POST-PUNK JUNK / Urgh! A Music War March 26, 2009

The legendary concert film Urgh! A Music War is the cinematic equivalent of a tried-and-true mixtape: a non-stop whirlwind of great bands spanning the new wave/punk gamut. In 1980, director Derek Burbidge filmed jam-packed bills in L.A., NYC, London and France, to capture in a Woodstock-ian
presentation the bands on the cutting edge of rock and synthpop: Devo, Dead Kennedys, X, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Gang of Four, The Police, Wall of Voodoo, Klaus Nomi, Gary Numan, OMD, Pere Ubu, Magazine and more. Rarely were these bands--some of whom lasted a very short time--afforded the full lavish film shoot treatment, so Urgh! is a rare close-up peek at some of the most furious bands of the era at the peak of their powers, as well as an intriguing time-capsule snapshot of the era's rock fans, decked out in period gear and acting extra-wacky for the camera. Also showing is Debt Begins At Twenty, a half-fiction, half-documentary look at the emerging Pittsburgh scene in 1980.
Urgh! A Music War Dir. Derek Burbidge, 1982, 35mm, 122 min.
Debt Begins At Twenty Dir. Stephanie Beroes, 1980, 16mm, 40 min.