Tuesday, October 09, 2007

And Some People Thought The Last Waltz Was a Big Deal

And speaking of great concert movies, as we were yesterday, let us now praise the sequel to The Greatest Live Rock and Roll Extravaganza Ever Filmed.

That would be The Big T.N.T. Show, released to drive-ins everywhere by American International in 1966. As with its predecessor, it wouldn't be a big surprise If you're not familiar with it as there hasn't been an above ground video version since a mangled VHS release in the mid 80s. In any case, it's an almost equally astounding document -- a concert featuring pretty much everybody who was anybody in rock, pop, folk and r&b back then with the exception of the Beatles.

I'm not sure where it was shot -- I'm assuming at the same Santa Monica Civic Auditorium that hosted The T.A.M.I Show the year before -- but get a load of the talent line-up:

The Byrds
The Lovin' Spoonful
Ike and Tina Turner
Ray Charles
Roger Miller
Petula Clark
The Ronnettes
Donovan
Joan Baez
Bo Diddley


Here's Joan Baez and Phil Spector, together again for the first time. Okay, this one has already frightened several people here, but c'mon -- Donovan's incoherent introduction for Joanie is worth the price of admission.



Bo Diddley
-- a man among men. With the Duchess, his gorgeous sister. (Okay, she really wasn't his sister)



The Byrds doing "Mr. Tambourine Man." Words fail me.



Ike and Tina Turner and a stunning version of "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Somebody asked me the other day -- "Back in the 50s, why did people wear buttons that said 'I Like Ike?' Because it couldn't have been Tina -- he beat the crap out of her."



The Lovin Spoonful, screwing up the intro to "Do You Believe in Magic." Watertiger knows the drummer, by the way.



The Ronettes, "Baby I Love You" and "Shout." Just like Ronnie sang....



Roger Miller tells the oldest joke in the book and gets a laugh anyway.



Okay, you get the idea (although it's too bad I couldn't find a clip featuring host David McCallum (yes, Ilya from The Man From Uncle. He sang, too).

Seriously, apart from the obvious, what's interesting about the film is that it documents the exact historical moment that rock 'n' roll became simply rock. In Donovan's segment, in particular, the crowd suddenly stops screaming and gets very, very still. You realize you're no longer at a rock show, but rather at a concert.

[h/t Brooklyn Girl]

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're killing me (not that I'm complaining, of course!). Especially when you write stuff like this:

Seriously, apart from the obvious, what's interesting about the film is that it documents the exact historical moment that rock 'n' roll became simply rock. In Donovan's segment, in particular, the crowd suddenly stops screaming and gets very, very still. You realize you're no longer at a rock show, but rather at a concert.

The precise moment when it went beyond entertainment and people began to take it seriously.

I went to the "Summer of Love" show at the Whitney recently. It was clear that the curator had no idea what the 60's were really like ... the show was boring!!! It complete missed how everything coalesced in those few years into an overwhelming cultural shift, a real experience that went beyond the physical trappings associated with it ... and music was at the core.

steve simels said...

Actually, I stole that from occasional Eschaton contributor David Ehrenstein.

But it's nonetheless true...

Anonymous said...

Creeping Jesus, why must you continually torture us with that Spector and Baez clip?

Anonymous said...

Actually, I stole that from occasional Eschaton contributor David Ehrenstein.

Honest to a fault, you are ...although, in my book, it's not really a fault ...

Anonymous said...

Just being anonymous because it's easier. I use my Google account so seldom I have no idea how to log in right at the moment.

You have absolutely great taste in music; that is, it’s quite similar to my own. And you write passionately about it.

But then you say things like this:

“Subsitute Bin Laden for Fu Manchu, and the above sounds hilariously like the rhetoric about the Mohammedan Menace that Ann's cultists spout here every day.”

I’ll listen to an argument that says concern about radical Islam and associated terrorists is overblown. I won’t listen to a fool who calls anyone who disagrees with that a “cultist.” At that point, I don’t care anymore if the concern is overblown. You’ve become the problem, not the ones who see a serious threat in radical Islam. You’re the one demonizing your political opponents and sneering even at anyone who would treat the issue seriously.

If you have somehow arrived at a conclusion that the music you love can only be loved from within that kind of nonsense, you should get back to thinking it though.

Anonymous said...

"through." Damme.

steve simels said...


I’ll listen to an argument that says concern about radical Islam and associated terrorists is overblown. I won’t listen to a fool who calls anyone who disagrees with that a “cultist.”


