The Murder City Devils
in “Rock & Roll Won’t Wait”
(Documentary)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C- Rockumentary: B-
When the
major record labels reject good new talent, singles, backing anyone for a long
period of time, or anything else creative, that leaves new acts with few places
to turn. I had never heard of the Murder
City Devils, though the name is a hoot and the music is more distinct than
expected, they become the latest group to be introduced (at least to those not
in the know like yours truly) in a Rockumentary in Rock & Roll Won’t Wait (2001).
What is still raw and could have been run-of-the-mill actually shows a
band that could break wide if they grow with each new release.
James
Bazan directed as much as a person doing a such a program could, along with
Jeff Baker handling the Videography, which coalesces better than expected as
the members of the band and all the people who make their tour possible get
equal time and respect, a key distinction form the usually lazy variants of such
programs. There is the usually
embarrassing moments that threaten to bring this down to the level of bad
reality TV, but then the music kicks in, or someone actually makes an
interesting point. Many of these people
are interesting to watch, not just to spy on and make fun of, or even look at
so the viewer can feel better about themselves as they subjects are
humiliated. With that said, despite only
lasting about an hour, Rock & Roll
Won’t Wait shows a band we may be hearing more about if they can stay on
track.
The full
frame image is shot on NTSC video and has all the usual limits, even if it is
DV, which is not High Definition, of course.
This is still edited well together and the shots are better than what we
usually get on low budget projects of this type. The sound is remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1
AC-3 and is also available in Dolby 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds, but
the 5.1 is better, if showing the limits of the on-location taping. Besides a trailer, the only extras are a
paper insert in the DVD with photos of the band on the road and two Music
Videos that are simply live performances cut to be that way. I guess Murder
City is any city they play, but either way, Rock & Roll Won’t Wait gives us some hope the genre is not dead
yet.
- Nicholas Sheffo
