Outsider Artists: The Story of Paranoid Visions premiere/Q&A/gig
Tonight is a celebration of a number of things. First and foremost, the band’s forty-odd-years history and the completion of a comprehensive document, six years in the making. Underpinning this is the recognition of Dublin’s independent punk scene which, without Paranoid Visions, probably wouldn’t exist to the extent it does. But most importantly, it’s a celebration of the bonds and friendships that have grown from this history. Between the initial private showing back in May and tonight’s premiere, based on the people who have shown up that span those 40+ years and their emotional response to the film, and tonight’s gig, it’s very evident that there’s much more going on than just the love of a band’s music and a scene. There are numerous wet eyes during the standing ovation at the rolling of the end credits, and a poignancy to watching the film and seeing faces that are so young, knowing that many of them are scattered around in the audience. They’re not here just because they happen to like, or played in, the band.
Since Peter Jones joined forces with Deko Dachau in 1981, he’s been promoting bands in the Dublin scene, creating events, putting on gigs, bringing bands in from the UK and the North of Ireland and releasing tapes and records. And that’s all before looking at what he does in Paranoid Visions. He’s a one-man industry—essentially the lynchpin of the Irish punk scene for most of the past forty-four years. All this is clear from the documentary, and is confirmed, one way or another, by Tim Smith, John Robb, Dick Lucas, Steve Ignorant, and various members of the band, past and present, who are interviewed.
Outsider Artists isn’t just about the band. It’s a window to the broken, downtrodden, repressed, narrow-minded, corrupt, catholic Ireland of the 80s, and it’s a testament to the hard work and commitment required in overcoming the multitude of hurdles and stumbling blocks, both personal and external, that Paranoid Visions had to endure in order to build the standing and following that exists today. It also reflects the ideology of the band itself—making something of importance and worth without any support, financial or otherwise, whatsoever. The filmmakers, Greg and his father Dave Clifford (who has also been in and around the Dublin music scene since the start of the 80s) deserve huge credit for this masterpiece of documentary filmmaking. Their treatment of this multi-layered, multifaceted history is commendable.
The gig that bookends tonight is equally weighty. The set spans the band’s career, from the profound social commentary of Strange Girl to their brand new single Cudda Wudda Shudda. Deko still harnesses an element of menace after all these years of performing, although he no longer destroys every mic stand he uses. But if you weren’t familiar with him, you might think standing too close could be hazardous (I have been hit in the head a couple of times while taking photos). As pointed out in the documentary, this lineup is probably the definitive one.
Ironically (given the said stumbling blocks encountered during Paranoid Visions career) a few songs into the set, the bar manager decides that the volume is too loud for his liking, and without consulting anyone, instructs the sound girl to turn it down. The drop is clearly audible, and both the band and crowd spend the next five minutes trying to figure out what’s gone wrong. Additionally, the event was billed to finish at 1pm, but by midnight the bar is closed and people are being ushered out and floors are being washed. I guess some things will never change.
A bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a night, most likely exacerbated by a vast quantity of alcohol. A warm and joyous occasion nonetheless. Roll on the next ten years at least.
Outsider Artists: The Story of Paranoid Visions photos:
Photos & words Cormac Figgis @themasterswitch