We Will, We Will Rocku– Since the first time I laid eyes on This Is Spinal Tap by Christopher Guest, I’ve derived way too much pleasure from watching musicians in their meteoric rise to fame and inevitable, cataclysmic fall from grace. Mock or not, rockumentaries rule. This weekend, the Santa Fe Film Festival will screen nine original films (some made right here in New Mexico!) that shine a spotlight on music. We Like to Drink: We Like to Play Rock ‘n’ Roll follows The Unband, three alcoholic men-children who like to play loud, lewd rock music, as shot by Tesuque-based documentary filmmaker Lexie Shabel. Dangerous Highway gives voice to the "greatest unknown musician you’ve never heard," guitarist Eddie Hinton. Fellini-esque Russian filmmaker Rustam Khamdamov does a study of his country’s stunning operatic talent in Vocal Parallels. Novem is an honest-to-god mockumentary about a confederacy of college songwriters in the ’70s (it won the Jury Prize for best indie film in Sonoma). Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minn., gets rifled through by Natalie Goldberg and filmmaker Mary Feidt in Tangled Up in Bob, while native musicians from northern New Mexico are the partial focus of Native Spirits: Forgotten Warriors. Finally, Life in G-Chord is the bittersweet account of Hisao Shinagawa, a Los Angeles street musician who still dreams of the stardom he chased upon first entering America in 1974. Log on to www.santafefilmfestival.com for a complete schedule of the films.
Music To Your Ears
ABQ Psychobilly Comes Back from the Grave– 12 Step Rebels have, regrettably, fallen off the face of the planet over the past year and some change; but on Wednesday, Dec. 13, the Albuquerque trio will stage a comeback at the Launchpad! The all-ages "Reanimation Show" will include local demented darlings Creepshow, The Ground Beneath, Straight Razor Suicide, Caustic Lye and Dread Pirate Hotchkiss. Doors open at 7 p.m. and cost is $8.
Music To Your Ears
Shake Your Belly Like a Bowl Full of Jelly— Like milk and cookies left out for Old Saint Nick, it’s hard to resist shucking your fake beard and tearing into Cadillac Bob and the Rhinestones’ Annual Christmas Extravaganza. This rockin’ blues holiday tradition is more than 30 years in the making, with an all-star lineup that includes the local talents of Mike Fleming, Dan Dowling and Chuck Coulter, and glittering head Rhinestone, Joanie Griffin. As always, the Christmas Extravaganza makes full use of the El Rey’s fabulous dance floor as one hell of a way to burn off your holiday blubber. This year’s bash is set for Saturday, Dec. 9, at the El Rey Theater. Tickets are $15; doors open at 7 for the 8 p.m. show.
