[YMS] Nirvana the Band the Show is the best new show of 2017
and one of the funniest things I've seen in quite a long time.
Now I've watched and throughly enjoyed both of Matt Johnson's previous feature films but I have to say that
this new TV show is my favorite out of all of them.
[Matt] The concept of this show is there's two musicians in Toronto,
it's me and Jay, and all we want to do is get a show at the Rivoli.
And if that sounds stupid...
...you ain't seen nothing yet.
[YMS] His guerilla-mockumentary style of filmmaking had lended itself quite well to his
comedically seasoned dramas.
But when applied to this now full-on comedy TV show, it fits to an absolute perfection.
In the style of Borat and Brüno, much of the show is improvised, but it's done so in a way
where they can still get to a predetermined "Point A" and "Point B."
That being said, there are instances of them changing the script based around what happens to take place.
Now obviously Kevin Smith is in on this one as he played a big role in helping distribute Matt Johnson's first feature film, The Dirties.
But this girl who enters the scene is actually a real person
And just like that they change the plot of the episode to include Matt Johnson's character discovering his new found love for alcohol.
Now one of the highlights of the show is the hilarious reactions they get by fucking with people
But to the show's credit, it is no way dependent on these reactions to be funny.
Even if every single person on this show turned out to be an actor, it would still be hilarious regardless.
But with many reactions in this show being so incredibly genuine, I'd be very surprised to find out that's the case.
The show presents vibes of Da Ali G Show, Nathan For You, and Kenny vs Spenny and despite all that it still feels entirely original.
One thing that those previously mentioned shows don't do is put insane amount of efforts into set ups and tie ins.
And the fact that this show bothers to do this insures that there's plenty to pick up on on repeated watches.
For example, at the end of episode three, Jay gives Matt the original Star Wars trilogy on VHS as a Christmas present.
At the beginning of episode four, they use this as a way to set up Matt being blind for the entire episode.
Now on a repeated viewing of episode three, you might notice something clever about how they set this up.
Small details like that are found absolutely everywhere in this show, whether it's a direct set up or not.
During the blindness episode, Jay is shown playing with Devil's sticks.
And won't you know it the opening title sequence of this episode is a direct parody of the Netflix Daredevil series.
Daredevil, devil sticks. Get it?
During episode one, the characters are in a library.
Now during your first viewing, this line doesn't seem very important at all and Matt quickly interrupts it to continue on with the actual plot of the episode.
But the films Jay mentioned in this first episode are actually ones that the show directly parodies as the season goes on.
Sometimes the parodies incredibly obvious.
Sometimes the characters will literally say what they're parodying as they're doing it.
But often times it's done with such a subtlety, that once again really adds to repeated viewings.
Now some of you may remember back in October 2016 when I interviewed Matt Johnson for his film Operation Avalanche.
The film actually premiered at Sundance earlier in the year but get this...
They actually used this as a clever opportunity to film an episode.
So in the episode of Nirvana the Band the Show, the characters make a home movie about them trying to take down a pedophile ring in a high school.
And wouldn't you know it, the title of their film is Operation Avalanche.
So essentially they used a real Sundance screening of a real film they made
To get footage to later use to pretend as though it's for a completely different film that the characters in the Nirvana the Band the Show universe made.
During real interviews, they nonchalantly snuck in phrases that they could later use for the episode.
And during the actual screening of Matt Johnson's real film, they introduce the film as their characters that also have the same names just to get footage for the show.
Now oddly enough, Nirvana the Band the Show actually started out as a web series in 2006 that gained a bit of a cult following.
And considering that was over ten years ago when Matt and Jay were just fresh out of university
The difference in production quality between the old web series and this new TV show is night and day.
Not to mention, they now have Spike Jonze producing the show
And if you're a fan of this channel you already know how awesome that is.
But with Viceland as a partner, apparently they're just letting them do whatever they want.
And when I say Viceland is letting them do whatever they want, I can only think of one exception and it's kind of hilarious.
This show is an absolute blast to watch and it's been a long time since I've actually been excited to watch new episodes of a TV show.
