Mini-Review: DiG!
I just watched the movie DiG!, a winning documentary from Sundance last year that hasn’t yet hit on DVD. I guess it’s nice to have the Sundance Channel (even though I like it less than IFC.) Anyway, I digress.
The film is about the contentious relationship between the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. It’s not like they had some big battle of the bands or something, but they each respected each other’s music, made the same kind of music, and travelled in the same musical circles.
Whereas the Dandy’s began to experience a measure of commercial success (you’ve definitely heard some of their songs), BJM imploded under the weight of their volatile and disturbed leader Anton. People began attending their shows just to see what kind of uncomfortable on stage brawl the band would get themselves into.
It’s a fascinating documentary to watch. The Dandy’s are a clean band who all get along. But some think they’re selling out, or not being as creative as BJM. Anton is a fucked up, strung-out, sometime-loser who self destructs because he can’t have or can’t deal with success.
Catch it on Sundance, or catch the DVD in April.
Movie Grade: A-