The Cramps and The Mutants: The Napa State Tapes
Run Time: 72 min. Rating: Unrated
Tagline: “Somebody told me you people are crazy, but I’m not so sure about that…. you seem to be all right to me.” So says lead singer Lux Interior of The Cramps, challenging the mainstream stereotype of the crowd assembled before him at the Napa State Hospital.
On June 13, 1978, the soon-to-be legendary rock band went to play Napa State, a psychiatric hospital in the small town of Napa in Northern California. Opening for them was The Mutants, an eclectic septet of art school punks from nearby San Francisco. Also in the van was seminal Bay Area art collective Target Video, there to capture the show using one of the first video cameras available to the public, democratizing a medium controlled by mainstream media outlets.
What resulted may be the most unique punk show ever, as the two bands played for the residents at the hospital, a rehabilitation facility that was skimming the danger of being shut down by former California Governor Ronald Reagan.
This program includes the following films:
The Mutants at Napa State
June 13, 1978
black and white, 22 minutes
Directed by Joe Target Rees
Remastered from the original ½” open reel video tape by Dino Everett at the Punk Media Research Collection, University of Southern California, HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive.
We Were There to Be There
2021, documentary about the Napa State show
color and black and white, 27 minutes
Directed by Mike Plante and Jason Willis
The Cramps at Napa State
June 13, 1978
black and white, 23 minutes
Directed by Joe Target Rees
Remastered from the original ½” open reel video tape by Dino Everett at the Punk Media Research Collection, University of Southern California, HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive.
The footage featured in the musical performances was captured by Target Video, a collective of artists working with film and video that captured the exciting California scene of artists and punk bands in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. Target filmed hundreds of live art and music performances along with events in their Bay Area warehouse. In the 1980s, they released full shows and various music videos on VHS and went on tours of screenings across America and Europe. Many of their video releases became instant cult movies, particularly The Cramps playing at Napa State Hospital.
Showtimes:
Friday, September 8, 2023: 8:30 PM
Ticket Prices: $12 Regular / $10 Students & Seniors / $9 Members