Written by Izel Villarba, find more of his work here.
When everything locked down, what was the one thing you realized you missed the most? Was it going to the movies? Live music? Bars? Sports events? We didn’t realize how essential these experiences were to our lives until they were gone.
If you’re like me, you’ve subscribed to every streaming service to catch the latest film releases, knowing it’ll never match the theater experience, but pretending like it was close enough anyways (it’s not). Something I wish I did more of was tune into virtual sets by my favorite musicians. Maybe they’re not as intimate as they would be in person, but good virtual shows feel like the artist was in your bedroom singing to you.
One thing that I think is taken for granted – and existed well before the pandemic – is set footage. It’s the sort of archiving that feels like a time capsule and it’s incredibly valuable when you haven’t seen a show in who knows how long. Here’s one I watched recently, on a balmy night when I was really missing live music:
Maryland natives, Turnstile, are a band I discovered just before shit hit the fan in March of 2020. I was ready in anticipation for them to come to New York, only to find myself not being able to go to ANY show at all for a year and some change. Their music is as hardcore as hardcore gets, yet without the abrasiveness often associated with the genre. They’re at once both aggressive and romantic, explosive and melodic – high velocity punk with a groove. Formed in 2010, Turnstile have built a massive following; as evidenced in that absolutely insane video. Lead singer, Brendan Yates, belts his lyrics in a rage that feels blissfully welcoming while his bandmates shred with relentless physicality. Watching them feels reminiscent of a sporting event or theater production, combined with full blown audience participation.
Earlier this month the band announced movie theater screenings across the US for their short film, Turnstile Love Connection.
With an enticing tagline saying “you really gotta see it live”, I knew I had to go and “see it live”, though I was unsure what that meant in a movie theater.
The first part of the film opens with archival footage of the band’s pre-lockdown performances, set to the tune of old soul songs à la Shuggie Otis. On the big screen were scenes of people somersaulting, moshing, jumping side by side within 6 feet of each other in sweaty basements and venues while gentle lyrics of love and affection played over the speakers. The clips are bittersweet and nostalgic, romanticizing simpler times. This went on for about ten minutes before transitioning into a series of music videos presenting all new material by the band – “Holiday”, “No Surprise”, “Mystery”, “Turnstile Love Connection (TLC)” – that explore universal desires for love, purpose and connection. Some scenes include the band members wandering an abandoned stadium, a girl walking through crowds of people in careless splendor, and Brendan Yates holding onto the back of a mysterious, masked dirtbiker.
The biggest take away from the film was the ability to see it in an intimate space with complete strangers (tickets sold out), knowing that everyone around me had been coping with how to explore “universal desires for love, purpose and connection” as much as the band and myself throughout the pandemic. Our love for their music was enough to bring us back and closer together in this one-off experience, just like a live show. There was even a merch table waiting for us outside.
You can catch “Turnstile Love Connection” online!
You can follow Turnstile on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
