Festival Express
Festival Express | |
---|---|
Delaney and Bonnie Buddy Guy | |
Cinematography | Peter Biziou Bob Fiore Clarke Mackey |
Edited by | Eamonn Power |
Production companies | Apollo Films PeachTree Films |
Distributed by | Optimum Releasing[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Festival Express is a 2003 British
The film, released by
Concert tour
Festival Express was staged in three Canadian cities:
The event, initially billed as the Transcontinental Pop Festival, was developed and conceived by Ken Walker and promoted by Eaton-Walker Associates (consisting of Thor Eaton, George Eaton, and Ken Walker) and the concerts were produced and financed together with Industrial and Trade Shows of Canada (ITS) division of MacLean-Hunter Publishing Company and originally included the following cities:[5][7][8]
Date | City | Venue | Time | Admission | Attendance | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 24, 1970 ( St. Jean-Baptiste Day )
|
Montreal | Autostade | 12PM-12AM (planned) |
$12 ($10 advance) (planned) |
N/A | Originally planned for June 20–21, but was changed to June 24; show was cancelled by the city in mid-June, 1970, a few weeks prior to event[9][10] |
June 27–28, 1970 | Toronto | Exhibition Stadium (aka CNE Grandstand and CNE Exhibition Stadium) |
12PM-12AM | One Day – $10 ($9 advance) Two Day – $16 ($14 advance) |
37,000[11] | |
July 1, 1970 (Canada Day) |
Winnipeg | Winnipeg Stadium
|
12PM-12AM | $12 ($10 advance) | 4,600[12] | |
July 4–5, 1970 | Calgary | McMahon Stadium | 12PM-12AM | One Day – $10 ($9 advance) Two Day – $16 ($14 advance) |
20,000[11] | |
July 4–5, 1970 | Vancouver | PNE Empire Stadium | N/A | N/A | N/A | Venue could not be secured from the city and Vancouver was dropped from the tour in mid-April, 1970[10] |
The Montreal event was cancelled a few weeks before the scheduled date by
The tour ultimately began in Toronto at the CNE Grandstand, which was plagued with about 2,500 protestors who objected to what they viewed as exploitation by promoters charging $14 per ticket. The opposition was organized by the May 4th Movement (M4M), the left-rebel group that grew out of the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. They attempted to crash the gates and scale the fence, and clashed with police, resulting in injuries to both protesters and policemen. To help calm the crowd, Metro Police Inspector Walter Magahay asked the promoter, Ken Walker, to lower ticket prices, but this would have left the promoters unable to pay the musicians. Subsequently, Jerry Garcia, in conjunction with Magahay, was instrumental in calming the unruly crowd by arranging a spontaneous free "rehearsal" concert in nearby Coronation Park upon a flatbed truck, while the scheduled show continued at the stadium. Once the free concert, which began at about 7:00pm on June 27, was announced, most of the ticketless fans dispersed to Coronation Park, with an initial attendance of about 6,000, thereby resolving the protest. Once the show at the CNE Grandstand ended at 12:30am, another 6,000 fans went to the park for the remainder of the free concert, which lasted until about 4:00am on June 28. Playing at Coronation Park were The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird, James and the Good Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage (all of whom also performed at the CNE concert). Other local Toronto bands also played, including January, The People's Revolutionary Concert Band, Si Potma and P.M. Howard (of Beatlemania fame). There are some reports indicating a free concert was also performed on the second day, albeit to a much smaller crowd of about 500, as many of the protesters paid admission to the event on the second day. Many people spent the night and following day sleeping in the park until the second show at CNE Grandstand ended at 12:30am on June 29.[18][19][20]
On the way to Winnipeg, the second stop on the tour, the train stopped in Chapleau, Ontario, to replenish its dwindling alcohol supply, buying out the entire stock of a small liquor store.[21] The Winnipeg show had only a modest turnout of 4,600, partly due to fears about crowd violence based on the events in Toronto and partly due to the Manitoba Centennial appearance by Prime Minister Trudeau.[10] The event was not plagued by protests or violence, however.[19]
