CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.!—break—>
Film Review: Excellent Rock Doc ‘Takeover!’ Goes on Tour with Band
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CHICAGO – “Takeover!” chronicles the unique and interesting story of Full Service, a rock band from Austin, Texas who decided that they were going to tour with 311 and Snoop Dogg…even if they didn’t know about it. The film plays tomorrow night, April 27, 2012 at the Dream Theater in Chicago and is followed by a Q & A and acoustic performance. It’s a good-natured, sweet, fun documentary about the power of creativity. Sometimes you don’t need money, food, a plan, enough gas, or even a stage — you just need your passion to play.
The guys in Full Service admit that the current market demands that bands try to find a new model to breakthrough from local success to national fame. Sure, you can play to small clubs and bar audiences for years but that’s not going to take you to the next level. The band is pretty similar in musical vibe to 311 and comes with long hair, beards, and a traveling van called “The Whale” (which they even play out of at one point to try to allow for easier escape when the authorities try to shut them down). As for their music, I wish there was more of it earlier in the actual film — a complete number or two would have been nice to start — to get a better vibe for the band’s groove.
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Then again, “Takeover!” isn’t really about the music of Full Service. It’s about how they get it to the people and what it means to them. They case the parking lots and arrival paths for the next 311 show and they try to figure out where to play, where to hand out demos, where to get people to sign up for mailing lists. Sometimes it works incredibly well. Sometimes it’s a complete disaster. The story of the Takeover Tour becomes the story of every band — ups and downs, successes followed by failures — and that’s when the movie really starts to work. It’s not about this specific band. It’s about being passionate about music and being willing to do whatever it takes to get your creative work to the people. It’s about being willing to throw it all out there and risk arrest and take hours of your life for, as one of them says at one point, maybe 50 new fans. But 50 in this city, and then 50 in the next, and so on and so on…
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Takeover!
Photo credit: Full Service