Eight Music Concert Documentaries You Should Watch Instead Of The Zombie Dick Clark's 'New Year's Rockin' Eve'

No matter how laidback and low-key your New Year's Eve plans might be, there is no reason to watch the relentlessly vapid Ryan Seacrest celebrate the dropping of the Times Square ball at midnight surrounded by C-level celebrities who all look as if they are part of a hostage situation.

Instead, check out one of these classic pop & rock music documentaries, all available for streaming:

* Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback (Paramount+)
It's easy to dismiss Elvis Presley in 2024. Most of what younger music fans see of the King are clips from his tacky motion pictures or Fat Elvis performances from near the end of his career. But as this documentary shows, he was capable of cranking out some impressive performances when he was given the opportunity and distance from the questionable commercial decisions of his longtime manager Colonel Parker. Elvis' live performances in his legendary 1968 TV special are still stunning examples of a charismatic rock and roller at the peak of his talents.

* The Night James Brown Saved Boston (Peacock)
Two days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Brown performed at the Boston Garden, shielding the city from widespread riots.

* Gimme Shelter (Max)
The documentary of the 1969 Rolling Stones tour of the United States showed the band at its creative height and by after the events at Altamont, the moment when that generation's innocence disappeared following the death of a man who was killed by Hell's Angels during a concert.

* Joe Feliciano: Behind This Guitar (Peacock)
Although this is more music documentary than live performance film, it's worth watching this absolutely fascinating profile of the Puerto Rican singer/guitarist who won nine Grammys, wrote the theme song to "Chico & The Man" and created an absolute Christmas classic. He also performed a version of the National Anthem that was so controversial it nearly ended his career.

* Beyonce Bowl (Netflix)
While I enjoy Beyonce's music just fine, I find her live performances feel more like branding exercises than musical experiences. Regardless, Netflix has released her recent Christmas Day NFL halftime performance as a stand-alone special and there are worse ways to kick off the new year.

* Monterey Pop (Max)
D.A. Pennebaker's 1968 film of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival features a murderer's row of live performances by Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & The Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Big Brother & The Holding Company with Janis Joplin, The Who, Otis Redding backed by Booker T & the MGs, and topped off by a frantic Jimi Hendrix performance that ended with him smashing his guitar.

* The Doors: Live At The Bowl '68 (Peacock)
Some music is both great and also limited by being tethered to a specific point in history. This live Doors Performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968 is a solid explanation of why the band was so popular in the late 1960s, as the band tears through live versions of "Hello, I Love You," "The End," "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive. But the music also feels very late 1960s and I can't say that it has aged especially well over the past fifty years. Still, it's well worth watching if you're a classic rock fan.

* Don't Look Back (Max)
The documentary follows Bob Dylan during his 1965 tour in England. He refuses to talk to reporters, stonewalls pop singer Donovan and flashes lyric-emblazoned cue cards.