Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 13, 2015

Just by chance I was recently reading some of the liner notes on an old 1970s era Reader’s Digest record set (remember those?) which were detailing the then genre busting efforts of Glen Campbell, a guy who (according to the liner notes, anyway) was the first person to successfully bridge country and pop idioms (an at least questionable thesis, given the likes of performers like Patsy Cline). Bands like Lady Antebellum don’t have to worry about any random idioms keeping them pigeonholed, for they’ve been able to forge a successful identity that traffics in any number of different styles, all while remaining at least tangentially linked to the perhaps misleading country music label. While the band at least attempts to reach out into various other genres, it’s perhaps notable that one version of this release is going to be a Walmart exclusive, as if to suggest the band is all to aware of where their chief consumer demographic likes to shop (that is said with a bit of tongue planted firmly in cheek, just to be clear). This enjoyable if unambitious concert finds the band performing before a rapt audience in Irvine, California. Interspersed with the concert footage is some actually rather sweet interstitial footage of fans getting to meet their idols, as well as interesting if less compelling information on the construction of the massive set.

The concert’s set list is comprised of: 1) Long Stretch Of Love
2) Bartender
3) American Honey
4) Freestyle
5) Our Kind Of Love
6) Just A Kiss
7) Compass
8) Where It All Begins
9) Perfect Day
10) Love Don’t Live Here
11) Medley: Thinking Out Loud / Dancin’ Away With My Heart / Hello World
12) I Run To You
13) Downtown
14) Any Man Of Mine
15) Walk This Way
16) Lookin’ For A Good Time
17) 747 18) Need You Now 19) We Owned The Night 20) Landslide

Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lady Antebellum Wheels Up Tour is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Music Group and Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Aside from typical issues like posterizing when the stage is bathed in blue and/or purple, this is a problem free presentation, though resolution does seem to vary somewhat between the very crisp looking concert footage and some of the more candid elements like fans arriving at the concert (some of which may have been captured with things like cellphones). Colors are natural looking and quite vivid at times, and the dry ice smoke effects present no resolution problems whatsoever. Close-ups reveal excellent fine detail, including wisps of flyaway hair or the occasional errant drop of perspiration.

Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lady Antebellum Wheels Up Tour features both an LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and perhaps surprisingly there's not a huge difference in midrange and low end resonance when choosing the 5.1 mix. That said, both tracks offer sterling clarity and good precision, with the voices nicely prioritized and blending beautifully in their moments of harmonizing. The rhythm section sounds acute and vibrant and there are no problems of any kind to address in this review.

Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Perhaps unexpectedly, there are no supplements included on this Blu-ray disc.

Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of like that humongous hit that supposedly made Glen Campbell a genre busting megastar, Lady Antebellum's tunes go "gentle on my mind", and (not so coincidentally), my ears. The band is genial and authentic seeming (even if they occasionally verge toward self aggrandizement as they urge their audience to applaud more vociferously for them). Their music may be a bit on the bland side at times, but it's never less than enjoyable to listen to. Recommended.