The Detroit Masonic Temple Theatre building is a massive, imposing place. It’s gorgeous, and this is the first thing we saw there.
We were there to see John Carpenter’s live film music retrospective, so this sign was a good one that the show would be outstanding.
Carpenter and his band (which includes his son, Cory, on keyboards and synthesizers, and his godson, Daniel Davies on lead guitar) have been on tour most of the summer and the Detroit date was one of the last three in the U.S. before embarking on a tour of Europe and the United Kingdom. I wasn’t going to miss this show, and I was delighted to see a screening of Escape from New York had been added to the bill since I bought the tickets. The screening was a hoot, with people hissing every time Snake Plissken was on screen, cheering for every major cast member, and laughing at Lee Van Cleef’s giant “futuristic” walkie-talkie.
Carpenter and crew opened with the Escape from New York theme and then gave us a great show combining film theme music and cuts from his two recent albums – Lost Themes and Lost Themes II.
“Vortex” from Lost Themes was particularly good live, and the crowd went crazy for the theme to Assault on Precinct 13. Of course, they put a fog machine to good use for the theme from The Fog (one of the best ghost movies ever made).
The crowd was having a ball (and many were hammered drunk) by this point. The theatre’s air conditioning was working at minimal levels, so everyone in the joint was sweaty and a bit rowdy. We would’ve been miserable had it not been for Carpenter and his band tearing it up through the theme to Big Trouble in Little China and nice cuts from Lost Themes II like “Distant Dream.” Davies, by the way, is a great guitarist.
The crowd went absolutely nuts when this happened.
The subliminal messages from They Live played on the screen, cutting into the film scenes shown throughout the theme. The movie, which is more prescient now than ever, and its theme struck a chord with the audience, and it was great to see the whole band wearing sunglasses in the spirit of Roddy Piper and Keith David.
Of course, they got a standing ovation for the Halloween theme.
I was also delighted to see and hear them play the themes from some of Carpenter’s lesser-seen works – In the Mouth of Madness (which I really need to see again) and the completely bonkers Prince of Darkness. They ended with Carpenter telling us, “Remember, as you go home, drive safe. Christine is out there!” before launching in to the Christine theme.
It was a great show, and one I’m glad I didn’t miss. Catch them if you can. It’s a must-see if you’re a fan of horror films, film scores, Carpenter’s work, or cinema.
Keep your mind open.
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