In Calgary, the third and final stop, the police wished to avoid the protests witnessed in Toronto and their presence seemed to subdue the crowds outside the stadium, though there were many complaints about the ticket prices. It was estimated[who?] that about 1,000 people managed to sneak in on Saturday by climbing fences early in the day, but security was tightened, and by the afternoon and Sunday, fewer people managed to breach the fences.[22] However, there was a heated altercation between promoter Ken Walker and Calgary mayor Rod Sykes after Sykes strongly suggested to Walker on Sunday afternoon that he open the gates and let the kids in free after the show was well underway. Walker, who was livid about the mayor's intrusion and his reference to Walker as "Eastern scum" "trying to skim" the young people of Calgary, claimed to have punched the mayor in the mouth, and boasted that he still had a scar on his hand to prove it.[23][24]
The tour had an original budget of about $900,000 (of which $500,000 was for musical talent), but largely due to less than predicted turnout, gross receipts were just over $500,000 and the project ultimately lost between $350,000 and $500,000 for the promoters.[11][19][23][24] Although the tour was a financial failure, it produced many notable performances,[citation needed] including some of the final performances by Janis Joplin, who would die about three months after the end of the tour. In the film, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead said, "Woodstock was a treat for the audience, but the train was a treat for the performers."[25] Jerry Garcia later said that what he remembers most about the tour is being "so blisteringly drunk".[26]
Songs
Performed in the film
|
Additional songs on DVD
Other Festival Express performances
|
Other festival performers
These festival performers were not featured in the film or DVD extras:
- Robert Charlebois
- Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (Delaney Bramlett sits in with Great Speckled Bird during "C.C. Rider" and Bonnie Bramlett can be seen on the train; their saxophonist Jerry Jumonville also appears.)
- The Ides of March
- James and The Good Brothers
- Mountain (member Leslie West can be seen jamming at the beginning of the film)
- Ten Years After (performed only in Toronto; performances of "I'm Goin' Home" and "Slow Blues in C" were filmed, but according to film producer Gavin Poolman in May 2011, lead guitarist and singer Alvin Lee wouldn't approve their appearance in the film, saying he thought his guitar was out of tune)
- Traffic (performed only in Toronto; on the DVD, promoter Ken Walker states that Traffic was on the train, but the band's record company wouldn't allow them to appear in the film. Two performances were filmed; however, according to film producer Gavin Poolman in May 2011, Steve Winwood's management refused permission for these to appear in the film.)
- The New Riders of the Purple Sage, which, in mid-1970, featured Jerry Garcia on pedal-steel guitar, as well as Mickey Hart as occasional percussionist. Also, John Dawson is seen in the "Ain't No More Cane" scene, sitting on the couch with Rick Danko and Janis Joplin, as they work through several drunken verses of the tune. Buddy Cagecan also be seen, performing as a member of Great Speckled Bird.
Film production
Because the Festival Express tour turned out to be a complete financial disaster, the promoters injuncted the film footage and the film project was shelved soon afterwards, as the footage mysteriously disappeared. Some of the film's reels turned up in the garage of the original producer Willem Poolman, where they had been stored for decades and used at various times as goal posts for ball hockey games played by his son Gavin when he was a teenager.
The plan to resurrect the film was started in 1999 by executive producer Garth Douglas and story consultant James Cullingham, who found many more reels in the Canadian National Film Archives vault, where it had been kept in pristine condition, unknown to the world. Garth got in touch with Gavin, who had grown up to become a film producer based in London, England. Gavin put the film together with his old high school friend John Trapman, and Bob Smeaton, double Grammy Award-winning director of The Beatles Anthology, was brought on board.
The music tracks were mixed at Toronto's MetalWorks Studios and produced by Eddie Kramer, Jimi Hendrix's producer, and engineer for Led Zeppelin, Woodstock, and Derek & The Dominos Live In Concert. The film was produced by London-based Apollo Films (a division of Apollo Media) together with PeachTree Films in Amsterdam.
