Where Are You, Jay Bennett?

I love Jay's music from early Wilco and the Mermaid Avenue sessions straight through to his later solo work, and I wish his talents were better-known. This film colored in additional detail about his life that made me appreciate his work all the more. What a tragedy that he was taken from us at a time when his life was on an upswing. While this film led me to revisit the previous documentary with fresh eyes, to me there are no villains in this story, just the sadness and resignation of well-meaning, extremely talented people drifting apart. Actually, scratch that: the villain in the story is the U. S. healthcare system.

I saw the premier in Chicago and enjoyed the thorough, emotional filmmaking. Jay Bennett was a musical genius and the filmmakers did a great job showcasing his unique personality. Highly recommend this for Wilco fans or music fans in general.

Jay was a complicated genius whose life would take several seasons of a docudramedy musical to even begin to scratch the surface. The filmmakers did a near perfect job of whittling things down to an appetite-whetting sample to entice anyone who enjoys music to delve deep into what remains of Mr. Bennett's legacy. A compelling and fascinating story well-told.

When I first heard of the documentary, I had just missed being part of the Kickstarter campaign. The filmmaker was kind enough to give me an update to its status. I received a copy of the DVD through a Record Store Day release which included a double vinyl set which included Jay's last two and extremely rare solo recordings, Whatever Happened I Apologize and Kicking At The Perfumed Air along with the DVD of the documentary. Jay's story is emotionally told through his mother and brother who shared so much about Jay's early years, Ken Coomer, former Wilco drummer, who added tremendous insight to the Wilco years and Edward Burch who collaborated with Jay during his solo years, amongst others. This documentary is an absolute must for Wilco fans.

I'll admit as a huge Wilco fan (and therefore a bit "protective" of Jeff Tweedy maybe?) I was nervous to see this film as I thought it might position Tweedy as the villain and Jay as the hero (to flip the script from I Am Trying To Break Your Heart). But this film didn't do that. It was an intricate study of a complex person who happened to be a multi-instrumental genius singer-songwriter. It helped fill in so much of the picture of someone who was instrumental (no pun intended) in pushing Wilco to its highest heights - but also someone who, ultimately, seemed to have an insatiable desire to constantly push boundaries and ride the lightning in such a way that just was not sustainable in a band context. I feel more empathy for Jay certainly than I did before this film, and I also understand my favorite band (and why the Jay era is my favorite era) better. It is artfully done but not precious - great use of live concert footage, interviews, animation, and music. The only thing I think would have improved it was hearing from other collaborators who knew or worked with Jay but as documentary fillmmakers you can't control who will or won't speak to you! Very engaging and I look forward to owning the DVD when it comes out, I will watch it again and will definitely delve into the extra footage.