Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 7:30pm
Jeff Krulik: Nuggets
Aficionados of pop culture detritus know Jeff Krulik as co-director, with John Heyn, of the legendary Heavy Metal Parking Lot, the definitive fan-thropological study of drunken Judas Priest devotees cavorting outside Maryland’s now-defunct Capitol Centre arena in 1986. But true heads acknowledge Krulik as Washington DC’s underground auteur of weird Americana; his oeuvre of over fifty documentaries take on everything from the secret history of Lancelot Link, to a Congressional Librarian’s gargantuan porn collection, to the true tale of how Adolf Hitler’s top hat ended up in some guy’s closet in upstate New York.
Light Industry kicks off 2009 by inviting Jeff up to New York to present rarities and tidbits of hidden rock history culled from his personal archive and current projects, including...
Heavy Metal Picnic: Created from a recently unearthed trove of fan-made video, a look at what was going on in the Maryland suburbs a full year before the genesis of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. “This guy went to a big party in a field with hundreds of metalheads without any police—just a giant bacchanalian party with local doom metal bands,” says Jeff. “He took a camera and a stolen mic from CBS News and basically made a home movie.”
Led Zeppelin Played Here: 1969 was the year Led Zeppelin broke, and their first Washington area concert was a local youth center gymnasium on the night of Richard Nixon's inauguration. Seeking out evidence for this historic show, Led Zeppelin Played Here uncovers the truth behind the tall tales of local rock lore.
Ambassador Theater Psychdedelic Memories: An oral history of the Ambassador Theater, Washington, DC's psychedelic concert and dance hall, which opened in the Summer of 1967. It didn't last long, but its short memorable run included five straight nights of Jimi Hendrix for $2 admission, the Hollies, Moby Grape and a drunken rant by Norman Mailer.
Plus, other surprises to pepper the evening. According to Jeff, he’ll also have Heavy Metal Parking Lot cued up if people really want to watch it again.
Followed by a discussion between Krulik and critic Michael Azerrad, author of Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991.
Tickets - $7, available at door.
Krulik will also be at Anthology Film Archives on Wednesday, January 7 at 8pm to introduce Cosmological Wonderland: The Films of Matthew Silver.