D Tour

Back in 2006, Rogue Wave drummer Pat Spurgeon's kidney did what few bodily organs can do: It made national headlines. The East Bay–based musician was actually born with just one kidney, and it nearly killed him in 1993. He received a transplant, but that transplant began collapsing, as they usually do. Spurgeon undertook dialysis and put his name on the California donor list — a list with an average wait of six years. Around the same time, local filmmaker Jim Granato began documenting the Indiana-bred musician's search for a new organ. The resulting film, D Tour, which won the Golden Gate Award for Best Bay Area Documentary Feature at the S.F. International Film Festival earlier this year, is an unflinching look at the horrors of kidney failure. Spurgeon underwent onerous, twice-daily dialysis treatments and the endless disappointments of incompatible donors while enduring the long van rides, sleepless nights, and dingy rock clubs that define the indie-rock lifestyle. Eventually, his plight was written up in newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, and the film captures one of the resulting benefit shows, featuring performances by Ben Gibbard, Nada Surf, and John Vanderslice. While Spurgeon's predicament drives the film, the linchpin of the narrative is Rogue Wave's then-bassist, Evan Farrell, who comes off as a scruffy pixie with a heart as big as a monster truck. Director Granato and drummer Pat Spurgeon appear in person.
Tue., Nov. 3, 7 p.m., 2009