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A Hit of Biblical Proportions

I've been a fan of blues music for quite some time, but I had never heard of Satan & Adam. I am far from a noted historian on the subject, so it's not a shock that I knew nothing of them, but now that I do, courtesy of Scott Balcerek's documentary, I'm a fan of the music, the duo, and the director, who spent an astonishing 23 years on the project.

Adam is Adam Gussow; when we first meet him, he has recently completed his Masters from Columbia University, but he's unsure of what he wants to do next. He has just broken up with his girlfriend and he's wandering in every sense of the word.

One day, in 1986, he's wandering around the African-American neighborhood of Harlem in New York City. A block away from the famed Apollo Theater he sees a crowd gathered around a street performer who calls himself Satan. Satan's real name is Sterling Magee and he's played with some of the greats including Etta James, Marvin Gaye, and Ray Charles, but he grew tired of his experiences in the industry and turned himself into a one-man-band street performer on that Harlem street.

Adam is a very talented harmonica player and he would love a chance to jam with Satan. It takes him a while to muster up the guts to ask Satan for a shot, but eventually he does and Satan says to join him. Adam turns out to be a perfect complement to Satan's guitar and percussion, and the duo is born. That New York City was a racial powder keg at the time makes it an even more of an obstacle course.

Eventually the duo gets "discovered", partially because while U2 is filming their "Rattle and Hum" they see Satan & Adam performing on the street and they are mesmerized. U2 includes a performance by them in the project and Satan & Adam are on the way. Club dates become bigger club dates until they are performing at festivals.

If it was just about the music, there would be more than enough here, but there is far more than that. It's a lengthy character study of each of them and their interactions that follows Satan into a nursing home and a comeback after a stroke. This is an outstanding documentary and I suspect that it has an excellent chance of winning the best documentary award at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. It's a must-see.