and attempting to convey a specific image, but even "wild" old bands like Led Zeppelin or The Who are pretty tame by today's standards. Most old Who footage I've seen is pretty calm until they start destroying their gear (which is when they stop playing music).

Anyway, the biggest fault of Gimme Shelter is that it is poorly edited and shot for some pretty substantial chunks of time. For most of the NYC footage (the film's first half) the camera mostly stays locked on Jagger (though for good reason as I mentioned) but when it strays off of him the sound often doesn't sync with the images, which bothers me in any movie or show, but is especially disappointing in a music documentary. Also, all the performance footage in the first half is from this one show in NY (I believe it's at MSG but it looks a little small so I'm not positive).

The movie really picks up once they get to San Francisco and the free show at the Altamont Speedway becomes the focus. What I really like about this part of the film was (1.) seeing just how many people came to this show (around 300,000) and just how (to borrow a phrase) far-out these people were. Their grins and clothes and signs and manners of speech were enthralling and familiar. Hippie stereotypes exist for a reason. (2.) I loved how much music meant to them too. This is one of the reasons I envy those that lived through this era--popular music was just so much more significant. Now, between how expensive music is (to see and buy), how much there is, how pampered middle-class kids are, it just can't compare to the way the Stones or the Dead spoke to that generation. There was a real feeling of change that comes across clearly in this film and Mick Jagger was one of the real disciples of the movement. Nowadays Dave Matthews and Kanye West supposedly speak for us ... sigh. (3.) Along with that rebellious attitude, things got legitimately dangerous at this concert. The general concertgoers included some bizarre folks, the Hell's Angels were loosely in charge of stage security, and they were in the middle of nowhere (sort of) with no cell phones or anything. It was crazy. There were fights, someone died from a stabbing, the Grateful Dead decided not to play ... a wild scene indeed and the film captured it well, saving its own status as a worthwhile piece of art.

As good as it was, it's no The Last Waltz, my favorite music doc. Here are a few things to watch in my favorite scene from that one:

1. I love what Neil Young says when he walks on. He's the man.
2. Check out Robbie Robertson's face when Neil starts singing. There's this great feeling you get (though not that often) when you're playing with someone else and they do something so perfectly that all you can do is smile/laugh/shake your head. This is one of the best captures of that feeling.
3. Robertson then starts singing back-up vocals early (start of the 2nd verse) because he thinks it's the chorus.
4. Joni Mitchell absolutely kills it on backing vocals. Strangely enough, on the album of this show that I have, her vocals come in on the 2nd verse but they're absent on this video.
5. Legend/rumor has it that Neil Young had just a wee-bit of coke backstage and that Scorsese had to edit out a little white chunk on the rim of his nose.