KÍLA - Pota Óir DVD
Whitewashed Films / Kila Records KRDVD003
In these days of easy access to all manner of videos of our favourite bands, the role of music DVDs is changing. Is this a tour record, a documentary, an insight into the passion that fires a band? Pota Óir, a film by Anthony White, is all of these and more.
For more than three decades, Kíla has melded the spirits of Irish and world music. They have a confidence and intensity that translates well to the screen. The film features segments of their live show, with a dozen tunes, filmed at almost as many locations. There are great shots of them exchanging knowing glances, both in ecstasy and in revelry, interspersed with comments from band members. They explain the process of writing and playing together, and occasionally offer pithy quotes like “money is grand for buyin’ stuff, but it’s not a destination.”
The DVD is filmed in black and white, which lends an interesting ambience of authenticity and old-world feel. There are multiple camera shots of the live shows which provide angles and an intimacy you could not get otherwise.
This is not an exposé of life on the road. This is a band finding its way through the modern music industry, without losing its traditions. The film captures them in good form, both musically and as a cohesive unit. The closing section, the encore number An Tiomání, highlights their trance-like intensity. This is a band that is clearly having fun. It wants you to as well.
www.kila.ie
Ian Emke