Posted on 02/26/2017 7:25:40 AM PST by LS
Colin Hanks, Tom's son, has a new documentary out called "Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis." It is a moving study of Jesse Hughes, the leader of the "Eagles of Death Metal" and his band on their one-year anniversary concert in Paris after the Bataclan Islamic terror shootings.
First, the band isn't particularly aptly named. It is NOT a "metal" band in the same sense as Metallica or Iron Maiden. EOD is in fact more punkish, traditional garage grunge rock and roll. I personally like some of their songs.
Hughes is an emotional guy, the son of a rocker. On the night of the attack, he and his band members rushed off stage to a corner that was concealed as the shooting went on. One of the band members was perceptive enough to say, "Wait til they reload, then we go." Sure enough, Hughes saw the shooter in the balcony drop his clip from his rifle and it fell right at the feet of the shooter below. EOD ran for it, out a side exit. But the guitarist had already dived into a bathroom and locked the door. Another gunman sprayed the door, then tried to break it down, unsuccessfully.
Needless to say, the events severely affected the band.
As the police arrived, the Islamic whackjobs blew themselves up with grenades, including the one outside the guitarist's bathroom door. When the police finally freed the guitarist, he had to step over the exploded guts of the gunman. He began to drink heavily.
Many will say, "Well, our soldiers and Marines see this all the time." Correct. But there is a certain aspect of the job that you know, going in, you may very well see this. Few musicians ever expect to see this kind of carnage.
Just before the concert in 2016, Hughes was interviewed on French TV and was asked about gun control. "Did gun control help anyone inside the Bataclan that night?" he retorted. He added, maybe in a perfect world there would be no guns, but until then, "Maybe everyone should have a gun." He said "I'm here to talk music, not politics," leading me to think (perhaps wrongly) that he had some politically incorrect world views that might not have gone well there.
All in all, a very good documentary, lacking only some of the inside-the-club footage that has emerged elsewhere. One of the best scenes is that Josh Homme, who was not at Bataclan that night in Feb. 2015, flew to be with the band on its reappearance. Homme convinced Hughes, who was barely keeping it together, that the French people needed him to be strong, in essence, to be the American hero. He bucked up, did not break down at all, and put on a great show.
I saw this, one of the best documentaries you will ever see.
I thought Hughes, given how he was breaking down earlier, did a heroic job in the concert itself. A true pro.
I’m a little too old to be up on EODM, other than what I knew about the terrorist attack, but it’s a great documentary, and Hughes is a fascinating rock ‘n roll character. Their music is really good. Also, Colin Hanks has proven to be a talented documentarian, I also recommend “All Thing Must Pass”, his film on the rise and fall of Tower Records.
WHere can we watch this?
Oh, yes, I saw that. Forgot that was his.
I thought EOD was heavy metal, but after hearing the songs, I like many. Yes, Hughes is quite a different fellow.
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