Summer Concert Series: Foreigner: All Access Tonight (2003)

In 2002 VH1 was doing a behind the music segment on British/American rock band Foreigner. When they were asked for archival footage of the band performing, they began to realize that they had none. Guitarist and founding member Mick Jones, decided that this was a fact that needed to be rectified. So he asked his friend Justin Bougerie (the director of this movie) to film the 2002-2003 tour of the band. In the end they had enough footage to make a feature length film.

This movie is hardly as polished as something like The Last Waltz (1978). It was filmed on one camera and therefore many of the cinematic touches seen in other concert films are completely missing here. The footage itself is about the same picture quality as a fan recording one of their favorite bands and concert and posting it to YouTube. However the sound quality is much better. There are some scenes where you see the band when they are not performing. While there is hardly the intimacy of say Don't Look Back (1967), these scenes are a lot of fun (with the exception of them checking into a hotel in a scene where nothing else happens).

While this movie may be lacking cinematically at times, it makes up for this with Foreigner's performances. They put on quite a show and are a joy to watch as they perform their hits. Many of these songs sound just as good if not better live. Despite this being 25 years after the band formed they had lost none of their talent by this time. Adding to this is that hit songs like Double Vision, Hot Blooded, Feels Like the First Time and Juke Hero are just as fun as they were when they came out.

This may not be anything groundbreaking but it is a fun concert film.

-Michael J. Ruhland