Mad Max with Live Score by Morricone Youth

Soundtrack for the apocalypse

NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS – The 1979 cult classic, Mad Max, shaped the way we think about our dystopian future, in which desolate, post-apocalyptic landscapes are the backdrop for a wild ride of feuds and vengeance. On Saturday, July 15, at 8:30pm, head to MASS MoCA for an outdoor screening, with an original re-score performed live by the hot New York City ensemble Morricone Youth — always one of our best nights of the summer.

Taking its name from film music maestro Ennio Morricone, Morricone Youth was formed in New York City in 1999 with the mission to re-interpret, perform, and record only “music written for the moving image.” Founded by guitarist Devon E. Levins, over the years the ensemble has been comprised of a rotating set of musicians with backgrounds ranging from punk, folk, psychedelic rock, and experimental music. What began as reinterpretations of film and TV soundtracks, soon developed into complete original compositions for silent films and cult classics. The ensemble’s lo-fi synth-infused “re-scores” are reminiscent of the noir thrillers, monster movies, and spaghetti westerns that inspire them, with everything from Middle Eastern flare to garage rock jams thrown in the mix. Morricone Youth performs their re-scores live throughout the country, electrifying the theaters, art spaces, and night skies that they play under.

Most recently the ensemble has embarked on a project to record albums for each of the 15 live scores it has performed to date. In the fall of 2016, the group released soundtracks to Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 German animated silent film Prince Achmed and George A. Romero’s 1968 zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. At MASS MoCA, Morricone Youth envelops the museum’s Courtyard C with its score inspired by the 1979 film Mad Max, which was released in January.

“A B-movie, with A-movie aspirations,” Mad Max is George Miller’s cult classic dystopian action movie set against the striking Australian outback (The Guardian). Inspired by his childhood in the bush and the graphic injuries he witnessed as an ER doctor, director Miller’s infamous Mad Max trilogy begins as society teeters on the brink of collapse. After becoming embroiled in a vengeful feud with a vicious motorcycle gang, protagonist Max Rockatansky’s origin story unfolds as the once-family man transforms into a desolate “road warrior.”

Considering action movies a natural extension of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd’s silent films, in which physicality, rather than plot, takes center stage, with Mad Max Miller sought to make “a silent movie, with sound” (NFSA). The resulting sparse narrative and visceral kinetic imagery make Mad Max the perfect canvas for Morricone Youth’s evocative soundscapes. The lo-fi, electro synth-wave score, with spaghetti western twangs and garage rock jams, breaks from the grandeur of composer Brian May’s original score, creating a soundtrack that plays up the gritty dystopian landscape that sets the scene. Sure to be one of the best events of the year, expect to be talking about this one long after the credits roll.

Join us for Mad Max with live score by Morricone Youth on Saturday, July 15, at 8:30pm. Lickety Split, MASS MoCA’s in-house café, serves up fresh salads, homemade soup, and lip-smacking pub fare. The MASS MoCA bar is always well-stocked with local beer and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Tickets are $16 for students, $20 in advance, $26 day of, and $32 preferred. Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open 10am to 6pm, Sundays–-Wednesdays, and 10am to 7pm, Thursdays–-Saturdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased online at massmoca.org.

Sponsorship
This performance is sponsored by the Hans and Kate Morris Fund for New Music.

Images
High-resolution images of MASS MoCA’s summer 2017 events are available through this link: bit.ly/mm2017summer.

About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making, displaying, and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. MASS MoCA nearly doubled its gallery space in spring 2017, with artist partnerships that include Laurie Anderson, the Louise Bourgeois Trust, Jenny Holzer, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and James Turrell.

Gallery admission is $20 for adults, $18 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is seasonal and currently on view. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.

Summer Hours (through September 4)
10am to 6pm, Sundays–Wednesdays
10am to 7pm, Thursdays–Saturdays

Download the Mad Max press release.