Kim Gordon. Photo by Gerry Visco.
“Where the
devil is the devil?” I asked my friend Louis. I’ve never seen Kenneth Anger in the flesh. I didn’t know what
to look for, although the notorious filmmaker and author of the Hollywood
Babylon books was
an important icon of my youth, for both his experimental films and his dishy
but intensely intimate unearthing of Hollywood lore. Don’t forget the supposed
curses he put on naughty Marianne Faithful and Roger Ebert. I was on my best behavior; I’ve
already had had my share of bad luck.
It was
fitting the Anthology people had snagged Anger as their special guest of honor
for their gala. The Archives is a treasure trove of celluloid on First and
First, where no film is too crazy or too obscure. Looking at the place’s
schedule has always overwhelmed me with guilt. Skip that shit at the
multiplex—we should all be going to Anthology Archives every damned day!
The
entertainment of the night was definitely worth the three or four hours it took
to unfold. The band Jihae was adorably trip-hoppy. The Virgins’ lead singer wore a retro pair of
spandex shorts but by contrast his band’s set was subdued. Sonic Youth, however, was cooking. Kim
Gordon did the
tango with her bass and Thurston Moore was flipping around his mop of hair like they did
back when the headbangers had their own ball.
“No pictures
of Lou Reed,”
one of the PR people with a clipboard told me in a ferocious whisper. “OK. But
I think we should have a fundraiser in support of Lou’s facelift,” I quipped.
She smiled. Ignoring Reed wasn’t much of a problem.
Cult writer Jonathan
Shaw wandered by,
his gold teeth gleaming in the dark. “I just arrived off the plane from
Brazil,” he said, confirming my hunch that the freaks only come out at night
for Kenneth Anger.
The man of
the hour came out with Brian Butler for a set with their band Technicolor Skull. The music they made was, not
surprisingly, dark and mystical, and while they played, Anger’s films flickered
eerily on a screen and smoke floated over the stage. I could almost reach out
and touch them but I didn’t want to get burnt.
