Movie/DVD Review

Break out your favorite piece, ‘cause you wont want to get up until the end of this one. The gracious folks at JamCam Chronicles have out done themselves with their new release from last year’s ALL GOOD festival.

You wont find grandiose, wide-angle shots or extreme close-ups of posing faces on this one. What you will find are close-ups of hands mercilessly playing instruments and the subtle interactions of improvisational artists doing what they do best. The live shots are just pure bliss, with a heavy camera focus on the playing, bringing you right up onstage with the bands.

Musical highlights include striking performances by Soulive, the Disco Biscuits, Steve Kimock Band, and the Del McCoury Band. While off-stage informative and intelligent interviews with the Home Grown Music Network’s founder Lee Crumpton and Clean Vibes co-owner Evangelyn Morse add to the mix. But the candidly caught moments truly round off the film. The first that comes to mind is Del McCoury dedicating a song to two newlyweds while giving a stern yet hilarious warning about what they are going to be up against as a newly married couple. The second, Jamie Masefield’s introduction of the song “Oh Yeah,” where he describes the feeling of finding a clean port-a-potty and the sense of ease that it elicits.

The most enlightening part, for me though, was the interview with Tim Walther of Walther Productions. I grew up around Washington, DC and remember the days when Tim had just started promoting bands. He had a reputation back then, like most promoters do, but I came away from his interview with a most positive impression of the man and his mission of providing jam fans with the best accommodations for enjoying the music they love.

This DVD is well worth the money and left me salivating for more.