I first heard of this band during a trip to Minneapolis a few years ago. They were getting play in the local press and so I made a custom mix CD at a Sam Goody store (a great service that died an early death) to learn more. But it wasn’t until “Take Your Medicine” popped up on a College Girl mix that I was pulled in by Craig Minowa’s high-pitched, vulnerable voice and the band’s unforced yet forceful groove (think of Conor Obert fronting Poi Dog Pondering).
The band played in DC earlier this year and, though I didn’t get my lazy butt in gear, College Girl did and came back with a glowing report. And now, after seeing this beautifully made, emotionally effecting documentary, I am salivating for the next opportunity to see Cloud Cult live. I want to hug them.
As you might expect from a sprawling ensemble that’s as much an art collective as a touring act - they play with two painters on stage, creating canvases as the band performs (our boys Troubled Hubble did that on one tour, too) - Cloud Cult’s DVD is a well-considered mix of the musical and visual. At first, it plays as a straight-forward well-constructed rock doc - nicely shot live footage and backstage moments, home movies, and thoughtful interviews. Skillfully directed and edited by John Paul Burgess, with artwork and illustration by CC’s own painter-member Scott West, it’s stylish, coherent, informative and fun.
But about midway through, a bombshell drops in Minowa’s otherwise standard tale of trying to get a musical career going while also working as an organic farmer and environmental activist. I won’t say what happens so as not to spoil the emotional impact for those unfamiliar with the tale, but Minowa’s talk of community and spirituality and the healing power of music and art (he considers live shows “sacred territory”) suddenly takes on literal life-and-death importance.
Don’t get nervous - there’s no preaching or self-righteousness, just an engaging, inspiring example of nice people doing good things in a manner that makes you wish you could hang with these wonderful musicians. And, for the 100-minute length of this engrossing DVD, you can.
Bonus features include two music videos (“Everybody Here is a Cloud” is especially fun) and two live songs. And there’s also a digital download of 5 live tracks included, printed on plantable seed paper. (The band’s own Earthology Records is an intensely environmentally friendly company, using recycled jewel cases and paper, soy inks and geothermal energy at the studio to put real-world muscle behind their Utopian vision.)
I can’t recommend this band, its music and this DVD highly enough.
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