Rock for the Rising Sun (2013)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Highly entertaining documentary/concert film takes place shortly after the tragic tsunami that struck Japan. Months later Aerosmith went on a tour of the country and we follow them along as they tour the various cities during the day and rock the arenas by night. I've seen Aerosmith nearly a dozen times over the past decade and to say their recent shows have been "different" would be an understatement. If you're familiar with their message boards then you're going to notice quite a few negative posts about setlists, missed shows and various other issues but ROCK FOR THE RISING SUN is a winner no matter what you think. There's a great mixture of concert footage plus just behind-the-scenes stuff as the band members walk around the cities before the shows and there's also some great stuff dealing with the band backstage as they talk about setlists and other items. I think fans of the band are really going to enjoy these behind-the-scenes stuff as one really gets to see what it's like just minutes before they hit the stage. As for the concert footage, it's all shot extremely well and we're given a great setlist as well. Favorites like "Walk This Way," "Love in an Elevator," "Livin' on the Edge," "Last Child" and "Sweet Emotion" are all here sounding wonderful. The real joy comes from some lesser played tracks like "Hangman Jury," "No More No More," "Movin' Out" and "S.O.S. (Too Bad)." These songs here make the entire thing worth sitting through. Fans of the band will certainly enjoy this one even with the shorter than normal running time.
