Beulah - A Good Band Is Easy to Kill
By Mike Mess A Good Band Is Easy to Kill bills itself
as the “last days of the best band you never heard”
but it is more a document of the strong bond music creates between
friends. It starts out with Miles Kurosky declaring that “Yoko,”
Beulah’s latest release, is better than Bob Dylan’s
”Blood on the Tracks” and leads to the declaration “fuck
Bob Dylan!” Honestly, if a band pours its heart onto a record
and a tour they should believe this without question. He goes on
to state that he’d love to own a big house and a Volvo and
be famous making music more than anything. This is the story of
the last days of a great band; but it’s more a document to
the loss of one’s passion for music.
Beulah was formed in 1996 when two co-workers, Miles and Bill Swan,
came together to make an low-fi recording of some of their musical
ideas; and they say you shouldn’t fish off the company pier.
Soon after, the two added more members and became part of the infamous
Elephant 6 label. Although, the band struggled to keep a consistent
lineup and never released two records on the same level they thrived
growing musically with each release and gaining a loyal local and
national following.
Beulah’s final month-long tour, managed by Miles, with John
Vanderslice in support begins in Los Angeles and circles the country
back to the band’s home of San Francisco. Along the way, the
film gives an accurate depiction of a band on a van tour and having
a good time despite the problems that may arise. The concert footage
is very good and the sound great throughout most the film. There
are tons on laughs with Vanderslice supplying plenty of gags as
well including the funniest moment.
The band clearly loves playing live and shares it with their fans
while on tour until they reach Toronto where there is a run in with
a very anti-American Canadian. The tone of the film seems to change
here and it becomes apparent that disenchantment has invaded the
band, at least in the leading member Miles. Beulah finally returns
to San Francisco and he explains in an overdub that “everybody’s
gotta break up in a band” and that if they “decide they
can’t live without each other” then they’ll make
another record. It is a very anti-climactic ending considering the
bands camaraderie.
The DVD includes over two hours of extras including seventeen songs
performed live and twenty deleted scenes. During one of the deleted
scenes Miles fully explains his disenchantment describing his loss
of love for music and especially for the “indie scene.”
The only thing that has kept him going has been his love for making
music with this specific group of people. Sounds like he needs a
break…sometimes we all do. Hopefully, Beulah and Miles will
realize that he can be happy and financially stable playing music
and enriching the lives of others and the band as well. I recommend
this movie to anyone feeling a bit overwhelmed the amount of music
these days or anyone who likes great pop music.
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