Review: Deerhoof's Milkman Ballet on DVD
A couple of weeks ago, KEXP had the ever-curious band Deerhoof on to play a live set. In addition to their catchy, addictive fare from their newly released (and excellently titled) album Friend Opportunity, they mentioned a school on a small island off the coast of Maine putting together a ballet based on their album Milkman. Deerhoof was blown away by the performance and said a DVD release was imminent. As a fan of all things strange, artistic and bizarre, I had to pick it up.
I was familiar with Deerhoof's work: a blend of discordant guitar riffs, marching drums and quiet female Japanese vocals. I had never listened to the full album Milkman, but the ballet was a great introduction to it. The sheer devotion and love of this album shows in the effort put forth. I mean, it's a freaking ballet. Caspian, Madame L. and I sat down one Friday night and prepared ourselves. We were rewarded with a little over an hour of perfect performance art. Hit the jump for my full review and links to preview and purchase this DVD. It's a must-have for your collection.
The first thing that struck me about the DVD was the quality. The editing is absolutely superb (throughout the ballet I was complimenting the editing style) and the DVD itself is very professionally put together, complete with scene selections and special features (!). What is presented to you is a seamless celebration of music. It's difficult to pick out any real vocals, and the music is hard to follow at first, but the whole time you are charmed by the fact that this is a K-12 school on a teensy island, and they all came together to put on a show for you. Middle schoolers walk onto the stage in plain white costumes, pushing ping pong balls around with their breath, while an older high school-aged girl sings in the background. A band plays throughout, seemingly comprised of the one senior in the school who can grow facial hair on guitar and keyboard, a bass player who completely rocks, maybe the lunch lady and the band teacher on trumpet and clarinet (I am making this up)... and everyone plays the kazoo (that part is true). The choreographer is the gym teacher, and I am pretty sure that the groundskeeper got involved somehow. What results is something akin to a modern revival of Fluxus, a stunning and ever fascinating mix of sights and sounds, ping pong ball fights and balloons. There's no distinct narrative, but you are drawn in by the choreography, and the clever way that they were able to coordinate an undulating mass of middle school-aged kids and actually have them pay attention and be interested.
It feels over way too soon, but luckily the special features can help ease the pain, with a photo gallery and a great interview with a member of Deerhoof, discussing how completely mind-blowing it is to have someone make a freaking ballet out of one of your albums.
Words cannot explain it. You have to check out the preview and then go order the DVD. It's only about $12 and proceeds go to building the kids a new school. A good cause and a great DVD. Tell them The Weekly Geek sent you.
Check out a preview of the DVD here.
Pitchfork has some GREAT photos of the event here.
Score: 5/5 Buy it!
What say you?!