Rock the Bells is a funny and quite often frightening account of concert promoter Chang Weisberg’s attempt to reunite all nine original members of the Wu-Tang Clan for the 2005 “Rock the Bells” hip hop festival—a show that would be Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s last before his death less than six months later. It’s a skillfully paced doc that slowly builds to an almost-harrowing conclusion as the promoters and fans wait for the group’s troubled wildcard, ODB, to complete the reunion. “It’s planning a wedding, and you hope the groom shows up,” Weisberg comments, but he is seriously understating the situation.
It’s difficult to muster up much sympathy for Weisberg, considering that most of the logistical headaches were of his own creation. He oversells the show by thousands with the promise of a show he had no guarantee of delivering, staffs the event with inadequate security, and pads the show with a wack rap contest guaranteed to rile up an already fed-up crowd.
Thankfully, directors Denis Hennelly and Casey Suchan make no attempt to excuse Weisburg’s major fuck-ups in this area, but simply let the story unfold as it is. The result is a nail-biting account of a show that easily could have ended in disaster, even tragedy, considering the large number of exhausted and frustrated fans waiting for the show of a lifetime.
If you’re looking for actual concert footage of the Wu, you’re out of luck; the performance can be found on the concert DVD Disciples of the 36 Chambers. But the film certainly stands on its own as a tribute to ODB and a candid behind-the-scenes look at the making of a historic show.
– Keidra Chaney
Rock The Bells
Denis Hennelly and Casey Suchan
DVD, 103 miniutes
$14.95, Warner Home Video
Rock The Bells: www.rockthebellsmovie.com