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4

Monday

Watching Gimme Shelter, you will notice the following: Charlie Watts always looks bored, Bill Wyman is so stoned he looks like a gnome, and no one really listens to Mick Jagger—even back then. And then you will alight on the pool cues. You will turn to your viewing companion and mutter, “Damn. Pool cues.” The organizers of the December 1969 Rolling Stones/Jefferson Airplane freebie had the bright idea to have the Hell’s Angels do security. The Angels brought pool cues and used them, repeatedly beating on the crowd. Like any good filmmakers, directors David Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin know how to foreshadow. While they get some nice shots of Jagger pouting through the chestnuts, they often zoom on the pool cues and then, later, a repeated slo-mo of the Angel stabbing a gun-wielding Stones fan. Whatever you think of a fan packing a pistol, you will still think what everyone else thinks: Nothing ruins boomer Utopian bullshit like a Hell’s Angel. Gimme Shelter plays at 7 p.m. at the Library of Congress’ Pickford Theater, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free. (202) 707-5677. (Jason Cherkis)