seeking a good band-on-tour documentary

[DJ Bebop]

 

[shastaband]

“Gimme Shelter”

Rolling Stones on tour, 1969, ending with their free concert at Altamont.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

One of the best band documentaries I’ve seen.

 

[JimmyM]

No matter how nice your vehicle to travel is, no matter how much bunk space and video games, no matter how much storage and Febreze you have, it will smell like ass and feet within 3 days.

 

[bolophonic]

Another State of Mind.

 

[DwaynieAD]

In my gigging days, I never went on tour. The most my bands ever did: travel to a nearby city, perform, then return home.

Whenever the possibility of touring came up (e.g. another local band offering to take us along in their school bus as they would travel from one festival gig to another) one or more members of my band would utterly refuse.

When I met musicians on tour (e.g. we were their local opening act), it seemed nearly universal for them to love the on-stage part only; no love for the rest of it.

I heard stories of bands going into a diner along the highway for a proper meal then returning to their van to find their gear stolen.

I've also heard of sleeping in the van, hating the scents and sounds of slumbering bandmates, and the necessity of caffeine just to drive in a straight line after sunrise.

While I appreciate such anecdotes, I have yet to come across a documentary that realistically depicts a real band experiencing real life on a real tour.

I have seen This Is Spinal Tap. Based on many real stories, it remains fiction.

Also, Iron Maiden flying their own jet from country to country does not count.

What documentary do you recommend that fairly depicts the van-drive-from-gig-to-gig life for performing musicians transitioned from local band to touring band?

There is a podcast called "hardlore: stories from tour" that is hosted by two touring musicians. Its all heavy music so might not be for everyone but it's hilarious and has a lot of good stories.

I also like the band Throwdowns dvd "together, forever, united" but I haven't seen that available on streaming

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is a documentary, and comes with a free Flo and Eddie in every box Also look for Keith Moon, and Ringo Starr

Beat me to it.

 

[Discount Bassy]

I did a super-hyper-micro-mini-nano tour once. Problems with the size of tiny sandwich bread is a serious and persistently recurring issue.

 

[Kevin Hailey]

You might like Bad News Tour -- like a lower budget British Spinal Tap.



Never really toured as a musician, I toured as a roadie in my late teens ... parts of it were fun, most of it wasn't.

The King Crimson at 50 documentary is ... I have no words, but Fripp is certainly an odd little man.

I love Bad News! It actually predates Spinal Tap by a few months. There is a Bad News album too which has some very funny material.

 

[Ostie]

I realize that the OP asked about documentaries, but I’ve read a couple books by Grateful Dead roadies that were very candid. I can’t remember the titles though.

 

[emal]

I haven’t actually watched it yet, but it’s on my to do list.

I can't recommend this enough! Awesome doc

 

[DJ Bebop]

Only thing that comes close is 200 Motels.

Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is a documentary, and comes with a free Flo and Eddie in every box Also look for Keith Moon, and Ringo Starr

Beat me to it.

 

[Pauly 4001]

Yes but they'd already made it by the time this documentary was filmed so it's not not what the average Dirk would encounter.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

There's this good TV show about hi-end touring called Roadies. Created by Cameron Crowe BTW.

I don't know how real it is but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

[Dincrest]

My old punk band was buddies with Bucket Flush, a DIY Philly punk band who did this documentary which certainly has its moments.



And +1 on Another State of Mind.

 

[Andy Marshman]

If you follow Leland Solar, he documents each stop on his tours (most recently with Lyle Lovett). He narrates a video tour of all the venues, whether it's an arena or a heritage theatre. He visits the place from the attic to the basement. There's no music performances other than the occasional sound check. This is a little off-topic to the original post, but it's worth checking out.

 

[DJ Bebop]

If you follow Leland Solar, he documents each stop on his tours (most recently with Lyle Lovett). He narrates a video tour of all the venues, whether it's an arena or a heritage theatre. He visits the place from the attic to the basement. There's no music performances other than the occasional sound check. This is a little off-topic to the original post, but it's worth checking out.

Leland Sklar maybe.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Totally off the actual topic (but related), I actually love touring… until I hate it again. The first half of (almost) every tour I’ve done has been pretty fun - the second half is almost always a grind and I find myself happy when it’s over. Then, three to six months later, I find myself wanting to get on the road again.

It’s all about who you tour with, and how the tour is arranged. If you’re rolling around punk rock style and relying on the kindness of strangers for places to crash and picking up shows as you go along in order to get gas and food money, it quickly starts to suck eggs and you end up arguing with your bandmates over who is gonna drive next and who ate the last protein bar. If you plan well and put as many pieces in place as possible before you hit the road (including time to be away from your road mates), it’s not so bad and can even be enjoyable.

One really has to love both performing and being on the road (which I do). It’s definitely harder than having a “real job” but can be rewarding - the memories and stories alone are worth a mint when your back starts to hurt all the time and you can’t do it anymore.

Btw, Dave Grohl’s book talks a lot about him being on the road for most of his career and it’s a great look at what type of personality it takes to do this work. It’s obviously not a movie but it’s worth checking out if you want to hear some good road stories from the point of view of both independent bands and rock stars.

 

[Killing Floor]

Centerville, a real nice place to raise your kids up.

 

[Bassdoggydogg]

I gotta second the NOFX backstage passport, because it's just that good. You should watch it even if you don't like punk rock. Why? Because the entire point of thier tour was to make it as sketchy as possible