Music and film buffs, rejoice! Next week, Portland’s Jackpot Records takes over the Bagdad Theater on Hawthorne for their (free) 8th Annual Film & Music Festival.
The festival kicks off on Monday night (9/26) with a double feature: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector at 8 pm followed by the Portland premier of Nirvana – Live at the Paramount at 11 pm. Jackpot’s Hawthorne store manager, Jake, is particularly stoked about the Nirvana film and provided this synopsis:
Fresh off the release of what was soon becoming the seminal album of a generation, Nirvana took to the stage of Seattle’s famed Paramount Theatre to an unwavering homecoming crowd while on the road in support of Nevermind. Launching the nineteen song set with a brilliant cover of The Vaselines “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam,” the band cranks out their soon-to-be iconic songs “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Lithium” and “Breed,” while delivering earlier fan favorites “School,” “Love Buzz” and “About A Girl.” The Paramount concert is the only show ever shot of the band on 16mm film and has been transferred to an incredibly detailed 1080p high definition picture.
In conjunction with the premier, Jackpot will have copies of the film for sale as well as deluxe editions of Nevermind on CD and vinyl box sets in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
The remainder of the festival promises to be eclectic with Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines, and Mystery of Raymond Scott on the 27th, “Psych Night” (from what I gather, a 60’s and 70’s-inspired montage of audio-visual stimuli targeted to the “glassy-eyed”) on the 28th, Upside Down: The Creation Records Story on the 29th, and closing with Color Me Obsessed: a film about The Replacements on the 30th.
Music lovers, documentary junkies, stoners and cheapskates are likely to be camped out at the Bagdad for the entire week. My thanks goes to Jackpot Records for keeping Portland entertained.