"Playing the blues is not for sissies." This line, muttered by guitarist and former Phoenix associate arts editor Ted Drozdowski, sets the tone about five minutes into Robert Mugge's documentary. If anyone would know, it'd be Drozdowski, who — along with drummer Rob Hulsman — makes up the Boston-born juke blues outfit Scissormen. We travel with the band through towns like Redkey, Indiana, and into theaters and dive bars where attendance is in the single digits. Despite these tough gigs, the film never dips into woe-is-we territory. The two musicians exhibit such reverence for the hard-knock licks taken by those who came before them, they wouldn't have it any other way. The film lags in that about 75 percent of its runtime is devoted to concert footage, and if you're not already familiar with the legends referred to (Jessie Mae Hemphill, Muddy Waters, et al.), Mugge doesn't offer much help. The unfiltered worship comes through, however, and it rocks.(A live performance by Scissormen follows the MFA screening.)
90 MINUTES | MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS JUNE 29
