Instrument: Ten Years with the Band Fugazi (1999)

Director
Jem Cohen

Main cast
Ian MacKaye; Brendan Canty; Joe Lally; Guy Picciotto

Genres
Documentary, Music

Description
Shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video, Instrument is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years.


Similar movies

Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.
It is about a music school in Philadelphia, The Paul Green School of Rock Music, run by Paul Green that teaches kids ages 9 to 17 how to play rock music and be rock stars. Paul Green teaches his students how to play music such as Black Sabbath and Frank Zappa better than anyone expects them to by using a unique style of teaching that includes getting very angry and acting childish.
This flick interviews up and coming glam bands who made their home in the L.A. scene. Also interviewed are some of the genre's idols including Kiss, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Poison, Megadeth, Lemmy from Motorhead and of course, Ozzy. Also, spotlighted performances from bands such as Faster Pussycat, Odin, London (Nikki Sixx's old band), Seduce and Megadeth. The movie's range of topics include groupies, alcoholism, drugs, the glam image and why it attracted so many people from many walks of life. The movie's funniest (and saddest) segment includes filmmaker Penelope Spheeris's attempt to interview a W.A.S.P. guitarist in his pool, drunk as a skunk and with his MOM sitting right there!
A documentary on the music, performers, attitude and distinctive look that made up punk rock.
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, and yes, shopping malls and stadium shows where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive. Thirty years after bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols infamously shocked the system with their hard, fast, status-quo-killing rock, the longest-running punk band in history is drawing bigger crowds than ever, "pop-punk" bands have found success on MTV, and kids too young to drive are forming bands that carry the torch for punk's raw, immediate sound. Meanwhile, "punk" has become a marketing concept to sell everything from cars to vodka, and dyed hair and piercings mark a rite of passage for thousands of kids.
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.
Documentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78
The Punk Syndrome is a film about Finland’s most kick-ass punk rock band, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät. The band members, Pertti, Kari, Toni and Sami, are mentally handicapped and they play their music with a lot of attitude and pride. We follow these professional musicians on their journey from obscurity to popularity. We watch them fight, fall in love and experience strong emotions. We witness long days in the recording studio and on tour. They laugh, cry, drink and fight over who gets to sit in the front on the tour bus. Then it’s time to make up and go talk to people in the audience and tell them how great their band is.
In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.
Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age. Shot on a combination of High Definition and Super 16mm film, "Lemmy" includes interviews with friends, family, bandmates past and present and such admirers/peers as Metallica, Slash, Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters), Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), actor Billy Bob Thornton, wrestling superstar Triple H, Alice Cooper, Mick Jones of The Clash, and many more.
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
Another State of Mind is a documentary film made in the summer of 1982 chronicling the adventure (and misadventure) of two punk bands – Social Distortion and Youth Brigade – as they embark on their first international tour. Along the way they meet up with another progressive punk band, Minor Threat, whom they hang out with at the Dischord house for about a week near the end of their ill-fated tour.
Documentary about the Mekons.
Featuring interviews, live concert footage, and a feature on how punk was transformed from a trend to a way of life, UK/DK is a comprehensive look at the skinhead/punk movement. Some of the most notorious bands on the scene are featured, including The Exploited, The Vice Squad, The Adicts and many more.
John Lennon, David Bowie, Julian Lennon, and Yoko Ono Lennon are featured in this portrait of the life of musician John Lennon. A documentary about former Beatle John Lennon, narrated by Lennon himself, with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection. This feature-film biography of the legendary rock musician includes previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, as well as interviews with his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean. Narrated in Lennon's own voice, IMAGINE was taken from the 240 hours of personal film and video from the star's private collection. Directed by Andrew Solt (who is also responsible for the rockumentary THIS IS ELVIS,) this unique film gives fan a look at the enigmatic, innovative, and often changing pop revolutionary that is unavailable anywhere else.
Sonic Highways commemorates the Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their eighth studio album. This film includes the 8 episode series, extended interviews and never before seen footage, inside the recording of Sonic Highways.
