‘Last Waltz’ should be played loud

This column should be read loud.

OK, that doesn’t make any sense.

But I was thinking the other day about one of my favorite concert movies.

And it begins with the admonition: “This movie should be played loud.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Old timers of a certain age will know what I’m talking about: “The Last Waltz.”

Connie and I watch it every year, and we’re about due to start rattling the windows and shaking the foundation with another viewing.

The film, by director Martin Scorsese, captures the amazing excitement of the farewell concert appearance of The Band.

Never heard of The Band? Crank up your Google or your YouTube and give them a listen.

A Canadian rock/country group, The Band emerged when they backed up Bob Dylan on his Big Pink album. And they had a style all their own.

It was raucous and occasionally raunchy. It could be bluesy one minute and rockabilly the next.

“The Last Waltz” was filmed on Nov. 25, 1976, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. (I know that some of you had not been born yet, but the movie allows you to share the musical moment.)

I never had the opportunity to hear The Band live. The closest I got was when I was hitchhiking through Denmark and met a Canadian who said he was friends with the musicians. Not quite a brush with fame, but it will have to do.

(My mother topped me on that score when she happened to run into The Lovin’ Spoonful at the Muncie Airport and chatted them up. This was back in the distant past when it was possible to board a commercial airliner at the Muncie Airport and catch a flight to Chicago. The Spoonful had played a gig at Ball State University and was catching a flight out.)

Sadly, only two members of The Band are still alive, Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson. Drummer Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel have left us.

What makes “The Last Waltz” so special is not only that it’s The Band’s final concert appearance but also the other folks who joined them onstage.

Here’s a partial list:

•Dylan.

•Ringo.

•Clapton.

•Neil Diamond.

•Muddy Waters.

•Joni Mitchell.

•Dr. John.

•Van Morrison.

•Neil Young.

And me.

I’ll be singing along as the windows rattle when we settle down soon for our annual reunion with some great, great music.

After all, this movie is to be played loud.

Though we have it on DVD because we’re old, you can probably find the whole thing on the Internet. Be sure to turn up the volume. And if you enjoy it that way, you won’t have to listen to me singing along.