Actually, I wasn't suggesting that people who disagree with that are cultists. I was suggesting that there are a bunch of people over at Miss Havisham's blog who strike me as cultists generally, not about that issue specifically.

Anonymous said...

Two quick observations:

1. Although I've had the horror of seeing that clip of Phil and Joanie before, this was the first time I noticed that Phil has what appear to be dreadlocks sewn into his wig.

2. The Duchess rocks my world. Any word on what ever became of her?

steve simels said...

I regret that the Duchess left this sad vale of tears in 05.

Details here.
http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/DuchessObit.htm

dave™© said...

Dear Anonymous,

Go fuck yourself.

Very truly yours...

TMink said...

Wow, what a slow tempo on Mr. Tamborine! Positively plodding, but it somehow works. I love those early images of Crosby looking all stoned and cherubic.

Trey

TMink said...

Now it is difficult to respect a man who beats his wife, but Ike deserves musical praise for adding some white riffs and guitar approaches to this live set. Some real crossover genius. Tina is a Diva, and deservedly so, but Ike's musical contribution was important and deep.

The bastard.

Trey

Anonymous said...

How can I possibly continue after that trademark fellow’s deadly counter argument?

Oh wait. It’s not that hard – in fact I think I’m okay. Whew! That was close.

S Simels –

Not to say she's always right but Miss Havisham generally strikes me as an honest analyst, willing to take down b.s. from the right when she sees it, as with her views of some of Thomas’s book. She's sometimes impetuous and a little weird, but even when she does that she has it under control most often.

Which you seemingly don't, like in the way you can't resist using "Miss Havisham."

It’s that sneer again, a sneering humor has its place and always feels great to those who agree with you. And if your goal is to please those who agree with you, fine, for you anyway. But when the style steps in and replaces intellectual honesty, it's destructive. It makes the target and her favorably-inclined readers tend to dislike the purveyor. The dislike is then fortified by the remarkable dishonesty and inaccuracies and left-out-facts that always fall out of actual debate with such a person.

Speaking of which, a review of the small flood of comments you provided displaying the same disdain toward the very idea of a radical Islamic threat tells me you’re being disingenuous about your own words. Which is something you run into a lot when you confront a full-of-himself enraged leftist on the actual substance of his words: shockingly quick retreat to “Oh, I never said that.”

Anonymous said...

I assume people here may have seen “Festival Express” – the documentary about the cross-Canada train festival in about 1970, featuring the Band, the Grateful dead, Janis Joplin, stopping at various cities to play concerts. Maybe someone’s even posted excerpts.

The background through-line of the film was the presence of angry, even violent demonstrators at some stops, protesting the outrageous commercialization of the music that should “belong to the people.” At no charge, that is; $5.00 for a ticket was a sure sign of darkness capturing the movement.

My favorite moment was an interview with the tour promoter – who was in the process of losing his shirt on the whole deal. They’d stopped in I believe Calgary, and the mayor had taken the opportunity to go behind a microphone and demand that the music be provided free for “the children” of Calgary. The promoter, grinning: “I punched him in the mouth.”

I really hope it’s true. What a fantastic moment.

The point being, the “politics” of the counter-culture quickly became overtaken by hyper-committed, theory-bedazzled morons. And the takeover has expanded in recent years, threatening the entire left.

I hold out hope for most of you beause of the music you love. That has to mean something beyond "bonding tool for vicious idiots." Which you may not entirely be yet.

But if you don't watch out, you'll become like the old southern rednecks: ignorant and unaware of the fact, and stupidly sure of your place in the universe.

steve simels said...

Anonymous:

If you're still here ---

Needless to say, I disagree with almost everything you said above, in particular about Althouse, who is the farthest thing from an honest broker I can possibly imagine. And I think a lot of her commenters are really scary, borderline sociopaths.

That said, you seem like a genuinely decent guy -- as is Tmink, who also hangs out at Althouse -- and feel free to weigh in here if the spirit moves you.

We try to keep it fairly apolitical, as the name of the place is PowerPop, not Enraged Lefty, but obviously there are no rules other than don't be a shmuck.
:-)

TMink said...

Actually, I have abandoned political blogs for the most part, although I found Steve through Althouse and used to be fairly active there.

Nothing political in leaving the political blogs, but the rancor there just got old. I am having more fun with my time reading and posting here.

Interesting to note, I learn much more here than I do on the political blogs!!!!! I mean, I have Apples in Stereo and The Strokes now and I did not before coming over here. That is more value than I received in a year at the poli blogs!

Trey

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'm headed that way too.