Dead End Drive-In: Now Showing – Vintage Trouble
Written by Ben Hughes
Sunday, 18 August 2013 03:00
Vintage Trouble – 80 Shows 100 Days – The Documentary
As humble as Vintage Trouble may be, the band or their management at least have been working to a plan this last two years, a definite road to success. Tour the UK, open for all these great bands, build a respectful fan base etc…sure that’s done and dusted, then do the same in the US…mmm, maybe not as simple as that, and maybe things have not exactly gone to plan. Should they have spent more time in the UK building a bigger fan base, should they have moved here even? It seems they got the ball rolling and then The Who tour happened and the plans changed, but hell, what do I know, I’m just a fan, I’m sure Doc McGhee knows what he’s doing, he’s worked with the best. Yet I get this feeling certain people were expecting them to be bigger at this stage than they actually are, why else would they film a documentary at such an early stage in their career? I may well be wrong, but whether they are still chasing the dream or just living for the moment and enjoying it, it just goes to show no matter how good you are live, how dedicated your fan base or how clever your management team are, there are no guarantees you are going to make it in this tough business, but make it or not, the guys in this band are still living the dream right now.
There’s a point in this documentary where guitarist Nalle Colt looks at the camera and says “We could get lucky you know” and he could well be right, because luck I think has a lot to do with it. As I type, the band are concentrating on the USA for a second time, the big push for ‘The Bomb Shelter Sessions’. If they do break big in their homeland it would be a truly remarkable feat, as Vintage Trouble are one of a kind, a new band in their forties playing soul music, is it possible for them to cross over to the mainstream? Who knows, it’s unchartered waters and I sure hope they do, only time will tell and in the grand scheme of things VT are still small fish swimming in a very large ocean, but they sure seem to be swimming in the right direction.
’80 Shows 100 Days’ is a double DVD release that is slightly different from the norm, the second disc here is a full gig from Glasgow that would normally be the selling point of any music DVD, but here it is the documentary that is the main feature. With most bands the documentary would be the extras section or the second disc. I believe this 45 minute film was originally intended to see the light of day as a bonus disc with the re-release of the debut album, but wisely I feel it has been released as a separate product in its own right. It documents a period in 2011 for the band, from their much talked about (and tweeted) appearance on Later…with Jools Holland in April to the packed out Jazz Cafe gig in London on 26th July.
Following their humble beginnings of just playing their local club Harvelles in LA, they went straight to the UK playing to a seated audience in theatres supporting Brian May, on to stadiums supporting Bon Jovi and then festival appearances and their own headline club shows, all in a period of just 100 days, and it worked because those headline shows started to sell out.
There are great informative and candid contributions from the band and the management team of Doc McGhee and Danny Francis. It documents a recording session they did at Abbey Road, and explains the meaning behind the red Persian carpet given to them by Danny Francis and the ritual of carrying the carpet and rolling it out to play on for each gig, “treat the carpet like the dream” he told them. Funnily enough the version of ‘Pelvis Pusher’ we hear played at this 
session sounds superior to the actual already released version to me, so it will be interesting to hear when these recordings will see the light of day.
There is one great moment where the guys are sat on their tour bus with Danny Francis discussing the release of the debut album and whether or not to add extra tracks to the already existing track list and the band not wanting to add anything extra or new and it’s made evident from this that it’s the band’s decision on what is to be released.
Another moment where Snake Sabo is seen briefing the band just before opening up for Bon Jovi where he says “you have 35 minutes to make these people forget about the band that goes on after you,” and that is exactly what this band are capable of doing and have proved they can do time and time again.
The Summer music festival appearances are also covered, and as drummer Richard Danielson explains, at some point during this period something happened and they started to sell out their own shows, a combination of people who had seen them on Jools Holand and supporting Bon Jovi it seems were drawn in by their live shows and wanted more. Supporting Bon Jovi saw them move up a level, as Ty explains, from playing to 7000 people they were suddenly playing to 70,000 people, it was a challenge that they graciously accepted.
There is lots of well shot quality footage of soundchecks with Brian May and Bon Jovi, plenty of crowd shot footage from the more intimate gigs and aftershows. I saw Vintage Trouble live four times during this period, at Fibbers, The Forum in Sheffield, Sowerby Bridge and The Cluny in Newcastle, and it brings back a lot of wonderful memories of the first Summer of Trouble, meeting a lot of like minded people who I keep seeing at gigs today, and as Ty explains everything they did up to that point was realised at the Jazz Cafe gig, a sold out headline show in London, packed with Troublemakers who only knew each other from Facebook and it was a big meet up for many.
As bassist Rick Barrio Dill goes on to explain, from Jools Holland to Jazz Cafe was a phase, one door closed and another one opened and the one most poignant final shot of this documentary sees the band in the dressing room post show, hugging and walking off wiping tears from their eyes, filled with emotion.
’80 Shows 100 Days’ is a great document and reminder for the fans who were there and also a fascinating and interesting insight into the touring world of Vintage Trouble, it’s just a great film of a hard-working up and coming band, and whether you like them or not as a music fan I feel it is a must-see film.
The second disc is a full headline show recorded at the O2 ABC in Glasgow on August 4th 2011, show 72 of 80 to be precise. Shot entirely in glorious black & white, it gives a distinct retro feel that fits with the band’s whole style and sound. It’s got everything you want from a Vintage Trouble gig and captures the VT live experience well, remember this was only a few short months after the Jools Holland show, the album had just been released over here and these were new songs to most in a packed room. Beautifully shot it mixes up some quality filming with some nice wobbly action close-ups and zooming to give that ‘being there in the crowd’ feel, great stuff indeed.
Also on this disc is a series of interviews with each band member, recorded a few days after their gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, again shot in black & white and cut in with live footage the guys explain among other things, the importance of their fan base, their thoughts and experiences on their time in the UK and with each of the guys talking for up to 10 minutes each it is more than just an added on afterthought.
This DVD was being sold at gigs this summer for the sum of £20, a bit pricey I thought for a 45 minute documentary, but ’80 Shows 100 Days’ is a quality product. The added attraction of a professionally shot, quality live gig and some great interviews make this a must have for Troublemakers and a worthwhile purchase for new fans and music lovers alike.
To prove a point almost that the Glasgow gig is secondary on this DVD, it seems someone forgot to include a tracklist with the artwork, so here it is for the geeks among us:
Love With Me
Still and Always Will
Total Strangers
Gracefully
Nancy Lee
You Better Believe It
Run Like The River
Not Alright By Me
Nobody Told Me
Jezebella
Pelvis Pusher
Strike Your Light (Right On Me)
Encore:
Blues Hand Me Down
Run Outta You