John Carpenter – Live Retrospective at the Warwick Arts Centre

John Carpenter. Image: Wiki_Commons

Imagine the sheer joy in my heart when I heard that John Carpenter was coming to Warwick – the man is a true cinematic auteur, and arguably the most influential director of horror to ever bless the genre. The chance to come and see Carpenter present a show of his film music was something that I simply could not pass up.

As of late, Carpenter has been working with his son and godson on his two ‘Lost Themes’ albums – somewhat of a misnomer, as they are comprised of completely original music. Tracks from both of these albums were threaded throughout the show, and they were very reminiscent of Carpenter’s 80s film work – they were fine listens, but the majority of the show was his film music and that was what the audience really came for.

The show kicked off with a cue from Escape from New York, followed up with Assault on Precinct 13 – as the music played, highlights from the films played behind Carpenter and his band, and there was a certain magic in watching Snake Plissken or Jack Burton in one of their adventures. Carpenter’s music is excellent at evoking a mood, hence why it remains as appreciated as ever, and is wonderfully simple – in interviews, the director jokes that he composes simple pieces because he doesn’t really have the musical chops to do anything more complex, but they are strong pieces and enjoyable in their own right.

What also makes Carpenter so iconic is the use of synthesiser and electronic elements in his scores (inspired by his watching Forbidden Planet, a film with a solely electronic score, as a young man). If the audience were hoping for a heavy synth element in this performance, they would have been disappointed – there was more of a rock feel, but it still worked for scores more similar to that style (They Live) as it did the horror movies.

Oh, horror – when Carpenter moved onto the horror films, the show really reached its zenith. Perhaps conscious of the season, he told the audience a little about why horror movies will forever be part of our cultural heritage, before treating us to cues from The Fog, The Thing (which he directed, but was scored by Ennio Morricone) and Halloween. The Halloween theme is a masterpiece of horror music, its chilling simplicity and sinister nature matching the movie perfectly, and performed live, was enough to make your blood run cold.

Mike Myers from Halloween, one of Carpenters most famous creations. Image: Horrorluver136/Wordpress

As a fan with a keen interest in film music, I had hoped that Carpenter might say a few words about his music, his style of composition or his works in general, but that sadly did not happen – aside from a comment about liking horror films and a warning at the end to drive safety in case you came across Christine on the way home, it was all about the music. Only a little bugbear for me, but a bit of a shame nevertheless. The set-list was a little sporadic, with most of the better-known tunes concentrated in the middle of the show, and the encore was somewhat protracted with ‘Christine Attacks’ being the only really strong tune there.

It’s so rare to find an event like this, celebrating film music, let alone one headlined by the composer himself, and it was a magical night for everyone there. There were issues with the structuring, but that doesn’t matter – we were there to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime chance to celebrate the work of John Carpenter, as curated by the man himself, and it was fantastic.