And although I genuinely mean everything I'm saying in this review, I'm still going to issue a disclaimer because it's not that hard to do.
I've hung out with Matt Johnson more than once at a couple different film festivals.
I also hung out with a lot of the crew members at Toronto Film Fest last year.
And since the show is only made by about 15 people I think I've got like half of them on Facebook now.
That being said, I genuinely love this show, otherwise I would not be recommending it to you.
The only obligation I feel towards recommending this show is because I genuinely feel as though it does not have the audience it deserves.
And that's actually pretty unfortunate. Just looking at how the show's promotional material is being received on Vice's youtube channel.
It seems as though people are quick to pass this off as nothing more than some shitty, effortless reality TV show.
And I almost don't blame them because it's a little difficult to tell from first glance if you're not familiar with Matt Johnson's style.
And this is partially why his film "The Dirties" wound up on my guilty pleasures list of 2013 rather then the actual list itself.
If I could make the list again, I think I'd have it swap places with "The Congress".
Again, not super high on the list or anything, but at this point now that I'm more familiar with his work I don't really consider it to be a guilty pleasure anymore.
When dealing with super low-budget films from first time directors I think it's important for me to play it safe in terms of how I rate them.
If I can't even see how someone would work under different budgetary restrictions then sometimes it's difficult to tell how much of the film's success was their own doing.
And in that same sense with "Escape From Tomorrow" being the only film from Randy Moore.
I'd need to see another film from him to be able to fully understand the level of self awareness going into that film.
I mean, Escape From Tomorrow is also on my 2013 Guilty Pleasures list so who knows, maybe the next film Randy Moore directs will change that.
Anyway, now that I think I have a better grasp on what Matt Johnson's trying to do with his films, I can confidently say that he's doing it well.
And speaking of "Escape From Tomorrow", there's something else that should be mentioned about this show.
The same lawyer, Chris Perez, that did clearance council for "Escape From Tomorrow" is now working with Matt Johnson on his new show.
And with his help, they are paving the way to normalize fair use practices in modern media.
And if you enjoy this Youtube channel, you're watching right now at all that should obviously be a big deal.
Now the only real thing I'd say to watch out for for this show is to try not to misinterpret it.
Because like I said, it's possible to pass this off if you don't know what you're watching.
Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a show that's pretending that every single thing they're doing is real.
There's obviously a decent amount that isn't and there's obviously a decent amount that is.
And as for the scenes where I genuinely can't tell, I almost don't even want to ask them.
There's something fun about leaving it a mystery and just accepting the fictional universe they're presenting.
It's all edited together so well that I'm just excited to watch the sequence of events as they unfold.
And for those of you who still think that this is just stupid nonsense and nothing more, let me break down the opening scene for you.
So Matt and Jay are discussing plans of how they should best present their show at the Rivoli.
Even though they don't have an actual show booked yet and they spend the rest of the season trying to make that happen.
Still they go through ideas of how to best present themselves to an audience.
And by the way, as somebody that heavily appreciates music and the ability to play by ear.
The way that Jay's able to showcase his natural talent by essentially scoring the scene as it's happening is pretty awesome.
Now some of you may have already clued into this, but there's actually two things going on here at once.
On surface level, they're talking about how to present their show to the Rivoli.
but they're also breaking the fourth wall and talking about how to present the TV show that they're on to viewers that haven't seen it before.
Literally the first line of the entire show is them describing what they're doing as they're doing it.
Cool shit like that is found everywhere in this show and it makes the experience even more fun and engaging.
And that's just one of the reasons why I've seen every episode several times.
Anyway, hopefully this sells you on giving this show a chance because honestly it is something that deserves your support.
Even though it's a show that airs on US networks it's still a Canadian show set in Canada.
And holy crap you have no idea how incredibly infrequent it is to have a quality show of that description.
Anyway, I genuinely love this show and they did not ask me to make this for them despite being in somewhat good contact with them.
It's just something that I really want to see succeed, so check out the links in the video description for places to watch it.
Oh, and good news, they're already making season two and three.
Anyway, I'm gonna go. Synecdoche part 5 coming soon. Peace.