The Grass Is Dead

Bluegrass is a synonym for geezer music, most places. And we say, Go geezers! Nothing wrong with grampa picking a banjo on the porch. But every 20 years or so, some crazy subculture people get fascinated with bluegrass and do weird things. Case in point: David Grisman, who did a psychedelic take on it about 30 years ago. These days, it's the punks who've gotten their teeth into it. In a new concert movie shot at Café du Nord, Good Evening, Folks, We're the Pine Box Boys, the title band thunders through a set of mostly murder ballads: Punks love violence, and bluegrass has a rich vein of it. With its red-lit look and picking-finger closeups, the film faithfully re-creates the experience of a live show. Director Dr. Astronaut Body includes plenty of audience hooting, without which a Pine Box Boys show would make no sense.
Fri., Jan. 23, 8 p.m., 2009