In “Revenge of The Mekons”, filmmaker Joe Angio takes us into the eccentric world of one of the world’s longest-running, least popular bands. A “wide disparity between their unrivaled critical acclaim and mass indifference” as the director explains. The Mekons arrived in 1977 during the first wave of British punk rock where they played small venues next to performers like Billy Idol, the Damned, the Buzzcocks, Wire, the Sex Pistols and even Bono, all of whom would break out in a way The Mekons never did. As their contemporaries went on to become some of the world’s most influential rock bands, the strange group of art school students who formed The Mekons eventually became “regular” husbands and wives who just happen to record music and tour during their free time.
Since 1979 they have released over eighteen albums as well as myriad EPs and compilations, but other than their devoted fanbase, music scholars and critics, very few people - even so-called punk lovers - know about their existence. Greil Marcus proclaimed they are “best known as the band that took punk ideology most seriously” and Angio’s infectiously energetic documentary shows why they are still around.
“I came in on the late side...I guess it would be the midway point now, around 1993, after moving from Chicago” he explained, “I learned about The Mekons from a colleague and took to them immediately when I saw them live”, the band which is currently comprised of eight members including founders Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh, has kept performing for over three decades and “they are one of those bands that ‘seal the deal’ when you see them perform” explained Angio.
On their longevity and why they keep “recruiting” new fans, the director explained, “one thing that separates them from many other rock bands is that their fans go to their shows and want to hear new music and their shows are never the same because they depend on who’s available to tour. They also have four to five singers depending on who was able to make it, so no two songs ever sound alike”. Watching footage from their performances perfectly sums up Angio’s belief that “they are dealing with some inspired lunacy up there”.
“Revenge of The Mekons” is a project that had been in the works for more than six years, “I have friends who are close with Jon, so I sent him an email” revealed the director, “my last film hadn’t been released and we had to wait for Jon to pitch the project to all the band members and then in the fall of 2007 I hear back from him who tells me they were getting together in England to write their new record and they invited me to come”.
Watching The Mekons compose music together has a trance-like effect on the audience, during one scene we see them eat together, like one big family and then get into “business” mode as they answer an interviewer’s questions, “they’re really in the moment” said Angio. Watching the film you get the sense that the director himself is still mystified over what is it that the band has that makes them so compulsively watchable. At one point I had to confess that before watching the documentary I’d never heard of The Mekons myself, and Angio suggested I saw them live if I ever had the chance “they did this legendary show at the Mercury Lounge, where you saw them and realize there’s something magical about the band”.
The group’s synergy is often highlighted by how funny they are together, the sexy Sally Timms (a Helen Mirren look alike who was once married to SNL’s Fred Armisen) laughs as Jon takes on his version of a seductive dance during a performance, but look closer and while she mocks him in a friendly way, she’s also making sure he won’t trip on cables or instruments. I mentioned that their antics reminded me of a certain mockumentary classic, which led him to share the following anecdote, “one time after performing they were all on the van and realized they’d taken some piece of equipment that wasn’t theirs, we weren’t even out of London yet, and I thought ‘oh my god, this is Spinal Tap!’ laughed Angio. “I have no intention to mock them” he continued “they have this sense of heightened self deprecation, that they’ve allowed me to work with”.
For example we follow eccentric member Lu Edmonds as he retreats to Tajik territory, returning with strange instruments he adds to make the band’s music even richer. I couldn’t help but wonder how much Angio had to leave in the cutting floor in order to create a documentary that feels fulfilling but leaves us wanting more. “There is some great stuff we had to leave out, but it was great because my editor and I had a great symbiotic way of working” he explained, “after some screenings we were very apprehensive of specific scenes and after talking them over we both realized we were talking about the same thing”. Angio who is a former editor-in-chief of Time Out continued, “I have worked with deadlines, so I can let go of things, I can be a ruthless editor” he concluded.
One of the most interesting interviewees in the film is none other than celebrated author Jonathan Franzen, Angio explained how he became involved in the project, “my early research led me to a BBC interview where Franzen was discussing ‘The Corrections’, he was asked about any particular things he’d listened to while working on the novel and he answered ‘the Mekons, always the Mekons, I got in touch with him and at the drop of a hat said he’d participate”. Franzen even seems to have written characters based on his beloved band, “one of the characters seems very Mekons inspired, he’s this former indie rocker who’s gone country…” said Angio.
Like many other independent filmmakers, Angio recurred to crowdfunding by setting up a Kickstarter campaign which helped him finish the film “I can’t overstate how important it was and it also came at a crucial time” he expressed, “we burned through the money we had, went back to zero so Kickstarter was very important and it also helped us with the press, it raised awareness which can also go back to that thing of the Mekons being unrivaled critics darlings”.
“I would definitely go back to Kickstarter for a different project” he added, revealing that “80 to 85% of the people who contributed were total strangers, which was remarkable”. Speaking about the potential of crowdfunding he added “like anything else some people try to exploit it, I have a theory that people will develop Kickstarter fatigue, you can only hope [that in years to come] they don’t think of it as spam...”
Like me, I’m sure that there are many people who will undoubtedly leave the theater, head to Spotify and find as much music by The Mekons as possible. The director sounded excited when I told him how I’d reacted to the film, because this is what he was aiming for, “we are not looking to preach to the choir” he said “because their fans will always be there, now we want to introduce them to new people”. The film isn’t scheduled for a wide theatrical release just yet and when I asked about his interest in releasing the film soon, the director expressed “I sure am [interested], but it’s not really my decision. We’ve submitted screeners to festivals and some distributors are already asking us about it”. Based on how the audience I saw it with responded, once the film comes out, The Mekons might just break the spell and charm the entire world for once and for all.
"Revenge of the Mekons" is part of the 2013 DOC NYC. Learn about future screenings and the band by visiting www.mekonsmovie.com
