DiG!

Movie 3 and 1/2 Stars

DVD 4 Stars

R, 107 minutes

Anton Newcombe is not a household name, but to hear him tell it, he may be the most gifted musician of our time. Actually Newcombe’s talents are undeniable. As the creative force behind the Brian Jonestown Massacre, he’s a pioneer of the San Francisco rock revival that spawned such acts as the Dandy Warhols and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. However, his band’s lack of success is due not to a lack of talent, but a lack of control. Newcombe’s volatility and destructive nature is constantly derailing himself and his band.

DiG! is the sprawling yet intimate documentary of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols over the course of seven years. Beginning in 1995, when both bands were still underground and underdeveloped, the film chronicles the friendship that arose between the Dandys and Newcombe. At the time Newcombe was a local legend, and the BJM were churning out album after album. He was regarded by all around as this incredible creative force, but the drugs and the egos and the jealousy ate away at Newcombe’s chances of making it big.

While the Dandy Warhols were off working to build a career, Newcombe continually sabotaged his chances for success. Newcombe seems to be completely devoid of business acumen, and his inability to function sanely is maddening to those around him. After seven years, the Dandys became an international success, and Newcombe is still performing at small venues and fighting with the audience. Newcombe’s antics are maddening. He has so much talent, but it all goes to waste.

The film does a masterful job of revealing the strange relationship that exists between the two bands. They’re collaborators and competitors at the same time. Paring down seven years of footage into 100 minutes must be daunting as well. However, for the avid fan, there are over two hours of bonus footage on the DVD, along with music videos and live performances. There is no telling what the Brian Jonestown Massacre could have been, but Newcombe’s inability to function in the real world seems to have damned them to anonymity. But perhaps restraint and concession are too much to ask of a man who states, “I never apologize because I never make mistakes.”