‘Roadies’ stumbles on rock cliches
While attending numerous rock ’n’ roll concerts during my teen and college years, I often fantasized about working among the “roadies” — the backstage personnel that drive the trucks from town to town, haul in the equipment and basically set the table for a night of musical magic. Even years later, when I covered the Warriors as a beat writer, I would occasionally hang around the arena after the team finished practice just to watch the roadies roll in and transform the basketball court into a concert venue. The whole process fascinated me.
So you can imagine how stoked I was to learn that Cameron Crowe and J.J. Abrams were teaming up to produce “Roadies,” a Showtime dramedy about “the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives” of these unsung heroes.
This, of course, is familiar territory for Crowe, a former contributing editor for Rolling Stone and the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Almost Famous,” the beloved semi-autobiographical tale about a teenage music journalist who goes on tour with an up-and-coming band.
So with that pedigree, “Roadies” should really rock, right? Wrong. On one hand, it’s not nearly as bad as “Aloha,” Crowe’s mind-numbingly awful 2015 big-screen film. On the other, it doesn’t quite live up to the expectations of this viewer, who really wanted to love it. At least, it doesn’t yet.
“Roadies” stars Luke Wilson as Bill, the tour manager for a fictional folk-rock group called the Staton-House Band. Carla Gugino plays Shelli, the production manager. In Sunday’s pilot episode, you learn that they were once in a relationship that fizzled.
These days, Bill tends to have hotel sex with women half his age. Meanwhile, Shelli is married to a guy who is off working on the Taylor Swift tour. Clearly, we’re meant to conclude that there are still some sparks between Bill and Shelli, but early signs of any genuine chemistry are sparse.
They are part of a large gang of music-loving folks who seem to be in constant crisis-control mode. It’s not enough that they have to rig up the lights, speakers and sound boards and cater to the eccentric whims of the musicians. They also have to be on the lookout for a crazy female stalker and deal with a gun-toting crew member who apparently is involved in some kind of criminal activity.
All this, plus there’s the arrival of a ruthless, penny-pinching financial adviser (Rafe Spall), who is about to make life difficult for the crew and the band. Predictably, he’s all about branding and marketing, and he doesn’t know much about music (he calls Mumford & Sons “The Mumford Sons”). He’s such a utter caricature that I found myself rolling my eyes any time he spoke.
More occasional eyerolling ensues over the oh-so-earnest portrayal of Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots), a roadie who has become disillusioned with the state of the music biz. “I have to be a fan of something, or I’m nothing,” she moans.
On the plus side, Crowe’s series does contain a beating heart, and it clearly is brimming with his undying passion for music. He has even promised that some well-known rockers will be making cameos. Maybe that will be enough to carry the show over the early potholes in the road.
STAYING IN TUNE:
“Roadies” is part of television’s recent infatuation with the music business — a trend that includes “Empire” and HBO’s disappointing “Vinyl.”
The good news along these lines is that Denis Leary’s raucous comedy “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll” returns next week (10 p.m. June 30) for its second season. In the opener, titled, “All That Glitters Is Gold,” the sudden death of a friend prompts the band to question where they’re at and where they’re going.
And the musical hits will keep coming. Now in production are “Atlanta,” a Donald Glover comedy set in the Atlanta rap scene, and “Star,” a drama about a young girl group trying to break into the big time.
CHANNEL SURFING:
The fin-tastic summer programming event known as “Shark Week” kicks off at 8 p.m. Sunday on Discovery and continues through July 3. In addition to the usual documentaries and specials, Eli Roth returns to host the late-night talk show “Shark After Dark” (11 p.m. Sunday- June 30). ... Sunday also brings the Season 4 premiere of “Ray Donovan” (9 p.m., Showtime), along with the season finales of “Silicon Valley” (10 p.m., HBO) and “Veep” (10:45 p.m., HBO).