Audiences Will Enjoy “Fan Made” Rockumentary

Courtesy: Arts Alliance Media/Scott Free/Black Dog

Bruce Springsteen.  One name.  So many thoughts.  Few artists have meant to the music industry what he and his band mates in the E Street Band have—and still mean—to audiences and fellow musicians through their career.  Now thanks to film maker Baillie Walsh, audiences get a very special look at just what he and his band mates mean to the world.  Walsh has directed a new documentary centered on “The Boss” that is comprised largely of fans submissions. The documentary, Springsteen and I, presents what he and his band’s music mean to fans from the first hand perspective of his fans.

Lots of documentaries have been made over the years that include fan submissions.  But it’s rare for music documentaries to consist nearly entirely from the perspective of the fans.  It makes this a very special presentation.  What’s so interesting in terms of the fan submissions is just how many people from so many backgrounds Bruce Springsteen has reached throughout the course of his career.  Audiences see fans from every walk of life.  There are truckers, housewives, hopeful musicians, and so many others in between.  Just as interesting is the sentiment shared throughout the fan submissions.  Every fan notes just how important of a role Springsteen’s music has played in their life.  At one point, one fan tells his story of the importance of Springsteen’s music as he drives, and begins to become very emotional.  It’s one of the most moving of the main feature’s barely hour plus run time.  On the completely opposite end, there’s an appearance by “The King” in one fan story that will have audiences laughing and smiling together.  Whereas the previous moment noted was one of the film’s most moving, this moment is one of the most memorable for the wonderful feelings that it will bring about.  The story shared by the Elvis impersonator is one of this documentary’s most enjoyable of highlights.  There are plenty more highlights that could be shared.  But that would mean endless rambling.  And that is not what this critic is here to do.  However, it does bring about another aspect of the documentary that audiences will enjoy just as much as the stories shared by their fellow fans.  That enjoyable secondary aspect of the documentary is the fan and professional footage used for the feature. 

The professional footage included in the feature makes up a healthy portion of its live performances.  As a matter of fact, the second hour of the feature is nothing but live footage of Springsteen and company culled from over the years.  While both the live and “bootleg” footage are combined throughout the first hour of the documentary to help illustrate the stories shared by Springsteen’s fans, the documentary’s more professionally recorded performances complete everything.  The second half of the documentary is comprised largely of live performances.  It culminates with the now infamous London 2012 performance in which the plug was pulled because the show went past the city curfew.  It makes sense as to why the London show was used as the final performance in the documentary.  The way in which it went out literally with the lights made for even more impact.  That’s because the show didn’t end there.  Springsteen stayed devoted to the audience and played one more song before having to leave the stage.  It was one last tribute to what it is that makes people love Springsteen so much to this day.  Sir Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings) was there along with John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Street Sweeper Social Club).  The footage sound and video were expertly mixed both with this concert and with the others included throughout the documentary’s second half.  Even after the concert ends, there’s one more surprise for audiences that takes up the last ten minutes or so of the documentary.  It will leave audiences feeling entirely fulfilled, knowing they have just experienced something very special.     

The mix of live footage and fan submitted stories makes Springsteen and I more than just another concert documentary or documentary.  All things considered, it will be a wonderful experience for any true fan of Bruce Springsteen from start to finish.  And it will be an equally welcome addition to any Springsteen fan’s home library when it is eventually released to DVD and/or Blu-ray.  But first, it will run exclusively in theaters one time today, July 22^nd and again next Tuesday, July 30th.  Audiences can check to see if it will play at their nearest theater online at http://www.fathomevents.com/#!springsteen-and-i.  Fans in Greenville, North Carolina will get to see this feature tonight at the Greenville Grande 14.  Audiences in Raleigh will also get to see it as it will play at the Brier Creek Stadium 14.  Fans in the mountains of North Carolina will also get to see the presentation as it will run at theaters in Asheville, Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, and Salisbury.  Tickets for showings can also be purchased online at http://www.fathomevents.com/#!springsteen-and-i. 

