Category Archives: Concert films

The Last Waltz different versions

Last-Waltz

This film should be played loud!

This is a message on a title card at the beginning of the film. The greatest concert movie ever made. This post concerns the movie, the audio releases have to wait for it’s own post.

Wikipedia:

The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as the end of The Band’s illustrious touring career, and the concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, Bobby Charles and Neil Young.

The event was filmed by director Martin Scorsese and made into a documentary of the same name, released in 1978. The film features concert performances, scenes shot on a studio soundstage and interviews by Scorsese with members of The Band. A triple-LP soundtrack recording, produced by Rob Fraboni, was issued in 1978. The film was released on DVD in 2002 as was a four-CD box set of the concert and related studio recordings.

Trailer:

I have several versions of the film, and I’ve seen many versions of it. I’ve seen it at the cinema, I’ve played it to death on video cassette, I have two DVD releases , a Blu-ray release and I’ve seen/heard quite a bit of bootlegs of the show.

This is a film that I’m really passionate about, and I have often wondered if there’s footage, filmed sequences, that is not in the official version. Whatever condition such film would be in was irrelevant, I wanted to see as much as possible of the legendary concert.

Continue reading The Last Waltz different versions

Johnny Cash the San Quentin concert: 45 year anniversary


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“San Quentin, may you rot and burn in hell. May your walls fall and may I live to tell. May all the world forget you ever stood. And may all the world regret you did no good.”
– Johnny Cash

“He had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards—he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us. When he walked away, everyone in that place had become a Johnny Cash fan.”
– Merle Haggard (prisoner at San Quentin at the time)

Two days before Johnny Cash’s 37th birthday he played the legendary San Quentin concert, and it was recorded AND it was filmed! There are several releases and a documentary available, today we are celebrating the 45 year anniversary of this superb show.

When I was little boy I was very interested in music, the radio and records. My father had a small  but very good record collection. Among the treasures in his collection was this album, Johnny Cash – Live at San Quentin. My father told me the story of the album, and I remember that the Norwegian broadcast company (yes there were only one channel at the time, early 70s) showed the actual concert. It was very late at night but my father woke me and I got to see this legendary show.

It marked me for life.

Johnny Cash at San Quentin (full documentary, with songs):

The interviews with the prisoners and the guards are incredibly touching and harrowing, the “whole deal” with Cash’s songs and the documentary footage makes this a must see, and one of the best music films ever made.
Continue reading Johnny Cash the San Quentin concert: 45 year anniversary

The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live in Stockholm, 1969 (Video)

jimi hendrix stockholm 1969

“We’re gonna play nothing but oldies-but-baddies tonight, we haven’t played together in about six weeks, so we’re going to jam tonight and see what happens. Hope you don’t mind.”.. and as he steps away from the microphone we can vaguely hear him mumbling something like:  “You wouldn’t know the difference, anyway.”
~Jimi Hendrix (intro to the concert)

On the whole, I can’t understand how anyone who saw us on this tour could have liked us. There was a lot of filming for Swedish TV and compared to similar films in 1967, we were a different group. Jimi was sullen and removed and actually slagged off the audience during the first set. He rarely bothered to sing. I paced grimly in my corner and turned my back on him. The sparkle was gone, very gone, replaced by exhaustion and boredom which showed in the sloppy repeats of the hits as we stared at the crowd with dead eyes. We hated playing Sweden. Always the same problem–no drugs. We were forced to drink the killer Schnapps, and it brought on Jimi’s mood for the first set.
~Noel Redding (Are You Experienced?: The Inside Story Of The Jimi Hendrix Experience)

Continue reading The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live in Stockholm, 1969 (Video)

Classic concert: Johnny Cash live at Manhattan Centre 1994


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Today we have dug up a real gem! The man in black, Johnny Cash, in top form and in a recording with very fine sound and picture.

The show was recorded live at the Manhattan Center (now Hammerstein Ballroom), in New York City, on June 9th 1994.  It has a total running time of 46 minutes, and I would rate the quality at least a 9 out of 10. The concert was filmed for the TV-channel VH1 it is in black & white. It was taped right after his comeback with Rick Rubin. There are dozens of clips on YouTube from the show/tv program, but to really get the feeling of the concert,  it’s necessary to experience it all in one sitting (well, that’s my view).

Track listing is as follows:
Folsom Prison Blues
Sunday Morning Coming Down
Ring Of Fire
I Walk The Line (with a really cool intro)
Delia
The Beast In Me
Drive On
The Man Who Couldn’t Cry
Number 13
Tennessee Stud
Big River
Ghost Rider In The Sky
Orange Blossom Special
Let The Train Blow The Whistle

– Hallgeir

Video of the day: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at Austin City Limits

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Very fine show from Austin City Limits, aired 2 Nov 2013, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell. The Country legends return to the ACL, playing favorites and songs from their joint LP Old Yellow Moon.

SET LIST

Wheels
Pancho and Lefty
Luxury Liner
Red Dirt Girl
The Rock of My Soul
Invitation to the Blues
Back When We Were Beautiful
Chase the Feeling
Dreaming My Dreams
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight
Old Yellow Moon
Stars on the Water

BAND:

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
with
Steve Fishell – steel guitar, dobro
Byron House – bass, vocals

Jedd Hughes – guitar, vocals
Jerry Roe – drums
Chris Tuttle – keyboards
with special guest
Shawn Colvin

– Hallgeir