Though most will immediately connect the name John Carpenter with iconic director, many do not know that the legendary filmmaker is also the composer of most of his works – think The Fog, Escape from New York, Halloween (considered one of the greatest horror scores of all-time) and so many others. So, when it was announced that Carpenter would be doing a North American concert tour called “Anthology” – the title of his new album, needless to say, it was on my radar.
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Daniel Davies (left) and Cody Carpenter (right)
Carpenter visited the M Telus ampitheatre (formerly the Metropolis) in Montreal this past Monday, the 13th of November, and, as you likely guessed, I was there. Fusing horror motifs, synthesizers, and stadium-sized rock n roll together, it was a powerful, emotive night led by the maestro himself. Rearranging each of his memorable scores into approximately four minute segments, the music alone brought the sold out, movie-crazy crowd back to the first time they experienced one of his films – though a montage of each movie’s greatest hits was projected onto a multi-angled screen behind the band. His son, Cody Carpenter (playing lead synthesizer), and lead guitarist/godson Daniel Davies (son of The Kinks’ rock legend Dave Davies), accompanied him both on the album and live, while, also on stage was drummer Scott Seiver, rhythm guitarist John Konesky and bassist John Spiker (all three also played a part in the making of the album).
Iconic filmmaker John Carpenter with Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams
I also had the honour of meeting John Carpenter as well as conducting a short interview with him. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Star Pick with the filmmaker in the near future.
I also thought I would pass along some footage from the stellar evening. If you are interested in checking it out, they are embedded within the reviews below – just click on the link of the movie review and you will find it. Also, you can just press the Youtube.com button found near the top of the page (between the Twitter insignia and the Search Bar), as they are also there.
The Thing: http://filmizon.com/movie_reviews/just-one-of-those-things/
Escape From New York: http://filmizon.com/movie_reviews/theres-no-escaping-this-one/
Halloween: http://filmizon.com/movie_reviews/its-halloween/
The Fog: http://filmizon.com/movie_reviews/weather-warning-in-effect/