"...Stay Groovy...Be Free..."
You know the way you love a cult TV program like
"Ballers" or "Weeds" or "Lip Service" or
mainliner groundbreaking quality like "The Wire", "The Sopranos",
"Breaking Bad" - stretching back to "The West Wing",
"Northern Exposure" and "Frasier" - and you're bereft when
it's over - well Cameron Crowe's "Roadies" is the same for me.
Full of characters you actually like and storylines that unfold
like flowers and written from a place that is real and knows its subject inside
out - this affectionate and at times soppily nostalgic look at a typically
deranged and tattooed road crew on a tour in 2016 USA with a fictional band is
just so bloody entertaining.
Beautifully filmed in 4K and featuring a different city for each
episode as the tour winds towards L.A. (there's a unique opening collage every
week that shows that city's strengths and beauties, Seattle, New Orleans,
Houston etc) - at the heart of "Roadies" is good writing from
Director and ex Rolling Stone scribe Cameron Crowe. He's touched on this
territory before in his superb film "Almost Famous" where he goes on
the tour bus as a young journo back in the heyday of Seventies Rock. But all of
that history and knowledge is naught without the troupe of actors and actresses
to carry it off - and 15 or more characters in this 10-part Season 1 rock every
scene with f-words, dodgy hair decisions, unwashed bodies and way too many
espressos to keep them functioning as human beings.
The attraction/tension between Staton-House Band Tour Manager
Bill (played by Luke Wilson) and the gorgeous Production Manager Shelli (played
by Carla Gugino in her best part) is palpable - and I could look at
skateboarding Rigger and budding photographer Kelly Ann (played by England's
Imogen Poots) until my eyes bleed. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rafe Spall and Colson
Kelly (aka Machine Gun Kelly) all shine too as do Peter Cambor and Ethan
Michael Mora who plays one of the band's children who might or might not be the
spawn of Beelzebub.
There's very cool parts for Luis Guzman as Gooch the Tour Bus
Driver who talks a lot but never anything wise, Branscombe Richmond as Puna the
Indian Security guard whose in touch with all manner of spirits and can sense
crap-about-to-go-down from a hundred paces and absolute casting genius in Ron
White as Phil the 60-year old legendary roadie who spouts Jack Daniels wisdoms
at the drop of his leather Lynyrd Skynyrd hat and has shot two people who
annoyed him in his colourful past. Jacqueline Byres is the ditzy, loveable,
restraining-order groupie who sneaks into every gig by hook or by crook and
practically implodes if she gets near anything that resembles Tanc Sade and
Catero Colbert playing Christopher House and Tom Staton - the I can't live
with him but I can't live without him either songwriter nucleus of The
Staton-House Band. There's a hilarious Rainn Wilson as the pompous critic Bryce
Wilson naked on a piano in front of an audience - confessing his inner most feelings as
they YouTube his druggy meltdown (someone who took umbrage to his online dissing of
the band popped him a Joshua Tree root in his complimentary coffee).
Throw in cameo appearances from rock's founders Lindsey
Buckingham, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and new carriers of
the flame like The Head and The Heart, My Morning Jacket, Halsey, Lucius, Gary
Clark, Jr, Reignwolf, Frightened Rabbit, Best Coast, Jim James and Robyn
Hitchcock (to name but a few) - and you get something that's hugely
entertaining, funny, sexy, cool and rammed with references that an old fart
like me gets (Jackson Browne covering Little Feat's "Willin'" in
Episode 10). This is the kind of program that can namecheck Hendrix and Kenny G
in the same breath - play unheard material like "Maggot Brain" by
Funkadelic and "Mohamed's Radio" by Warren Zevon and fit them in as
if it was the most natural playlist in the world. Acoustic jams on the bus -
Halsey walking through the stands singing to an enrapt crew during her
soundcheck - Rosanna Arquette taking a photo of the band as they wreck a 'death
of Rock 'n' Roll' shoot in true smash-em-up Who style.
I warmed hugely to Cameron Crowe's recent movie "Aloha"
movie whilst others slagged it off - couldn't wait to tell us how he's lost his
touch with filmmaking and music in general (detractors for "Roadies"
want to tell you the same). But I find his writing warm and hopeful and humane
when so many other TV programs seem only to focus on brutality, torture and
nastiness as a badge of cool.
Sure "Roadies" is clunky in places – the relationship
between Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots) and the corporate axe-man Rafe Spall never
quite ignites in a truly believable way – but that's countered by amazingly
touching moments between other characters. In truth despite its flaws I loved
every minute of "Roadies" where episode after episode shined - even
if there was six different directors at the unruly helm. And you can't help but
feel that the family of actor journeymen and women making this were feeling
damn lucky themselves – blessed to have been involved in something so
effortlessly cool - enjoying every Tom Petty guitar string, Rolling Stones
plectrum and signed Led Zeppelin photo on the walls of gigs.
Everyone loves a road movie. Roll on Season 2 and Joy To The
World and Three Dog Nights to the entire cast, crew and writers...
