The art of the Noise Pop Festival captures the spirit of music

Photography exhibits and film screenings hit a high note

By Katherine Hoffert
Published: March 9th, 2010 | 12:00pm

Live music has the capability to become a near religious experience both for those performing and those in attendance — and no one sees this better than a photographer behind the lens. Such was the inspiration behind the Outside the Crowd photography exhibit at San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival, which displayed images from local music photographers. One example was Peter Ellenby who, while in the photo pit for the Flaming Lips’ performance last fall at the Bay’s Treasure Island Music Fest, found himself caught in a powerful convergence of love transmitted between the crowd and singer Wayne Coyne, and captured the radiant spirit of this exchange in his print.

When it comes to larger-than-life live music experiences, though, Woodstock takes the cake. Barbara Kopple’s film Woodstock: Now and Thenoffers a new perspective on this iconic music festival — not necessarily deflating its legendary status but separating the event from its mythical status via first-person interviews with attendees, performers, and organizers, as well as archival footage.

The film begins with the man who started it all, Michael Lang, and then follows the progression of Woodstock from its original conception as a recording studio to a large-scale music festival, as scenes walk viewers through the days leading up to the event. With each new, potentially catastrophic dilemma — Woodstock Ventures’ permit getting pulled at the original Wallkill, NY site less than a month before the festival; attendees showing up three days early before the stages and fences had finished going up — Woodstock’s success feels that much more miraculous.

And for every near-damaging event that occurred during the festival, the film uncovers a silver lining: when the rains came, it became a great equalizer and made everyone realize they were in it together; when the opening bands got stuck in the New York State Thruway’s massive traffic jam, the snafu bumped Richie Havens (who was scheduled to play in the fifth spot for 20 minutes) to the opening slot and his legendary three-hour performance ended up launching his career.

In the end, Woodstock: Now and Then suggests that the festival wasn’t a movement so much as a moment when everything converged, and draws a parallel to President Obama’s inauguration where people came together on a grand scale to make something happen. With a great deal of big-picture insight on the event, this film helps those who weren’t there appreciate Woodstock’s true significance, while giving those who were a chance to relive those three days of peace, love, and music in the summer of ’69.

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers was another film screened at Noise Pop that equally explored a collective experience and quite literally captured the spirit(s) of music. By Tim Rutili (of the Chicago quartet Califone), the film is based on the idea that letting go — to people, ideas, the past — is one of the most difficult parts of life. While the accompanying album and soundtrack stands on its own, the film provides a more in-depth exposition of the broken emotions and voices within it, the music’s strong sense of composition and collaboration translating beautifully to the screen.

The film’s plot centers around a fortune teller named Zel, played by Angela Bettis (Girl, Interrupted), who lives in a house with a bunch of dead people: “a priest, a bride, a mute child, some washed up vaudevillians, and a noisy, sight-impaired group of musicians (Califone), among others.” Everything changes when the ghosts realize they are trapped — in the house and with the living — and revolt against Zel, demanding their freedom to follow the light. Discovering the truth behind how these spirits got there, as well as how to set them free, Zel is faced with the difficult task of letting go of all she knows. The ghosts face a similar test, as they have been hanging onto something they don’t even remember anymore (life).

Superstitions and their imagery provide the framework for this colorful film, and the unique storylines of the deceased add a lighthearted comic relief and tenderness. Though Funeral Singers revolves around a basic universal theme, the film is anything but straightforward with symbolic and mystical elements reinforcing its supernatural feel and making it a compelling work of art. For those going to South by Southwest, be sure to catch a screening of the film with a live musical performance by Califone on Monday, March 15 (9:30 p.m. at the Alamo South Lamar) and Friday, March 19 (12:00 p.m. at the Alamo Ritz 1).