Spectacle: Elvis Costello with
(Season Two)
Tri-Fi 2The Sundance Channel broadcasts one of the most entertaining music-related television shows in the form of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with
where the aforementioned singer/songwriter performs with his own band the Imposters and with his weekly guests, whom he also interviews informally. This 2-DVD set collects all 7 episodes from the show's second season and presents in total an amazing array of guest artists both superstar and eclectic. The show's format is fairly loose and that allows Costello to interact with his guests in different and unexpected ways, resulting in once-in-a-lifetime performances like Bruce Springsteen sitting in with the Imposters for a medley of Costello's "Radio Silence" and "Radio Radio" with his own "Radio Nowhere" plugged into the middle. The sheer joy of playing is palpable in every performance here whether it's Bono and the Edge joining Elvis for a medley of "Pump It Up"/"Get on Your Boots" or during an old-fashioned "guitar pull" with Elvis, Neko Case, Sheryl Crow, Jesse Winchester and Ron Sexsmith all perched on stools, playing acoustically and telling stories. Costello's between-song interview technique is insightful yet light-hearted and he gets, in turn, candid, funny and meaningful comments from his guests. Each performance here is nothing short of stellar and you'd expect nothing less from Costello and guests like Richard Thompson, Nick Lowe, Levon Helm, Allen Toussaint and John Prine.
The Sacred Triangle: Bowie, Iggy & Lou 1971-1973
Sexy Intellectual
1971 was for the most part not a good year for David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. The careers of all three performers were in a tailspin, thanks in no small part to each being wracked with substance abuse problems. But late in the year the three had a powwow in New York City and the meeting inspired each to get to work. Bowie collaborated with Reed for 1972's Transformer, the album that would yield the hit single "Walk on the Wild Side." Bowie was also instrumental in the making of the groundbreaking Iggy and the Stooges 1973 release Raw Power. This documentary film looks at the interaction between the three and the scene in general as told through the eyes of insiders like Angela Bowie, Jayne County and Leee Black Childers.
David Bowie
Rare and Unseen
Wienerworld
The title of this film refers to interview segments, not performance pieces, but Bowie maniacs will still want to see this. Footage comes from interviews conducted as recently as 1999 but the old stuff from the '70s is a real hoot, especially the segments with BBC talking head Russell Harty, who is continually dumbfounded by Bowie's comments. A must-see for hardcore fans.