Release
Premieres and festivals
Festival Express had its world premiere at the
The film was released theatrically on July 23, 2004, in the United States, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Scandinavia.[4]
Home media
A two-disc DVD for
A two-disc DVD for Region 4 was released in Australia in 2005 by
A Blu-ray disc for
Box-office reception
The film earned $1.2 million at the US Box Office, and the DVD went straight in at number 1 on the Music Video & Concert DVD top-sellers charts at
Legacy
See also
- Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter was on the trip, and soon after wrote "Might as Well", a song filled with imagery from the legendary trip that was often played live by Grateful Dead, but released as a studio tune on the 1976 Jerry Garcia solo album Reflections.[33][34]
References
- BBFC. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "TVGuide.com – Festival Express, Cast & Details". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-7806-4923-0).)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b c "Festival Express promotional website". Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ^ a b c McCracken, Melinda (1 May 1970). "A mobile rock festival for 4 cities" (PDF). The Globe and Mail (Toronto). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ Selvin, Joel (12 July 2004). "Film documenting ill-fated Canadian train tour by Dead, Joplin rumbles to life after decades in purgatory". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ McCracken, Melinda (18 April 1970). "Peace also has its hawks and doves in the pop festival business". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). p. 25.
- ^ a b Communication from Department of Permits and Licenses. Vancouver, BC. 6 April 1970.
- ^ a b "Accommodating pop festivals" (PDF). The Globe and Mail (Toronto). 12 June 1970. p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Bennett, Michael (24 October 1970). "Festival Express a financial loss for the promoters". The Sun (Vancouver). p. 33.
- ^ a b c "Festival Express Marred by Protests, Poor Attendance". Billboard. 25 July 1970. p. 56.
- ^ "Rock show financial disaster". Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon). 3 July 1970. p. 14.
- ^ Dampier, William (24 June 1970). "$16 ticket rock festival expects to lure 30,000". Toronto Daily Star. p. 50.
- ^ Bist, Dave (19 June 1970). "Summer's down is deceiving". Montreal Gazette. p. 41.
- ISBN 0-316-00998-9.
- ^ City Council Minutes. Vancouver, BC. 7 April 1970.
- ^ "Calgary Stampeders website". Stampeders.com. p.c. Rogers Lehew, former general manager of the Calgary Stampeders and McMahon Stadium. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ "Festival Express: bashed heads and bad trips". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). 29 June 1970. p. 15.
- ^ a b c Dalton, David; Cott, Jonathan (3 September 1970). "The Million Dollar Bash". Rolling Stone. pp. 30–34.
- ^ Wencer, David (17 November 2010). "The Festival Express: Canada's Travelling Music Festival". Heritage Toronto. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ Cullingham, James (25 May 2000). "Woodstock on wheels". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). pp. R1, R3.
- ^ Hamilton, Jacques (6 July 1970). "Festival Termed Success; City Police Win Praise". Calgary Herald. pp. 19, 22.
- ^ a b "Called 'scum' by mayor, promoter says". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). 11 November 1970. p. 9.
- ^ a b Adams, James (24 July 2004). "The tracks of his tears". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). pp. R01, R09.
- ^ Lèvesque, Robert (August 2008). "Festival Express 1970: Rock & Rail!". Via Destinations. 5 (4). Les Éditions Gesca: 20–21.
- ^ Benes, Steve (August 1, 2020). "Jerry Garcia: Discovered or at Least Busted (The Days Between)". Relix Media.
- ^ "The Band: A Musical History".
- ^ Festival Express - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Mumford's railroad revival: The band boarded the Big Easy Express for a US tour with a difference" interview by Sinead Garvanin 6 Music News, BBC Radio; 27/02/2012.
- ^ The Railroad Revival Tour Archived April 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine tour info.
- ^ "SXSW Film Announces 2012 Features Lineup; 'Big Easy Express' to Close Festival" by Nigel M. Smith, IndieWire; February 1, 2012
- ^ "SXSW: Mumford & Sons doc brings film festival to triumphant end" by Karen Valby, EW.com, Entertainment Weekly; March 18, 2012.
- ^ Forrester, James (2004). "Festival Express Takes Off". siegelproductions.ca. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ Dodd, David (7 January 1997). "The Annotated "Might As Well"". The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
External links
- Festival Express at IMDb
- Festival Express at AllMovie
- Song list
- Review