Taking a look at the end of an American hardcore punk band Bane, Holding These Moments is a documentary showing the life of the movement they created, up until their final tour in 2016.
I have to be honest, I hadn’t heard of Bane until the review copy of Holding These Moments arrived at Screen Critix headquarters. If somebody had asked me what I thought of Bane before viewing Dan Elswick’s two-hour documentary, I would have assumed they were talking about Batman’s nemesis who broke his back. Now, thanks to this film, I have been introduced to a new group (to me) to listen to, even though they are no more.
We’ve reviewed a few documentaries based on groups before, ones regarding the rock scene in LA in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and British groups trying to “make it”, but Holding These Moments is the first film we have seen that is based around a hardcore punk band. Having been together, creating albums and touring, for twenty years, Bane decided to call it a day and do one last tour in 2016, and this film covers that and more.
Consisting of Aaron Bedard, Aaron Dalbec, Zach Jordan, Pete Chilton, and Nick Brannigan, Bane gained a large, energetic fan base right from their inception. Their shows, which consisted of up-tempo songs being sung by the band and crowd in unison, and where stage diving was a regular occurrence, seem to have been quite an experience.
Holding These Moments is a very well-made independent documentary. Elswick does a great job n making sure that the movie never becomes stale by editing simple talking headshots with images of posters, old photographs, and grainy camcorder footage of old gigs from back in the day. We also get to see the band performing the final gigs of their last tour, which turned out to be quite an emotional experience. When you have been a part of something special with a group of friends for two decades, it’s understandable why tears flowed.
The documentary also touches on a dark chapter in the band’s life, when a close friend died in a tragic car accident. We see the hurt that still resonates with them to this day, with one member even breaking down on camera. This emotional and raw honesty is a common theme throughout the runtime, with all involved not holding back.
As aforementioned above, Holding These Moments takes a look at the full history of the band, from creating their albums It All Comes Down To This, Give Blood, The Note, and Don’t Wait Up, including the troubles they had creating them, and how well received they were by fans across the whole of the United States.
Overall, Holding These Moments, which is also the title of one of Bane’s compilation albums, is an excellent snapshot into the life of a band that just loved doing what they once did. It is an essential piece for any and all fans of the hardcore punk band, and an interesting couple of hours for those who were unaware of them, myself included. Now I’m off to see if I can order their albums myself.