Ride Rise Roar At times, a flock of birds...

June 25^th 2010 home

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Ride Rise Roar

At times, a flock of birds milling about randomly will suddenly dart into the sky in a perfectly aligned formation. The unexpected speed of this transformation from individual to herd is breathtaking and always brings a smile to my face. Early in RIDE RISE ROAR, we learn that this is how David Byrne auditioned dancers for the tour documented in this film. All the prospective hires were in one room, and were told to come up with a series of movements and once they were happy with it, to repeat it. If they saw someone else doing something “stronger,” they should copy that. When everyone is doing the same actions, the exercise is over. Byrne called it watching evolution in action. I called it amazing.

The sudden switch from individual moves to a coordinated motion appears throughout the concert film, and matches Byrnes musical style. His musicians play each instrument to fill a different part, yet together they are in a tightly coordinated (and well rehearsed) performance. RIDE RISE ROAR is not a traditional concert film, but focuses more on the process of creating the show. In between each song we see footage of the rehearsal for that song. The main focus of the film, other than David Byrne himself, are the three dancers that were selected from the try-outs. Where typical concert films will give close-ups of the muscians, the director, David Hilmann Curtis, chooses instead to focus on the dancers. Many of the rehearsal sequences feature the performers, including Byrne, working with the choreographers. It is fascinating to see and hear how the dances are developed, and then to cut right into the finished show.

One interesting scene to note is one song, where every one is sitting down. The dancers (and Byrne) use office chairs to scoot around the stage. The restrictions of using the chairs generated an intensity of motion. The movements are short and slow, but still with purpose. I immediately thought of THIS CHAIR IS NOT ME, a short film playing in Shorts Program 2. The protagonist of the short, Alan Martin, is in a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. Yet he uses his chair to dance, and is in fact now a dance teacher. At the end of the song in RIDE RISE ROAR, one dance suddenly goes across the stage, zooming on his chair; like Alan Martin, the dancer is liberated by the same tool that is often seen to be an impediment.

A final comment on David Byrne as an artist: many great artists make their talent look easy and natural. As Byrne sings, plays, and dances, he makes it look easy, and yet deliberate. It is possible to see the thought and intention he has put into the performance, giving it an honesty and transparency.

THIS CHAIR IS NOT ME: http://silverdocs.bside.com/2010/films/thischairisnotme_silverdocs2010

RIDE RISE ROAR:
http://silverdocs.bside.com/2010/films/rideriseroar_silverdocs2010

Post by Matthew Radcliff