Louder Than Love
Hell’s Half Mile Film Fest
10/7/12
The State Theatre
This is a film that has gone places,
it’s got legs and a lot of mile sand even more accolades. It’s been to Detroit,
Chicago, Traverse City, Las Vegas, Ann Arbor, Nashville and the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame. Now it’s been to the jewel of Bay City, the legendary State
Theatre. The modest turnout was no doubt due to it being on a Sunday evening near
dusk. The director Tony D’Annunzio was missing in action having been called
back to his day job covering the Detroit Tigers playoff games. It’s tough
living a dream when you need to make a buck. There were a few folks in
attendance that had actually attended shows at the Grande Ballroom. I was not
part of that memory elite though I was able to brag to no one in particular
that I did trek down to the East Town Theatre in 1970/71. It was located on the
corner of Harper & Van Dyke, lovely neighborhood…for crime, dope, random
hijinks and other high crimes and misdemeanors. I saw the Kinks (twice), the
Rascals, Bob Seger, Steve Harley & the Cockney Rebel, Rita Coolidge and a
few others.
We settled in and looked around at
each other. Hmm, there were some old timers here for sure, those long-in-tooth
sixty somethings like me but there was a good mix of other generations. I had
an impulse to jump up and disavow any connection to those old farts but I just
sat quietly. I didn’t have the gumption or energy to reveal how stupidly vainglorious
I could be. All things considered the next two hours was one helluva roller
coaster ride. The story was well paced and the rhythm of the images on screen
kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting more. The audience seemed to be as one;
a psychedelic protoplasm with a shared vision of a moment in time when life was
fresh and new sounds were alerting our minds and bodies of another world. We
were witness to a film that helped document an era of great music, sexual
freedom, and political activism. Louder Than Love was able to capture the
camaraderie of young people exploring an alternate life style. I was enthralled
by the images portrayed in this historic film.
It can never be repeated
The story begins with a televised
address by LBJ declaring a State of Emergency and scenes of Detroit engulfed in
fire, a raging inferno that captured the rage of its forgotten residents. The
year was 1967 and the riots had started. There was fire everywhere, looting,
violence and police brutality. One young black man was asked why he didn’t
torch the Grande Ballroom. His response was simple and direct, “we didn’t burn
the Grande ‘cos they have music there, man.” Rock & Roll Music, the old
chestnut by Dick Wagner & the Frost was the first song of a twenty song
soundtrack that accompanied all those glorious images. There were period
photographs, music and footage of live performances as well as current
interviews with the musicians such as Roger Daltry (the Who), Wayne Kramer and
Machine Gun Thompson (the Mc5), Dick Wagner (the Frost), Ted Nugent (The Amboy
Dukes), John Sinclair, Alice Cooper and others.
Russ Gibb, a former school teacher,
got the idea for the Grande after a trip to the West Coast where he met Bill
Graham and visited the Fillmore West. The Byrds were playing that night and
there was a psychedelic light show. It was truly an eye opener for the somewhat
parochial Gibb. The music was too loud. Everything was wrong. But it was alive
and real. Freedom of expression, alternate lifestyles and the incredible music
co-existed in total harmony. He brought the Fillmore to Detroit and put his own
stamp on it – thanks to the influences of John Sinclair, The Fifth Estate
(alternate newspaper) and the counterculture that swirled around them. Before
the Grande the only music you heard in Detroit was the symphony. The balance
was changing like a runaway avalanche. It was vital but for only a short time
1966-70. John Sinclair developed an alternate community at Wayne State before
moving to Ann Arbor. Sinclair explained (tongue-in-cheek but profoundly
accurate and honest), “It was the only place for people to come and enjoy
themselves. We were weirdos with long hair and we would listen to blues and
jazz all the time. This was the only place to experience psychedelia except for
San Francisco.”
It was also apparent that the war
raging in Vietnam gave kids the idea that you might not be able to trust the
government. Wayne Kramer honed in on the connections between love, sex and also
thoughts and convictions. “It was part of Detroit’s industrial consciousness.
We work hard; we play hard. The music rocked HARD. The Grande was the Petri
dish.”
John Sinclair gave credit where credit was due;
”Bob Seger’s Heavy Music - that is
what Detroit is all about, Rob Tyner was a visionary, a genius.” Sinclair picked the NMc5 for the Grande. They
were the first band to play the Grande and the Last. They had a sheet of sound
that signaled to Grande folks to march in the streets and get political. Music,
art and politics were equal. The music was the pearls that held it together. It
happened for the good of the world.”
For many the Grande was the Holy
Grail. Everyone wanted to play there. The Who performed Tommy for the first
time in America at the Grande. In an unexpected moment of truth, their road
manager Tom Wright was offered a job managing the Grande. When Wright took the
job, the Who thought he moved up, far surpassing them. Hell, the Who wanted to
work for the Grande too! They had never seen such a responsive crowd that
actually knew the lyrics to their somewhat obscure deep album cuts.
The Grande was a supercharged sensory
overloaded environment with peculiar sights and sounds that promised every
Dionysian delight this side of paradise. The music and light show were a pure
psychedelic aphrodisiac. It was freedom without violence. Wayne Kramer put it
perfectly,”There was no violence, just a lot of loving – it was sexy.”
Louder than Love: The Grande Ballroom
Story is more than a movie. It is an historic document about a time and place
that no longer exists. It is the soundtrack for a cultural zeitgeist in America
that lasted for only a brief candle of time. It needs to be preserved. For Tony
D’Annunzio, It was a labor of love. There was no guaranteed pay off or
possibility of fame and notoriety. It is heartening to see a great movie that
deserves the accolades given. It was lovingly directed and produced by Tony
D’Annunzio and expertly edited by Karl Rausch. A great team
Before the Grande the only music you
heard in Detroit was the symphony. The Grande is gone; the symphony’s still
here. There is room for both. If only…
Peace
Bo White
