The GOB Squad, an English-German artist collective, is in town for One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo. Their
modus operandi is filming everyday people on the street to glean wisdom about life. On Wednesday night, they did a did a unique show at the Legion No.1 in downtown Calgary. Like the show, this summary will be quick and unpolished...since what you probably want to know is if you should see their other show this weekend, called "Kitchen".
Super Night Shot started filming literally an hour before the screening, as one long continuous synchronized shot on four handicams. The plot is that one videographer, Simon Will, should do something heroic in downtown core, then get kissed by a stranger for his heroism. Other three videographers do PR (including crashing Milestone's on 8th), scope out the perfect kiss site (lurking in alleys and parkades), and recruit a kisser (hard, even wearing gold lamé).
Alas, Simon finds it tough to be heroic in Calgary. He encounters a woman who needs help finding someone to help raise her children. Perhaps too tall a task. He stops people from jaywalking. Perhaps too small a feat. A passer-by reflects on his offer to do something for her... she draws a blank and says apologetically "sorry, I guess we're pretty content here".
While the camera is primarily focused on the Gob Squad and the strangers on the street, the final scene is them entering the Legion to our own applause. While he might not necessarily earn it through heroism tonight, we were rooting for him to get that kiss, and he did. The plot is a cliché, but what motivates our excitement for it is that the players and the audience are one that night. The wisdom I gleaned was that whether contently walking down the street, having a drink at Milestone's, or watching a film at the Legion, the ordinary can be made extraordinary simply through our will to actively engage. If GOB's artists engage the audience just as much during the Kitchen show, you shouldn't miss it.
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