Shooting on a schmick camera with pristine lighting and a high-end production crew probably wasn’t an option on the table for Mark Butcher, cash-strapped director of Sticky Carpet, but more saliently a clean and pristine film wouldn’t have made a conducive fit for the subject Butcher documents in extensive, near exhaustive detail: the underground rock scene in Melbourne.

Passersby may be tempted to write the scene off as one wholly comprised of hairy musicians banging out ear-splitting tunes to drunken audiences inside grubby pubs caked from floor to ceiling in sweat and booze. At least, that’s the impression likely to be garnered from the sidelines. It’s no surprise that the footage in Butcher’s doco errs to the scuzzy side of cinema, with a dark, dank lounge room look that seeps into the tone of the film, which is equal parts a product of the scene and an exploration of it.

Eye candy this aint, but it’s hard to imagine a more appropriate visual structure short of having Butcher’s lens tinted in beer-stained orange. Mostly Sticky Carpet will appeal to those already interested in the scene; it may not win over a plethora of new fans but is comfortable filling a niche (precious few films have been made on this subject) and preaching to the converted. Amusing moments include one man reminiscing on a performance during which the singer had intercourse with a barbeque chicken which was then passed around and consumed by the audience, and another of a man espousing a bold theory that Gough Whitlam is the godfather of indie rock in Melbourne.

Local music aficionados will recognise haunts like The Tote and The Arthouse and maybe even some of the featured bands, which include Cosmic Psychos, The Stabs, Dirty Three, The Birthday Party and Baseball. I’ve been to most of the venues in this film but wasn’t familiar with any of the ‘headliners,’ and this is par for the course on the sticky carpet - an intrinsic part of the scene’s countercultural lucky dip appeal. As Mr. Gump would say: yer never know what yer goona git.

Oodles of live gigs and feet-on-the-seat interviews must have made a hefty load in the editing room, and I don’t envy the hours upon hours Butcher would have spent sifting and sorting. The result is loose around the edges, but for anyone who wants to learn more about underground rock in Melbourne this is a good place to start.

Review by Luke Buckmaster

Director: Mark Butcher
Screenwriter: Mark Butcher