A 3-D concert film of the 2007 Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus tour.
"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.
Broadway Idiot follows Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong from a punk rock concert at Madison Square Garden to the opening of his musical American Idiot on Broadway - only ten blocks away, but worlds apart. From behind the curtain share in the crazy journey of turning the mega-hit album into a punk rock musical - and ultimately see how the world of theater transformed Billie Joe.
A documentary about the history and reformation of Toronto punk band Death from Above 1979.
Documentary chronicaling the rise and fall of the punk movement with rare interview footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Also concert and news footage.
The filmed account of a large Canadian rock festival train tour.
David Markey's documentary of life on the road with Sonic Youth and Nirvana during their tour of Europe in late 1991. Also featuring live performances by Dinosaur Jr, Babes In Toyland, The Ramones and Gumball.
A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.
Fat Wreck Chords... The influential music label proud to say they've spent the past 25 years "ruining punk rock". A Fat Wreck tells the story of founders Fat Mike (of the legendary punk band NOFX) and his ex-wife Erin Kelly-Burkett, spanning the birth, growth, struggles, and survival of the Fat Wreck Chords label.
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
Riding in Vans with Boys is a 2003 documentary film directed by Matthew Beauchesne describing the experiences of the band Kut U Up, a relatively unknown group that went on tour in the spring of 2002 as an opening act for major groups like Blink-182, Green Day and Jimmy Eat World in the Pop Disaster Tour.
Elvis In Concert is a posthumous 1977 TV special starring Elvis Presley. It was Elvis' third and final TV special, following Elvis (aka The '68 Comeback Special) and Aloha From Hawaii. It was filmed during Presley's final tour in the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, on June 19, 1977, and Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 21, 1977. It was shown on CBS on October 3, 1977, two months after Presley died. It is one of the few videos of Elvis which remain unlikely to ever be released for home viewing and is only available in bootleg form.
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
Artifact is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jared Leto under the pseudonym of Bartholomew Cubbins, a recurring character in the Dr. Seuss universe. The film is a documentary about the making of the 30 Seconds to Mars album This Is War and the band's battle against record label EMI. Included in Artifact are several interviews, including the one with neurophysicist Daniel Levitin, author of the popular science book This Is Your Brain On Music. The film won the BlackBerry People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
Filmed live at London's Rainbow Theatre in December 1972, the innovative group Yes performs its progressive rock symphonies -- epic compositions that influenced new trends in contemporary music. "Yessongs" provides a visual record of the concert tour that became a groundbreaking tour de force in rock music. This unique concert video of Yes was filmed during their record-breaking tour and features the talents of the five original band members. The massively popular band defined the prog rock movement with their mystical epics which infused both a Medieval and Classical sound into rock music. Titles performed include "Close to the Edge," "All Good People," and "Roundabout."
The sacrifice of self, the acclaim, the adoring crowds — classical pianist Marika Bournaki fits the role. But the title of Bobbi Jo Hart's award-winning biographical documentary, I am Not a Rock Star, speaks to the contradictions of Bournaki's life. Shot over a span of eight years - following the pianist from 12 to 20 years of age - Hart's film amounts to a front row seat in the unfolding of a life and the forming of a personality. Shot in verité style in concert halls, hotels and airports around the world and featuring stunning piano performances, the film turns Bournaki's life into a visual narrative, revealing both the rewards and costs of a life dedicated to music
In 1964, when the New York Mets were regarded as little more than a punch line in major league baseball, the team moved into a brand new ballpark, Shea Stadium, which was to become their home for the next forty-four years. Shea Stadium was closed (in part to create more parking space for a new stadium, Citi Field), and on July 16 and 18, 2008, Billy Joel headlined the final concerts held at the stadium. Filmmaker Paul Crowder and a camera crew were on hand for Joel's shows, and the documentary THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA chronicles his historic two-night stand, as well as exploring Joel's career, his ties to working-class New York, and how his life and career paralleled the growth of suburban Long Island and the beloved ballpark.
