Festival Express review

Woodstock, Altamont and Isle Of Wight have become mythical landmarks in rock's glorious and tragic history. The two years that spanned the end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s were the heyday of the music festival. Love still ruled, but Meredith Hunter's violent death during the Rolling Stones' set at Altamont proved it was losing its grip. A few months later, in the summer of 1970, a trio of young, quixotic entrepreneurs tried to get the hippy culture back on the right track; literally.

The Festival Express was a train that spent five days rattling 2,150 miles across Canada. On board were some of the greatest acts of the day, including Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Band and Buddy Guy. Festival Express documents the extraordinary journey from Toronto to Winnipeg, covering the three outdoor concerts along the way. But what makes it more interesting than just the standard performance documentary is the footage of events on the train between concerts. The enterprising promoters had turned the train into a traveling party, providing the revelers with bountiful food, alcohol and equipment so they could spend the long hours between shows playing music.

Director Bob Smeaton, along with cinematographer Peter Bizou, who went on to win an Oscar for Mississippi Burning, are there to capture the impromptu jams that broke out. The sight of a wasted Rick Danko of the Band wrestling with consciousness and 'Ain't No More Cane' aided by Joplin and the Dead's Jerry Garcia is a highpoint. That all three are no longer alive (Joplin dying just three months later) only adds resonance.

Sadly the sense of harmony that existed on the train didn't extend to the live shows where audiences, aggrieved by the $16 ticket price, battled police in their efforts to gain free admittance. The resulting bad publicity meant half empty stadiums, but that didn't deter the performers from producing some cherished moments including The Grateful Dead's acoustic 'Don't Ease Me In', Sha Na Na rollicking through 'Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay' and The Band's stirring rendition of 'The Weight'.

But, without question, the film's star is Joplin. Her soul-bearing version of 'Cry Baby', with its blood curdling screams and brutally honest monologue about lost love, stirs a mix of goose bumps and tears. It's the most chillingly raw and moving performance by Joplin ever captured and is more than worth the price of admission alone.

That Festival Express contains so many other wonderful clips, including recent interviews with many of those involved, only makes the long wait for the footage of this little known event to finally reach the screen well worth it.