I like a good exorcism

A few nights ago, Sky and I saw and FAN-frickin-tastic music tour movie. Technically, that’s what it was. In reality, it was more like an adrenaline mainlining rockfest in your heart that made you want to jump out into the street and play drums really hard. Except I don’t know how to play the drums. If I did, though, watch out…

Under Great White Northern Lights played for 2 nights @ Northwest Film Forum. It’s a documentary film following the White Stripes as they tour the breadth and width of Canada, including all sorts of little, out of the way towns. They didn’t just play large evening events, either. They visited schools and bowling alleys and retirement homes and played short afternoon sets. My favorite was a last minute (5 minute warning via cell phone notice) performance on a city bus.

Watching Jack and Meg play their little hearts out was amazing. I liked the White Stripes in a “if they are playing on the stereo I’m happy, and once in awhile I may want to hear a specific song of theirs and put it on” kind of way, but never in a OHMIGODTHISBANDISAMAZING way. But now I kind of think they are amazing. Their live performances offer something I really enjoy seeing in a band or singer: I want them to look like they are having some sort of excorcism. This doesn’t mean they have to be twisting their faces all crazy — excorcisms can be more low key. I just want to see them letting the music out like it’s trapped inside of them and they need to let it free. I listened to a lot of Nina Simone and Grace Slick in my formative years.

At first it was odd to see this movie a few nights after seeing the Magnetic Fields. I mean, Stephen Merritt isn’t exactly the most emotive dude, right? His singing persona is based largely on his monotone and slightly flat notes. However, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made that I loved both bands. Stephen Merritt may not be all wild about it, but he’s also excorcising his musical demons: the man appears to obsessively create music, to the tune of more then 3 bands going at once and a ton of albums. His excorcism is methodical and ongoing.

Man do I love music.

Sidenote: I remember when the White Stripes first got to be household names and a ton of band dudes I knew complained constantly about how Meg White was just there to be hot with her boobs bouncing as she played the drums. At the time I thought this was just dumb sexist dumbness and usually said as much. But now that I have seen Meg White play I can testify that she is a sick, sick drummer and those band dudes were probably way threatened by her skills and had to make it about her boobs to save face.