Customer Reviews

Instrument - Ten Years with the Band Fugazi

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, I know I've been curious. I've wanted to look behind the Fugazi curtain to hear and see what goes on when the band writes, tours and records. Fugazi's new Instrument video and soundtrack CD provide an all-access pass to the inner workings of one of today's premier bands.

I ordered both from Dischord and watched the video (a few times, I'm not ashamed to admit) before listening to the soundtrack CD, and I think that's the way to do it. The documentary, shot nonstop by Jem Cohen on tours, in the studio and at rehearsals, shows the members of Fugazi doing what they do best: making music and going to all of the places it takes them. There are several laugh out loud parts -- a well-meaning fan who incorrectly recalls Ian's days in Black Flag, while mispronouncing his name, Guy plotting the death of a Hollywood legend, Joe's futile attempt to tell everyone about his Iggy Pop dream, Brendan rigging a motel showerhead with Dial soap, a slick MuchMusic correspondent who enthusiastically mangles their lyrics...It's a feel-good flicka that leaves me wishing that Guy had a dance studio I could sign up for.

The Instrument soundtrack includes demos of songs that haven't evolved into regular album tracks and raw working 'drafts' of now-familiar songs, some of which are included in the documentary's music bed. A dream come true for any Fugazi fan.

I love this movie...and I hate this movie. Some of it, particularly the early concert material, thrills me more than just about any rock footage, ever. As a collector of punk/hardcore video (Pistols, Clash, Iggy Pop, Minor Threat, X, Circle Jerks, Big Black, Sonic Youth...) I don't give such praise lightly.

Fugazi are equally powerful in the interview segments, where they come off as more intelligent, passionate and witty than on their records. Everything this band is about is represented (in some form or other) in this film, and I'm stunned by Cohen's skill and concision in portraying them so vividly in just two hours. To watch it repeatedly is to fall in love with Fugazi.

Somehow these highlights only make my frustration with the film worse. Some stretches are infected with the dreaded "Rattle and Hum" disease: "casual" interviews more boring than disarming, a confusing chronology, and some unspeakably artsy b & w footage of blurry buildings, slow-motion jamming without live sound, and dazed concertgoers. This stuff would be forgivable from a freshman film-school angle if it didn't seem to necessitate butchering some great band performances.

Because Fugazi are basically about music, especially live music. And my main objection is that this movie, for all its wit and integrity, gives no sense of what Fugazi were like in concert. No song is shown from beginning to end; they are all interrupted, disemboweled, or shown at varying speeds with average studio jams dubbed over them. Think about it--a stage performance is a pure presentation of thought and emotion that needs no reinterpretation. Quite often you wonder at the arrogance of a film-maker who imposes his artistic vision over that of the band. Or, to be plain, you get bloody pissed when a great song is cut off or drowned out to suit the Auteur's self-indulgence.

So, people, if you want to live the genius of the live Fugazi, try to catch them while they're still around. For all its power this film makes me sad, both because a no-bs style would've been much more exciting, and because the Fugazi show I saw in 1988 had little of the dynamite contained in its best moments.

I'm not going to explain Fugazi to you, if you're reading this you probably already love them. So, on to the DVD. It's a documentary, by Jem Cohen, who collaborated with the band since 1987. You get plenty of live footage, studio stuff, outtakes, touring moments, and a mass of interviews that NAIL exactly what Fugazi is all about. Well, worth this Fugazi fan's money, and well worth yours too. I can't say that about many other bands.

If you are reading this review then i can assume a couple things. 1. you know who fugazi is, 2. you know what DIY/indy means. If you are as big a fugazi fan as i am, then this is a must have. awesome footage spanning their 1st 10 years. intense performances and interviews with the band and a bunch of fans.

now going back to those assumptions i made. if you know what DYI is and you like Fugazi, then please dont order the DVD here. I am only posting this review to show my love for fugazi and their music... go to the Dischord website and order through them. Keep indie sacred.

This documentary is great in that it combines both 8mm, 16mm, and video medias. It also uses sync, and non sync sound. The musical collages, and demos where amazing. I liked this film because it showed both behind the scenes footage (interviews, band @ grandparents house)with stage performances. It is amazing how this film brought so much intense emotion to fugazi's music with slow motion, silences, and the use of text through out the film. I think that anyone who enjoys fugazi will love this film.

