IT MIGHT GET LOUD

If you’re like me then your YouTube and Instagram algorithm has been pushing little bits of Davis Guggenheim’s 2008 documentary at you for years but you’ve never got around to watching it. What to do? Well, if you’re also like me you happen to curate a monthly series of music documentaries. Problem solved!

Sunday 10 August at Henkel Street Cinema brings you IT MIGHT GET LOUD, the seventh offering in this year’s Sunday School of Rock series.

But if you’re not like me, you might want to know a little bit more about this film. Director Davis Guggenheim brings together three iconic figures of rock guitar from three different generations who have each, in their own way, been hugely inspirational to other musicians. Page’s work in Led Zeppelin ushered the transition from the British Blues and Beat groups in the 60s to a global Hard Rock movement in the 70s. A generation later, David Evans aka “The Edge” completely changed what was expected of guitarists from the 80s onwards with his innovative use of stacked delay in U2. In the late 90s Jack White formed The White Stripes as part of a widespread lo-fi return to Delta Blues but with a particularly DIY/Punk aesthetic that embraced pawn shop guitars, cobbled together distortion units and a generous helping of Grungey angst.

In IT MIGHT GET LOUD you’ll see these iconic musicians not only revisit their beginnings and reflect on their particular artistic missions but you’ll also see them engage in that most fundamental act of musicianship – sharing. Page, Evans and White show each other (and us) how they play their most iconic riffs. There’s a moment when we see both White and Evans barely able to keep from pinching themselves as though they want to turn to each other and say, “He’s doing the thing! I can’t believe he’s doing the thing!” as Page plays “Whole Lotta Love”: a riff we know both White and Evans (and probably every other guitarist in the world) would have played in their bedrooms as children with or without guitars – pursed lips and all.

The film maker, Davis Guggenheim has become something of an icon in his own right. He’s responsible for three of the top 100 grossing documentaries of all time with IT MIGHT GET LOUD, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. In the early 2000s he was a producer and director for the legendary series DEADWOOD. His credits are too numerous to list here but the true cinephiles amongst you aren’t afraid to do a little bit of your own googling.

We can expect IT MIGHT GET LOUD to be great though – so don’t miss it!

Running time: 94 minutes