Cass McCombs Serenades a Psychedelic Movie Night

Photo Courtesy of Cass McCombs for Stereogum

About 100 people filed into the small theater to hear nomadic Country-Psychedelic Rock singer songwriter Cass McCombs play a set and watch his chosen documentaries on the silver screen on Thursday Nov. 12, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles, Calif for their event, "A Band and a Movie."

The Cinefamily is a Hollywood silent movie theater turned artsy screening and event community hub. It distinguishes itself from the surrounding strip mall by maintaining an old-time vibe, with sprawling green vines crawling up the entrance way that is adorned by head shots of forgotten 70's and 80's era actors.

Screenshot from "Sean" by Ralph Arlyck

The first of two films chosen for screening was Ralph Arlyck's 1970 documentary short "Sean," a collection of interviews with the 4-year-old son of San Franciscan hippies. It could be quite disturbing at times with Sean rather gleefully talking about smoking pot, not knowing how to count, and mentioning his vicious disdain for the police.

McCombs used numerous audio clips from "Sean," in his most recent record, Big Wheel and Others that came out in 2013.

In an interview with Pittsburgh City Paper, McCombs said the clips just seemed to match the tone of his songs.

"Sean is attempting to explain what he sees as the world, and a lot of what he says is hilarious and a lot of what he says is mundane because he's repeating what he hears adults say," McCombs said. "I think all of us do that. A lot of what we think we're thinking is just what someone else told us to think. And I think that's a fact. I don't think you can really avoid that."

After "Sean" credits rolled, the next film, "Sweets McGee" began almost immediately.

“It’s somehow closest to reality… you’re never sure if it’s documentary or fiction.”

Floyd Mutrux’s 1971 feature debut is a "quasi-documentary." It examines the Los Angeles drug scene by featuring real-life junkies playing themselves.

A poster for the film found on Google

This was no typical Hollywood movie. There were various re-enactments and liberties taken by the director for the sake of a story arc, but it documented the lives of different people living drug dependent lives. This was told through probing interviews. Of the interviewees, one was a gangbanger, another a male escort and one was a caucasian teen couple.

Anaheim resident Jesse Perez, 25, came to see McCombs play for the fifth time that evening. He has been a follower of McCombs' music for many years and is familiar with his style.

"I think Cass picked these two movies for a number of reasons. Any fan of his music can tell you he's as counterculture as it gets, with folk and punk and psychedelia all influencing his music, and his film taste is just as nostalgic," Perez said, "These movies are from the 60's and 70's, respectively, so you can definitely see some retro fetishism coming out."

McCombs has travelled a fair bit around the US, but remains a proud Californian, and that fact comes out in his selections as well. "Sean" details the life of a child of hippies in San Francisco in 1969, and "Sweets McGee" is about the lives of drug users in 1971 Hollywood, so it also juxtaposes North and South.

These movies both share a common theme of recreational drug use. Among the meandering dreaminess and exotic qualities of his music, one can catch a number of drug references. Especially in his lyrics and not-so-subtly named tunes, like "Opium Flower."

After the films there was a 20 minute intermission so people could mingle and get drinks before McCombs' set started. Although the theater was small, people mostly mingled amongst themselves, staying close to their cliques.

"I think the best way to describe them would be Psychedelic Alt-Country," said Dylan Stienkelner, 31, from Santa Monica.

McCombs came on looking as demure and shy as he appears in the rare live performances that get posted on youtube. The man has been touted as one of the greatest American songwriters of our generation by The Washington Post in their 2014 editorial, Songwriters at the End of the World, but he barely said a word on stage.

"I was expecting him to play stuff off of "Big Wheel," or at least "Sean I" to coincide with the screening of "Sean", but that was not the case," said Perez. "I didn't really recognize any of the tunes he played."

The songs preformed were all new ones, none had been released on any previous albums and there were a few wandering jams with his band "The Skiffle Players."

The Cinefamily is a nonprofit organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting "interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films." According to their website, the Cinefamily's mission is to reinvigorate the movie-going experience by fostering a spirit of community and a sense of discovery.

They currently average 14 shows per week, many of which are enhanced with special guests, live music, dance parties, potlucks and other kinds of social fun. Over 65,000 patrons visit the Cinefamily annually.