Film spotlight: D Tour at NWFF
Pat Spurgeon is a drummer with a mind for music, a heart for his friends, and a kidney that’s breaking down. He’s only got the one, so there’s no spare to take up the slack. He’s on the list for a replacement but it’s six years out and anything can happen in that time. What’s a guy to do?
Well, go on tour, of course. D Tour is director Jim Granato’s portrait of Spurgeon and his band, Rogue Wave, as they set out on the road for their D(ialysis) Tour. Spurgeon’s no passive victim of bad luck waiting around for something to happen, he’s an active participant in his own health and his own life, refusing to give up the things that matter most to him even when he has to work a little harder than most people to get them. His winning personality shines through every time he appears on screen. D Tour portrays his struggle in an honest, direct manner – Spurgeon’s health issues are neither minimized nor made melodramatic; Spurgeon himself is straight-forward and matter-of-fact about them. He wants to be healthy, but he wants to play his music, too, and he’s bound and determined to do it.
In addition to interviews with Spurgeon and vignettes of his life both on and off the road, D Tour features interviews with his bandmates, friends and family and footage from a benefit concert featuring Rogue Wave, Nada Surf, John Vanderslice, and Ben Gibbard. It’s an interesting portrait of a fascinating character in a life full of surprises and a thoughtful presentation of complicated issues in the US health care system including access to health care and organ donation.
D Tour screens at NW Film Forum July 9 through July 11. Director Granato will be on hand for Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s screenings and Spurgeon himself will be Skyped in for the post-film Q&A.