On April 2nd 2011, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM played its final show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. LCD Frontman James Murphy, disbanding one of the most celebrated and influential groups of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensured that the band would go out on top with the biggest concert of its career. The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza featured special appearances by Arcade Fire and Reggie Watts and moved the crowd of thousands to tears of joy and grief. SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS both captures this once-in-a-lifetime event with stunning visuals and serves as an intimate portrait of Murphy as he navigates the 48 hours surrounding the show. Woven throughout is an honest and unflinching conversation between Murphy and author Chuck Klosterman as they discuss music, art, aging, and the decision to call it quits while at the top of your game.
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
A rockumentary profile of a true music original. Offstage he was withdrawn, almost shy. Onstage he strapped on his kiss-the-sky Stratocaster and shattered all notions of how a guitar could be played. In this thribute authorized by his estate, Jimi Hendrix comes to vivid life in funny and touching recollections by family, friends and other legends of rock like Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger ...
Stylish film of the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd in 1971 performing a concert with no audience, in the ancient Roman Amphitheatre in the ruins of Pompeii, Italy. Songs are interspersed with interviews, and footage of Pink Floyd in the studio working on their next album, the legendary Dark Side of the Moon. [Tracklist:] 01 Echoes Part I 02 Careful With That Axe Eugene 03 A Saucerful Of Secrets 04 Us And Them 05 One Of These Days 06 Mademoiselle Nobs 07 Brain Damage 08 Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 09 Echoes Part II
In 1971, to get breathing room from tax and management problems, the Stones go to France. Jimmy Miller parks a recording truck next to Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's Blue Coast villa, and by June the band is in the basement a few days at a time. Upstairs, heroin, bourbon, and visitors are everywhere. The Stones, other musicians and crew, Pallenberg, and photographer Dominique Tarle, plus old clips and photos and contemporary footage, provide commentary on the album's haphazard construction. By September, the villa is empty; Richards and Jagger complete production in LA. "Exile on Main Street" is released to mediocre reviews that soon give way to lionization.
The best of Led Zeppelin's legendary 1973 appearances at Madison Square Garden. Interspersed throughout the concert footage are behind-the-scenes moments with the band. THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME is Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in NYC concert footage colorfully enhanced by sequences which are supposed to reflect each band member's individual fantasies and hallucinations. Includes blistering live renditions of "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love," "The Song Remains the Same," and "Rain Song" among others.
Tells the story of Justin Bieber, the kid from Canada with the hair, the smile and the voice: It chronicles his unprecedented rise to fame, all the way from busking in the streets of Stratford, Canada to putting videos on YouTube to selling out Madison Square Garden in New York as the headline act during the My World Tour from 2010. It features Usher, Scooter Braun, Ludacris, Sean Kingston, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Boyz II Men, Miley Cyrus, Jaden Smith, Justin's family members and parts of his crew and huge fanbase in a mix of interviews and guest performances. It was released in 3D in theaters all around the world and is the highest grossing concert movie of all time, beating the previous record held by Michael Jackson's This Is It from 2009.
This documentary of the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour has become a legendary, harrowing symbol of the tragic demise of the "Peace and Love" era. After a successful tour across the US, the Rolling Stones gave a free December concert at Altamont Speedway in California with the Grateful Dead, Ike and Tina Turner, Jefferson Airplane, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. The band unwisely selected the Hells Angels to provide security, and the bikers resorted to violence to keep the stoned, restless, and often naked crowd in line. The result: dozens of injuries and the on-screen stabbing of a young black man (during "Sympathy for the Devil") by one of the concert's staff security. In a manipulative but effective move, the Maysles brothers filmed Mick Jagger in the editing room witnessing the on-camera murder for the first time. The film also works as a rock-and-roll document, capturing the band at their most relaxed, intoxicating, and electrifying.
The Urethra Chronicles is a video biography about the popular California-based pop/punk band, blink-182, and a look into their lives from their beginnings to the "Enema of the State" era.
In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.