I've liked Fugazi for some time now, perhaps several years, but all I knew of them up until I saw this video was the CDs I had and the select interviews I'd been lucky enough to stumble across along the way. Of course, everyone who's into HC or punk knows exactly who Ian Mackaye is, but as for the band as a complete unit operating together, I was all ears.

The actual film is very stylishly shot and put together. There's loads of on-stage antics, both comical and musical, straight away proving that the band can be fun, even though their albums can sound a bit serious and sombre at times. There's lots and lots of stock footage of the band giving interviews and small talks about what they're up to both on the stage and off, and there's also lots of really interesting footage of fans giving their views of the band outside the stage doors before and after shows. Now, this to me was especially intersting, because I found out that after just half an hour after the film had started that the band had a very definite view of what they do, so I was keen to hear what the fans thought. Some loved it and were very descriptive as to why they thought the band were so good (revolutionary, alternative and original are words that cropped-up), some just found them as they took them and went along after hearing just one song, and some folks really didn't like them, saying stuff like Ian Mackaye was a rock star and they were just full of it.

It makes sense that a band like this can cause such diverse views about them. The thing is about original, and especially alternative artists, is that there is a certain kind of front to their sound that implies either a welcoming gesture of 'Hey, we're here. Hope you like it!', or it can be taken as 'Step aside, we're too cool for you!' I wouldn't personally say that Fugazi give across such an arrogant and self-congratulating stance, but many people obviously do, and I think I know why.

For a band like this to stick to their morals and survive unfettered by what they refer to as 'Commercialism' and 'The Music Industry' for so very long, they must take on some form of aggressive stance about themselves. There must be a kind of battle, whether it be seen or subtle, in which they stick to their guns and if need be, preach about them. I don't mind listening to that kind of stuff as long as it's in a non-confrontationl view towards the listener (i.e CD buyer, ticket buyer, etc), which Fugazi do very well. With every interviewer or fan that asks them a question or two about themselves, they always give clear, non-imposing answers. Very clear and almost refreshing. However, because they can give very concise answers to these questions, I can imagine a lot of people finding them to be not very punk or not very HC at all, because if a band like this has a fan base of primarily younger / teenage people, these people may not want to be into a band that holds high ideals over just having fun and being all punk about everything. The great punk debate starts here...

It's a bit of a double-edged sword being alternative, because to be a really underground band these days is hard, as since the advent of commerical guitar music at the beginning of the 1990s (names like Nirvana, Chili Peppers, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden spring swiftly to mind), lots of trend-following folk and major record labels have seen a fortune to be made in loud guitars and youthful angst. Because of this, the point of the whole underground movement is, of course, deleted. The underground music scene (of any country, not just the USA), runs healthily on emotional and engergetic bands of course, but it also runs on vast independence and very little desire to become lucrative and profitable. The bands that are easier to find on the average CD store shelves tend to be more financially-orientated, and depend on record company promotion for furthering their careers. Well, Fugazi own their record label, so I suppose it's okay for them, but they keep show prices and record prices low, so that's admirable right away.

I'd recommend this film to anyone who's in a band and wants to see success done the hard way, but also surely the most respectable way too.

The most prominent thing I took away from this film and from my experiences seeing Fugazi several times in the early - mid 90s is how often the band found itself at odds with idiots in the audience and trying to struggle through a stop/start set.

Has there been any other band in history that was plagued with consistently playing to an audience that has no clue what the band is about?

On first viewing I was torn between fascination and frustration with this video. Horrendous editing of excellent songs (e.g. cutting the last 20 seconds off "great cop" and giving us only the first and last notes of "smallpox")seemed designed to disappoint their fans, and mar what is otherwise an entertaining and thoughtful look at what is probably the most interesting American rock band. But as is typical of Fugazi recordings, a second viewing expanded my original perceptions and I thought maybe the director was right to cut the hits and focus on the instrumentals. The third time through I realized this video is priceless. Although I still want the last 20 of great cop.

This is a fascinating documentary.

It's well edited and evenly paced.

Fugazi is poetry. Fugazi is minimalism with movement that spans emotions and time, and this DVD successfully conveys that.

Don't expect to sit down with this DVD and do anything other than absorb words and music, the ideas and discord. I was enthralled.

This documentary has an appeal, regardless of your musical orientation. If you appreciate the creation of music, this will be of interest.

I highly recommend this intriguing production.

Its like hearing Fugazi for the first time again. This film just reinforces everything good about playing music, about giving a sh*t, about wanting to move people and to be moved by music. What a beacon, a reminder...