A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind was a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert and the three groups that must come together to perform on national television for the first time in years. The film was directed (and co-written) by prolific "mockumentarian" Christopher Guest.

Plot summary

After the death of an influential folk music producer (Irving Steinbloom), his children organize a reunion concert for the three most successful groups he ever worked with, in order to pay tribute to Irving's life. "The Folksmen", "The New Main Street Singers", and "Mitch & Mickey" all have their own issues with getting prepared for the concert. The New Main Street Singers are mostly new to the genre (being a reincarnation of the original Main Street Singers) and have a manager with a painfully bad sense of humor attempting to organize their antics. The Folksmen see the concert as an opportunity for a comeback, and while they express contempt for folk groups that have compromised the integrity of the genre for commercial success?an issue that comes to a head when a miscommunication about the concert playlist is discovered?they must find ways to engage a new generation of fans and accommodate a band member's unexpected lifestyle shift. Mitch and Mickey haven't spoken since a traumatic break-up decades before—now Mitch is a barely coherent emotional wreck, Mickey has married a model train enthusiast, and neither of them has played music in years. For these three groups to perform successfully on national public television, live, from New York City's Town Hall, will require a miracle of immense proportions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Folksmen

The Folksmen are a trio consisting of Mark Shubb (bass vocals and upright bass, played by Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (tenor vocals, guitar, and five-string banjo, played by Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (baritone vocals, guitar, and mandolin, played by Michael McKean). They appear to represent a parody of The Weavers or The Kingston Trio. According to the film, the Folksmen released six albums on the Folktown Records label: Singin' (featuring "Old Joe's Place"), Pickin' (featuring "Blood on the Coal"), Ramblin' (featuring "Never Did No Wanderin'"), Hitchin' (featuring "Loco Man"), Wishin' (featuring "Barnyard Symphony" and "Skeletons of Quinto"), and Saying Something, which broke with the tradition of using only acoustic instruments and single-word titles without final g's. Their biggest hit, "Old Joe's Place," reached position 17 in the charts. Before A Mighty Wind, The Folksmen appeared in The Return of Sp?n?al Tap as Sp?n?al Tap's opening act for their Royal Albert Hall performance. The appearance of The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind was not their first reunion performance. On the 3rd November 1984, McKean hosted Saturday Night Live, which saw a reunion of The Folksmen and the performance of "Old Joe's Place".

Related Topics:
Bass vocals - Upright bass - Tenor - Guitar - Banjo - Baritone - Mandolin - The Weavers - The Kingston Trio - Royal Albert Hall - 3rd November - 1984 - Saturday Night Live

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New Main Street Singers

The nine pastel-clad "New Main Street Singers" are patterned after The New Seekers, The New Christy Minstrels and The Rooftop Singers. Writers Levy and Guest's initial outline for the film had this neuftet singing in unison as a musical joke.

Related Topics:
The New Seekers - The New Christy Minstrels - The Rooftop Singers - Unison

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That idea was dropped and John Michael Higgins's intricate vocal arrangements were used instead. In the film, the original Main Street Singers had released such albums as Songs of Good Cheer (featuring "Just That Kinda Day"), Strolling Down Main Street (featuring "Potato's in the Paddy Wagon"), The Main Street Singers in Bethlehem (featuring "The Good Book Song"), and Sunny Side Up (featuring "Fare Away"), before breaking up in 1971.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New Main Street Singers were formed by George Menschell (Paul Dooley), the sole survivor of the original Main Street Singers. They are managed by the obnoxious Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard), whose fifteen minutes of fame came by way of the failed TV program "Wha' Happen'?" which lasted less than one season during the 1970s. The new group is centered around Terry Bohner (John Michael Higgins) and his wife Laurie Bohner (Jane Lynch). Laurie is a former adult film star and is the co-founder, together with her husband, of Witches in Nature's Colors (WINC), a group of modern-day witches that worships the power of color. WINC and the New Mainstreet Singers appear to consist of exactly the same group of people.

Related Topics:
Adult film - Witch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mitch & Mickey

Mitch Cohen (vocals and guitar, played by Eugene Levy) and Mickey Crabbe née Devlin (vocals and autoharp, played by Catherine O'Hara) may represent a number of folk music duets, including Ian and Sylvia, or perhaps Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. In the fictional reality of the film, they released seven albums together: meet Mitch & Mickey (which contains the song "One More Time" and whose cover looks suspiciously like that of Meet the Beatles!), If This Rose Could Talk, Songs From A Love Nest, Together Forever (featuring "Kiss At the End of the Rainbow"), Over the Moon, Live At the Folk Place, When You're Next To Me (featuring the song of the same title). After their breakup, Mitch went on to record three poorly received solo albums: Calling it Quits, Songs From A Dark Place, and Cry for Help.

Related Topics:
Autoharp - Folk music - Ian and Sylvia - Bob Dylan - Joan Baez - Meet the Beatles!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~