If you are cynical, or unable to see past your own little corner of this world, this film will seem to you to be a regional self-love fest - a trip down nostalgia lane for a bunch of middle aged Midwestern hippies. If you love history, rock and roll, and all things sociological, then "Cowtown Ballroom: Sweet Jesus!" will hold you in thrall.
The makers of this documentary did a wondrous job given the dearth of film from either the era or the location of the film's subject, a Kansas City music venue whose legacy is far larger than the old roller rink in which it was sited, and much longer than it's three year run would seem to indicate. The concerts held there in the early 1970's are still talked about today amongst those of us who attended. The sterile, metal-detected, put your butt in the seat and keep it there concerts of today are as different from Cowtown shows as baby formula and moonshine, and CB:SJ! does an excellent job of taking us back to a simpler and often more fulfilling time in the music world. Moreover, the film gives us a brief, but earnest glimpse into the social trends and cultural environment that spawned Cowtown and many other venues like it across the country.
"Cowtown Ballroom: Sweet Jesus!" is for anyone who ever sat on the floor with their best girl, twisted up a fatty, and let the music flow over them with a thousand other long hairs like them. It is also for them to show their children that, yes, indeed, Mom and Dad were once cool.
The makers of this documentary did a wondrous job given the dearth of film from either the era or the location of the film's subject, a Kansas City music venue whose legacy is far larger than the old roller rink in which it was sited, and much longer than it's three year run would seem to indicate. The concerts held there in the early 1970's are still talked about today amongst those of us who attended. The sterile, metal-detected, put your butt in the seat and keep it there concerts of today are as different from Cowtown shows as baby formula and moonshine, and CB:SJ! does an excellent job of taking us back to a simpler and often more fulfilling time in the music world. Moreover, the film gives us a brief, but earnest glimpse into the social trends and cultural environment that spawned Cowtown and many other venues like it across the country.
"Cowtown Ballroom: Sweet Jesus!" is for anyone who ever sat on the floor with their best girl, twisted up a fatty, and let the music flow over them with a thousand other long hairs like them. It is also for them to show their children that, yes, indeed, Mom and Dad were once cool.