★ 10 / 10
The Craziest Live Band You've Never Seen? Not Hyperbole. I Was There.
dr_midnight32
In my early 20s, Nyabinghi in Youngstown was a 15 minute drive to one of the best bars around. Crapy-oke in Wednesday night was a weekly staple, the regular…
In my early 20s, Nyabinghi in Youngstown was a 15 minute drive to one of the best bars around. Crapy-oke in Wednesday night was a weekly staple, the regular bartenders were great (heaviest hands in Youngstown), and it had the most eclectic jukebox I've ever encountered in my life. On the weekends, the bands that played there were just as eclectic. We didn't go every weekend, but we went every time Gil Mantera's Party Dream played.FAR from anything close to the normal music I listen to (mostly oldies), Gil Mantera made me a fan with their anything goes performances, solid synthpop music, and stream of consciousness lyrics. The energy in the room was unlike any other band I've ever seen perform. Anything could happen at any time. Yes, that phrase is often used where it's not really applicable, but here, it's the truth. You see some of that in the doc. At first blush, they just looked like they were making asses of themselves. Yet, when the music kicked in and they started spraying down the crowd with PBR, lighting their public hair on fire, or going off on each other, you got drawn into the spectacle, performance, and free-floating energy.In my life in suburban Ohio, I would NEVER think that anyone would make a documentary about anything I experienced first-hand around here. Yet, when I stumbled across this, I was both flabbergasted and unsurprised (after I thought about it) that they were the subject of a doc. Thankfully, it's a well-made work that tells their story in a very entertaining way, chock full of performances and insightful interviews.Nyabinghi is long gone, my then friends have all scattered, and we all woke up from the Party Dream. Occasionally, one of their lyrics or a bit of their banter would pop into my head and I'd wonder what became of them. It's nice to finally know.
★ 9 / 10
Great Music Documentary
davidhagele
A very entertaining music documentary about 2 brothers from Youngstown, OH who managed to both compose some great music & be creatively unique on stage.…
A very entertaining music documentary about 2 brothers from Youngstown, OH who managed to both compose some great music & be creatively unique on stage.
Smartly produced & directed, this shows a story of a band who had a cult following & did things on stage that you didn't think was possible. The producers did a great job of both telling you a story in which you don't get lost along the way AND inserting some solid interviews as well. You can certainly tell that "Party Dream" had heaps of footage of these characters in which they could've shown you more than just 75 minutes worth.
Overall, I'd recommend watching this as it's a great combo of good interviews, good music & a very good story. You'll walk away thinking, how did I miss out on these guys when they were touring???!?
80%
AUDIENCE
8.5/10
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