Well I’ve watched it and enjoyed it.
From some of the comments I was expecting it to be a cautionary tale and I don’t think it was. The Liberty Devito situation wasn’t good but on the whole it’s as I would expect in any job, and playing music at this level is a job. Short term contracts, low job security, you might be successful you might not, pretty much along the lines of every probationary period I’ve worked in my life in a new job.
I was waiting for the opportunity to boo at the guy from Filter, but he said he’s upfront when recruiting. The band is playing in the trenches, not earning fortunes so doesn’t pay big wages. If someone accepts the gig on that basis then they either stay with it or move on as his bassist did. The fact that he might not be a nice person to be in a band with is very likely a personal thing. One could argue that he learned what he needed to learn from his treatment in NIN, and when taken alongside the comment from Liberty Devito that he was told he was just too nice then it makes a twisted kind of sense to me. Look at it another way, he could be magnanimous with the money to other band members and get turned over himself. Jason Moore who comes across as really nice guy said himself in one segment that if he couldn’t achieve the A Dream of being in a band with four or five guys writing original music together then the B Dream is to look after himself and get into an already succeful band. Filter man is looking after himself!
As for Kenny Aronof, aside from the fact that he looks younger now than he did thirty years ago, I found his playing to be stunning, perhaps I don’t have a critical ear because I can’t understand how anyone would criticise his performances in the documentary.