Disney / Buena Vista | 2009 | 76 mins | Rated G
In some form or another, boy bands have been around almost since the birth of rock ‘n roll. Cute and attractive, the largely female demographic of the music buying public loves them. The fifties brought us Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, with the sixties came The Jackson Five, the seventies, The Bay City Rollers, the eighties brought the rise of Menudo and New Kids on the Block. The nineties was a huge decade for boy bands, with more than half a dozen finding solid chart success; however, it was N’Sync and The Backstreet Boys who stood out from the crowd. No matter how popular these bands get though, their shelf life seems limited. With a fanbase that ranges from around 11 to 15, the girls grow up, grow bored and turn away from their once beloved boy band. In the meantime though, the band is a wildly popular, cash cow.
The Jonas Brothers–Kevin, Joe and Nick–are the teen gods of the moment and The Jonas Bros: The 3-D Concert Experience, aims to showcase their music and give us a glimpse into their chaotic lives. Shamelessly pandering to the millions of teenage girls who hang on their every note, word and movement, there’s nothing revelatory here. These guys preen more than a Vogue cover girl.
Though this film takes place over only two shows, the brothers manage to make numerous entrances which only makes their fans all the more hysterical. Love ’em or hate ’em, the brothers Jonas know how to give their fans what they want.
If you look beyond the screaming and plentiful neon lights, the whole thing lacks cohesiveness, it’s just plain chaotic. While the boys go out of their way to prove their just like us–shooting the viewing audience countless looks of surprise as yet another group of squealing fans show their adoration–they also give off a vibe that they are wholly untouchable rock stars. Though these guys aren’t the worst boy band I’ve ever heard, I couldn’t help but hope their throngs of fans would soon become interested in The Beatles, The Black Eyed Peas or Green Day; anything other than the bubble gum guitar rock purveyed by The Jonas Brothers.
At a manageable 76 minutes, the folks behind The Jonas Bros: The 3-D Concert Experience, were smart enough not to overload the senses of their fans and the parents who likely will be buying this Blu-ray for them. Teenage fans will obviously love every minute but parents who might watch with them should be able to stick it out without suffering a migraine.
Songs on the 3D Concert Experience include:
1. Tonight (Opening Credits)
2. That’s Just the Way We Roll
3. Hold On
4. BB Good
5. Goodnight and Goodbye
6. Video Girl
7. Gotta Find You
8. This is Me
9. Still In Love with You
10. Pushing Me Away
11. Should’ve Said No (with Taylor Swift)
12. Love is On Its Way (Music Video)
13. S.O.S
14. Burning Up
15. Can’t Have You
16. A Little Bit Longer
17. Love Bug (Bonus Performance)
18. Shelf (Bonus Performance)
19. Live to Party
20. Play My Music
Disney’s 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is superb. From blazing blues to simmering magentas, the Jonas Brothers and their screaming fans are continually bathed in vivid stage lights and striking spots. Artifacting and crush hinder the image from time to time, but the picture is generally clean and stable. Whites are crisp, blacks are deep and dimensionality is amazing. Detail is refined and revealing, textures pop, and edges are quite natural. I didn’t encounter any noise reduction, any significant banding or aliasing, or any other major distractions. Whether you watch the 2-D or 3-D presentation, Disney has provided a stunning transfer.
The Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience has a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track hampered only by the erratic sonics that accompany the concert’s multi-sourced backstage footage. Anytime the cameras focuses on the stage show, the boys’ lyrics, guitar riffs, and piano melodies sound fantastic. Fidelity is pitch-perfect, LFE support is powerful and aggressive rear speaker activity inserts the raging crowd directly into the track’s thoroughly convincing soundfield.
The backstage footage doesn’t sound that bad. It’s better than most Blu-ray documentaries–but there is pinched voices, unwieldy crowd noise, intermittent distortion, and minor anomalies. Regardless, Disney has produced an excellent lossless track for The Jonas Bros: The 3-D Concert Experience.
There are a couple of special features:
• Both 2D and 3D versions of the performance.
• Four pairs of 3-D glasses.
• An extended 89-minute cut of the movie itself (with two additional songs: “Can’t Have You” and “A Little Bit Longer”)
• Two bonus songs from the cutting room floor (HD, 8 minutes)
• Up Close and Personal (HD, 15 minutes) in which the boys reflect on their careers, the tour and their fame.
• A 2D edition DVD.
• A standard definition DisneyFile digital copy disc.
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