You only make your first film once.
And fortunately for clam-rocker Les Claypool, this one is going to become an instant cult classic. In this mock-you-rockumentary, Claypool sets sail upon the sea of the cheesiest form of all musical expression... the jam-band.
Bay-Area Premier?
My friend Aaron has been a Primus/Claypool fan since back way when they played Porter College Cafeteria at UCSC before the war. He was thrilled when I told him about the new movie, and that it was playing at the Rio, one of the finest theaters in the land, and only a few blocks away from home, too. I didn't want to be late, so I rode my Seabright Runner past the theater early in the day to find out what time the show started. The sign in the window indicated that it would begin at 9:00 pm, but when I got home and consulted the official Electric Apricot website, I discovered that the show time was at 8:00 pm - one hour earlier. I also learned that the Santa Cruz show was the only Bay Area showing... a kind of Bay Area premiere so to speak. Anyone coming from out-of-town would be expecting the show to be at 8pm.
We left at just past seven to get ahead of the plethora of Primus fans who would likely be swarming into town from all around Northern California. When we arrived, we were the only ones there, which meant that we could choose any seat in the house. I selected a spot at a distance from the screen equal to the width of the screen... the optimal location to view a motion picture. A handful of folks trickled in over the next half hour, but there were still lots of empty seats in the accommodating art-deco theater. As it turns out, none of the local entertainment publications bothered to mention the show. Perhaps they're snubbing the Rio for allowing the Democrats for Ron Paul to have a rally there a few months back.
By the time the lights went down, the theater was optimistically half-full. What followed was a brilliant parody of the dead-head generation. I loved every minute of it as they poked fun at the earthy folks who burn sage and worship Jerry Garcia. There are even a couple of Jerrian apparitions including a pseudo-frame 352 Patterson-Gimlin-like (Sasquatch) image of Jerry. Choice! Better dead, than Grateful Dead, I always say.
Claypool's spoof is well thought out, and even included a subtle allusion to the Rutles, the mother of all rock-n-roll mock-umentaries. In my opinion, Electric Apricot is even more fun to watch than the metal-spoof movie, This is Spinal Tap. There were cameo performances of a handful of celebrities as well... I didn't know who any of them were, but the audience reacted when their familiar faces appeared on screen. Gabby Lala's performance of the Yoko-esque May Pang brought a smile to my face. Very cool! Claypool's performance as the band's drummer was convincing and natural. He's obviously hung around a few hippies. Every member of the band was uniquely bizarre and played their respective parts perfectly.
The audience reacted favorably, and laughed out loud frequently. A well-deserved applause accompanied the completion of the directors' debut film. Bravo!
I hope I don't have to wait too long to get it on DVD.
I thought about the movie quite a bit last night, and woke up this morning with the "Going to Burning Man" song still in my head. Later, I got a text message from Aaron asking, "Hey, are you going to Burning Man?"I predict that this coming August, caravans will be enjoying the new anthem as they trek across the country on their annual desert pilgrimage... to Burning Man.
Rhetro at the Rio
No! I won't be going to Burning Man, man.
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