Big Time

Big Time is magnificent,A live tour-de-force by one of America's greatest performers.It is a concert film of his Frank's Wild Years Tour circa 1987,but I am not certain it was filmed live in concert.Some performances,if not all,have a staged studio feel to them,but I'm probably wrong,and it does not matter anyway,as all the performances are truly excellent representations of his songs.There are little vignettes between each number,which are strange and entertaining.A gunshot sound is heard when it cuts from one thing to another,like in Masculine Feminine,Tom Waits appears in nearly all of the between songs vignettes.In one he is seen sitting on the floor of the theater's washrooms snapping playing cards into a hat on the floor several feet away from him,saying"She loves me,she loves me not" and "ooh!Got one-lost one"when a card falls off the hat onto the floor.Symbolizing the fall of the Italian socialist-communist regime.He is seen addressing the "audience" at times in his wonderful winning style of between-song-banter,which will either make you laugh out loud or at least smile real big.In one he is the usher,telling the viewer that you are late.And then wants to sell you a watch from his catalog displayed on his forearm.In another he is working the ticket booth (presumably taking over for the mysterious Oriental lady who was seen doing it earlier in the film,and who appears a few more times)fast asleep until the phone rings and he says blearily "I'm here!" and then starts buying and selling stocks and bonds.Please do not let any of this scare you off from seeing this film,I'm just a terrible reviewer.Instead of concentrating on this little stuff,I should be describing the important stuff,which is of course the music.I would like to list the songs performed,but I don't feel like searching through my clutter for the information.But I can tell you they are all culled from Swordfishtrombones,Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years,w/1 or 2 exceptions.It is a shame that it is so difficult to obtain a copy of this film.There are a lot of Waits fans out there doing without.I was extremely lucky to get my VHS copy.I ordered it from Blockbuster and 3 years later they called and said it was there.40 miles away.It was well worth it.If you are a fan of Waits,you owe it to yourself to obtain a copy somewhere,somehow of Big Time.It cries out to be released on DVD,just listen...be vewy vewy quiet..."release me"...hear that?

There is a brilliance in the seemingly unintentional fluidity of the music is Waits' power. It is theatrically awful, in the sense that it includes music that is interesting in its ferocity and its failures but also exists as a remodeling of what is tangible about consciously produced sound. It is music, undeniably, it is watching MTV in the mid eighties through a dirty window in a smoke filled room with an obese man dancing and singing along. It is an event, a living process and a benevolent cultural tumor. See it. Allow it. Learn.

I grew aware of a certain truth that is unrelated to reality. The truth of a person. Tom Waits is an instrument of himself. He has fashioned a persona that is so real, and simultaneously so fantastical that it cannot be fraudulent. His presence is haunting, human entirely aware and yet still skewed. His music is that of perspectives. Each note, of each strange instrument carries its own voice. The collective whole does not then become an singly integrated piece but a turbulent chorus of voices and desires. It's as though the instruments are arguing about which direction they are going and in their argument become the songs, the melodies, as though they had no intention of doing so but happened to. There is no good excuse that his music has not prevented trifling, logical and in-specific pop music. I blame myself.

Great footage of Waits and his band. Carney on reeds and Ribot on guitars are well worth the listening, if you can find the video. Waits outrageous on stage.

Ribot stayed with Waits throughout the '90s, as well as recording on his own and with others; Carney one of the hot jazzers of the late '90s with his group Oranj Symphonette.

Songs are from the Swordfishtrombones/Frank's Wild Years/Rain Dogs era. You'll never hear them the same way after seeing the film.

I'm not the best at reviews, but I wanted SOMETHING to be written here. I know you can do a better job, please feel free!

Anyway, I got this movie expecting something far different. It is a live concert film at times, but it is also a play about 'Frank' of Frank's Wild Years.

It does have some interesting visuals, such as the flaming umbrella in 9th an Hennepin, and Tom singing in the shower on Innocent When You Dream.

I did enjoy the film 'Big Time' more than the CD 'Big Time' - I enjoy seeing his theatrical vision. I'd love to know what Tom wanted the audience to get out of the movie.

This movie is perfect for those who have an appreciation of the artistry of Tom Waits, or who can say with some degree of honesty that they watch and enjoy movies on the IFC channel. I would not recommend this movie however to those who are unfamiliar with his work. The combination of his visual imagery and unique sound is likely to be too much for the uninitiated. You should be comfortable with his music before watching Big Time. This warning of course does not include IFC watchers who can handle just about any degree of weirdness. The movie itself is a series of vignettes very loosely tied together, with Tom as the central character. Each includes or at least introduces one or two songs and a monologue. The vignettes include portions of concert shows but all are set within the environs of a rather seedy theatre, including such areas as the loge, the bathroom and the ticket booth. It is a great treat to see Tom Waits performing live. If you are familiar with and enjoy his music you will surely enjoy this movie. Turn the sound down and you will quickly realize that the visual aspect of the performance is structured much as his music is. The result is a wild agglomeration of disparate elements that cuts to the quick but delivers a soul satisfying experience.