After "Pageant" ended at 10:15 p.m., I hopped on my bike and rode from the Chazen Museum to the Bartell Theatre to catch "Song Sung Blue," a documentary by New Jersey filmmaker Greg Kohs about Milwaukee husband-and-wife singing duo Mike and Claire Sardina, better known as "Lighting & Thunder." I got there a little after the 10:30 p.m. start and entered at what turned out to be the high point of the movie. It was 1995 and the couple were sharing the stage with Eddie Vedder at Summerfest. As Neil Diamond impersonator Lightning performs his dead-on version of "Forever in Blue Jeans," Vedder fumbles with a lyric sheet. The Pearl Jam singer finally manages to mumble his way through half a verse, he is clearly having the time of his life.

This is a movie about triumphs and challenges, and unfortunately the triumphs are amazing but brief and the challenges daunting. When Thunder loses half a leg not only does she have her new physical limitiations to deal with, but also the mood-altering effects of pain medication. As the couple fight to keep their gigs and their home, pressure mounts for them to get "real jobs," but they are unswerving in two things -- their absolute devotion for each other and the music they bring to people. And they were meant to entertain. When Mike is told he needs to lose some weight he puts down the fat and picks up the cigarette, "Americans are fat...because they don't smoke," he tells the camera with a twinkle in his eye. When he ends up needing a quintuple bypass, he is out gigging two weeks after the operation.

Shot over 8 years. The film is unblinkingly honest but never condescending as it chronicles the Sardinas' family life from Claire's struggle to find acceptance from her mother to the couple's chaotic interactions with their own children. But through all the yelling and back talk we get to watch their daughter Dana go from a loud-mouthed brat to an eloquent and moving speaker at her father's funeral.

And that's the really sad part. Mike Sardina passed away in July 2006 but he kept the dream alive until the end.

This film also provided one of those "only at the Festival" moments. At one particularly poignant moment in the film their were tears in a lot of eyes, but as I looked across the aisle to my left I noticed that the woman crying two seats away from me was the same woman who was crying on the screen. It was Thunder who was at the theater to do a post-movie Q&A. She let the audience in on a few secrets, like the fact that Lightning never told her that Kohs was going to be filming their life until the day he turned up in their kitchen. Also, Neil Diamond has seen the film, sent Thunder a letter, and even talked to her on the phone. He also invited her and the family to meet him at an upcoming show.

 She also wanted to let everyone know that she is still performing and the release of a CD featuring an original song by Lightning will be held on April 26 at Shank Hall in Milwaukee.

"Song Sung Blue" also plays Saturday at 4 p.m. "Lightning and Thunder" CDs and t-shirts will be available