Big Time

Singer/songwriter/actor Tom Waits delivers a knockout one man show in this concert performance filmed at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Playing a theater usher, a ticket taker, a spotlight operator, and other roles, Waits' caustic verbal humor is interwoven with live footage of his electrifying stage act. In his opening, Waits tells the story of a guy named Frank, who "hung his wild years on a nail that he drove right through his wife's forehead." A bizarre tale which segues into song, as the kinetic Waits, who carries his own utility light, growls and rasps the fables of the broken and broken-hearted. Over 20 songs, including "Time", "Innocent When You Dream", "Straight to the Top, and "Rain Dogs," are crooned in a variety of stage settings. As concert films go, this is simply one of the best. In fact, you'd have to go all the way back to Martin Scorcese 1978 film of The Band's farewell performance, The Last Waltz, to find similar fare. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)