Film

These are the ones that I managed to squeeze into a busy ten days:

They Call It Acid (Gordon Mason, 2009)

If you had a misspent youth dancing in damp fields in the English countryside at 6am, listening to the squelching sounds of a TB303, then you’ll love this. The history of the Acid House scene from Chicago to Ibiza to the huge raves of the late 80s and early 90s all around the UK – Shoom, Amnesia, Hedonism.

Bury the Hatchet (Aaron Walker, 2010)

As a fan of the TV drama series Treme, I was really looking forward to this documentary on the real-life “Indians” of New Orleans: African-Americans from the working-class districts who parade in elaborate costumes around Mardi Gras in tribute to the local Native Americans who hid runaway slaves in the days before abolition. Unfortunately this screening was plagued by technical problems so we didn’t get to see the whole thing. Hopefully they’ll repeat it next year.

Message to Love (Murray Lerner, 1997)

Sometimes referred to as the "British Woodstock," the Isle of Wight Festival of 1970 certainly had the musical talent - Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Leonard Cohen, The Doors. But unfortunately the love was in short supply, with a large contingent deciding that they didn’t want to pay the princely sum of three pounds to get in, so they tore down the fences.

Amazing Journey, The Story of the Who (Murray Lerner, 2007)

Another excellent contribution from this year’s featured director Murray Lerner on one of the UK’s finest rock bands, The Who. The film contains some wonderful black and white film footage of the band when they were still The High Numbers, playing live at a Mod club in Hampstead in 1963.

Toots & The Maytals, Reggae Got Soul (George Scott, 2011)

Everybody loves Toots Hibbert, the Jamaican Otis Redding, 66 years old and still rocking harder than ever, as anyone who has ever seen one of his Apolo shows will testify. All the great songs are here: “Funky Kingston,” “54-46,” “Pressure Drop” and some fine vintage footage of Kingston in the ‘70s.

The Sacred Triangle, Bowie, Iggy & Lou (Alec Lindsell, 2010)

When David Bowie created Ziggy Stardust in ’72, after years in the wilderness he could suddenly do no wrong – he was an international star. So he reached out to give a hand up to the two Americans who had been such an influence on him and from whom he had borrowed more than a little. The self-destructive iconoclast Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, walking way out on the wild side since the demise of The Velvet Underground. The albums born from these collaborations, Lou’s Transformer, The Stooges’ Raw Power and the aforementioned Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars, are now considered some of the greatest 70s rock records.