Axe Men

Anyone who's ever picked up a guitar knows it's not as easy as the Greats make it look. Sure, it's simple enough to pick up three or four chords and play "La Bamba" or "You Really Got Me," but mastering scales and playing solos is another thing altogether--unless you're the Edge, who just spent a lot of money on effects and amps to make simple arpeggios sound like a symphony coming from the sky. The U2 guitarist, along with the legendary Jimmy Page and The White Stripes' Jack White, shows off his technique in the new guitar documentary from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, It Might Get Loud--don't worry, we're pretty sure this one doesn't end with a Melissa Etheridge song. The flick follows each guitarist as they talk shop about instruments, technique and rock mythology, culminating in a superjam on a Hollywood soundstage--with scenes along the way including The Edge laying down studio tracks, Jimmy Page playing air guitar to his favorite records and Jack White building an electric Diddley bow, because he's cool like that. It Might Get Loud screens at 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. Tickets are $8.50, $6.50 for Modern members. Call 817-738-9215 or visit themodern.org.
Sept. 18-20, 2009