To keep up with tall of the latest news and more from Bruce Springsteen, fans can follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/brucespringsteen and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/springsteen.  Fans can also get all the latest news and notes from Bruce Springsteen on his official website, http://www.brucespringsteen.net. 

To keep up with all of the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Queen V Hits Compilation A “Royal” Hit

Courtesy: Royal Noise Records

Ladies and gentleman, all hail her highness, Queen V.  For those rock and roll purists that haven’t yet heard the music of this heroine of hard rock, the New York based artist and her band mates are sure to impress with the new release, The Decade of Queen V.  This eleven track singles collection tracks the band’s now decade-long career together.  With any luck, the release of this brand new compilation will generate enough interest in Queen V to see her previous releases including her debut EP, Critical.  There is not one bad track on this compilation, which is a rare feat for a “hits” collection; this is especially rare considering that the band has flown just below the mainstream radar throughout the first ten years of its time together.

The first of the classic songs on this compilation, ‘Revolution Baby’ will instantly conjure thoughts of Joan Jett and Lita Ford with her gritty vocal style and hard driving music.  Her defiance as she sings lines such as: “You’ve got yours and I want mine”, “I’ve got every reason/to waste me time/Revolution baby/If you think you own me/Go to hell” is the mark of a strong confident woman who could care less about the reputation of the rock industry being marked as a man’s world.  The inclusion of this song as the compilation’s opener is simply put, a reminder of that confidence to first time listeners of her music.  The musical backing is just as solid as Queen V’s own vocals.  The bluesy harmonica backing wouldn’t seem to go with the harder guitars and drums.  But somehow it all melds nicely together to make a perfect introduction for first timers and re-introduction for those that might have otherwise forgotten about her and her band mates.

The energy doesn’t let up at all on the compilation’s next song, ‘America.’  This is pure, guitar-driven hard rock at its absolute finest.  The guitar solos are there.  The energy is there from each one of the band’s members.  And one can so easily close one’s eyes and imagine the band on stage, Queen V up front, fist in the air as she screams, “America/Can you hear me?”  What is most intriguing and interesting about the song is not so much it’s lyrical content, but its slow boil style.  It starts hard enough.  But audiences will notice how the song seems to build, musically increasingly with each verse until it all explodes with a massive guitar solo at the song’s end with Queen V hitting some of the highest notes of any female rocker of any era.  It’s like hearing Janis Joplin if she were a hard rocker, for lack of better comparison when she hits those high notes.  No doubt, long-time fans will appreciate all of this. And first-time listeners will be just as impressed with the talents exhibited here by the entire band.

Not all of the songs on Queen V’s new compilation are older pieces.  She also includes a newer piece in ‘My Machine’ that features none other than Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, The Watchman, Street Sweeper Social Club).  Morello sounds as strong as ever with his guitar wizardry.  As bizarre as this may seem, but the way that Queen V intros the song, bring about thoughts of John Lee Hooker.  It’s that familiar opening of “ha, ha, ha, ha.”  John Lee Hooker fans will get the reference.  It might not have been entirely purposeful.  But it’s a nice touch to the song.  And it only gets more intense from here.  The intensity developed throughout the compilation’s sequence of songs is right here, too. 

There is so much that could be written on Queen V.  But suffice it to say that whether for the songs noted here, or the compilation’s others, including its closer—which was co-written by and features none other than Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) on vocals—or any of the album’s other outstanding works, this compilation is an absolute must have for any hard rock purist.  Fans can catch the songs from this brand new release and even more of the band’s hits tonight when the band takes the stage at the Thunderbird Café in Pittsburgh, PA.  The band will be in Clifton, New Jersey on July 26^th.  The Decade of Queen V is available now in stores and online.  It can be ordered direct online from the Queen V website at http://www.queenv.com/web/?product=the-decade-of-queen-v-cd-pre-order or via iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-decade-of-queen-v/id662842188.  Audiences can find out more about the band’s live schedule and all of the latest news and more from the band online at http://www.facebook.com/officialQueenV, http://www.queenv.com, http://twitter.com/theQueenV, and http://www.reverbnation.com/queenv.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.