Before I get completely torn apart with my review - "Sound City" was one of the best documentaries of all time on the subject of modern music. It was perfectly sculpted to tell the story it set out to and was just filled with all the nuances and the mystique-to-revelation pacing that comes from a well-done documentary. I know Dave Grohl has the passion, experience, connects, and the drive to make a great film on anything rock music.
This one - not so much.
Granted...this was a very bizarre time in the world to put out a documentary that is about touring when not even a single band has been on the road for the better part of 15-18 months. Yes...it dives into van touring...some trials and tribulations from the road, and the indelible craziness of every single musician that despite all signs pointing elsewhere that touring in a van is a complete and utter nightmare to most people's standards, the passion for playing music trumps all. I toured the US with a band in late 2013 and I agree with this statement. But this documentary wasn't nearly as visceral as it *shoud've* been. It really doesn't make the point it sets out to in the title. I'm sure that there was a lot more that Grohl + Co. Would've liked to put into this film, but it just was rendered impossible or impractical because of COVID where this documentary sort of turned into a mishmash of the who's-who of alt-rock products of the last 30 years coupled with following a newer band into the doldrums of van touring (which kind of turned into a half-assed attempt unfortunately towards the end).
The takeaway on this documentary which is not what I was expecting at all...D. H. Peligro needs his own documentary. That dude has been through the ringer with his own struggles, not to mention he was a very early and underrated part of pretty much every SoCal punk-funk-alt-rock band worth their salt in some capacity throughout the early-mid '80s and he's got the best personality of all the interviewees by a long shot. He clearly had a very real, heavy experience insofar as the documentary felt the need to spend 10 (very well-deserved) minutes on his life alone.
Last personal, very subjective note...I would have given this one another star if Lars Ulrich was edited out.