The Concert in Central Park is a live album by Simon & Garfunkel. On September 19, 1981 the folk-rock duo reunited for a free concert on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park attended by more than 500,000 people. They released a live album from the concert the following March (Warner Brothers LP 2BSK 3654; CD 3654). It was arranged by Paul Simon and Dave Grusin, and produced by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Phil Ramone and Roy Halee. The concert was also shot on videotape, televised by HBO in 1982, and subsequently released on various home video formats. The VHS and DVD contain two songs that were omitted from the live album: "The Late Great Johnny Ace" and "Late in the Evening (Reprise)". "Johnny Ace" was disrupted by a fan rushing the stage who came very close to attacking Paul. This incident was both frightening and coincidental, as the song is an elegy upon the murder of John Lennon just one year earlier.
A backstage and on-stage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.
Some Kind of Monster is a music documentary about Metallica's making of their album St. Anger and the difficulties they had to go through in the process. The directors shot over 1200 hours and followed the band around night and day for over a year to create this documentary.
Documentary maker Jan Holman follows the ultrafamous singer/songwriter Jaromír Novahica during his tour with the band Cechomor. The combination is very succesful, but it draws a heavy toll on the band members and Jan Holman.
David Byrne walks onto the stage and does a solo "Psycho Killer." Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz join him for two more songs. The crew is busy, still setting up. Then, three more musicians and two back-up singers join the band. Everybody sings, plays, harmonizes, dances, and runs. In this concert film, the Talking Heads hardly talk, don't stop, and always make sense.
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
A music documentary following the breakup of Swedish House Mafia and their subsequent One Last Tour. The largest electronic tour in history, selling over 1 million tickets in one week. Director Christian Larson captures the band in a unique fly on the wall manner as they call it quits and seek closure by going on the tour they had always dreamed of. With breathtaking live moments, huge laughs and dark lows, the band start to unravel why they came to the decision to end the biggest achievement of their lives to date to save their friendship. The film maps out three of the biggest stars in a scene which has gripped youth the world over and the psychology of the band. A film not to be missed.
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal, " influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax,. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams
Marc Anthony brings his elegant passions to the Big Apple in this exciting 2001 concert performance. The dazzled audience erupts at the singer's knockout, Spanish-language openers, "Y Hubo Alguien" and "Contra la Corriente," swoons to his exultant "You Sang to Me," and hangs on every marvelous syllable in the exquisitely phrased "When I Dream at Night." Anthony's material occasionally slides into bathos ("That's Okay"), but at his best he can go from big band salsa ("Nadie Como Ella") to Burt Bacharach-flavored pop-soul ("My Baby You") to gorgeous, breathless ballads ("Da la Vuelta") without breaking a sweat. But when he needs all engines firing at once, such as on his hot-hot-hot big hit, "I Need to Know," the tension and power are delicious. Watching Anthony work a stadium crowd--gliding, dancing, playing to every corner--reminds one of Mick Jagger's playbook.
Bullet in a Bible documents one of the two biggest shows that Green Day have performed in their career. They played in front of a crowd of over 130,000 people at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in United Kingdom on June 18–19, 2005. The band was supported by Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, and Hard-Fi during their American Idiot world tour. Fourteen of the twenty songs performed at these shows were included on the disc; missing out "Jaded", "Knowledge", "She", "Maria", "Homecoming" and "We Are The Champions". Bullet in a Bible was released as a double-LP set on November 10, 2009, as part of the band's 2009 vinyl re-release campaign.
A documentary filmed behind the scenes of the Bon Jovi's Lost Highway tour in 2008.
More than 10 years after the release of Green Day's American Idiot, the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees present this time capsule rock doc that takes us inside the making of their award-winning punk rock opera.
Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980's. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop masterpieces. Filmmaker Bradley Beesely had the good fortune of living in the same neighborhood as lead Lip Wayne Coyne, who quickly enlisted his buddy to document his band's many concerts and assorted exploits. The early footage is a riot, with tragic hair styles on proud display as the boys attempt to cover up their lack of natural talent with sheer volume. During one show, they even have a friend bring a motorcycle on stage, which is then miked for sound and revved throughout the performance, clearing the club with toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Great punk rock stuff. Interspersed among the live bits are interviews with the band's family and friends, revealing the often tragic circumstances of their childhoods and early career.
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

© Valossa 2015–2024