No longer are fans of today's biggest acts required to haggle ticket scalpers or wake up at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning clicking refresh to get a chance to see their favorite bands live.

Sure, thanks to VHS and now DVD, you can purchase recordings of live performances of bands like U2 or The Rolling Stones instead of forking out between $50 and $200 bucks for seats. But now, both bands are bringing the show to theaters across the country.

I got a chance to see "U23D" at a theater in Kansas City. I am fortunate to be one of the lucky souls to see the band live, but the opportunity to revisit a monumental performance from a monumental band for $11 was something I couldn't pass up.

The whole idea of making these shows in 3D is so the person in the theater can actually feel like they are seeing the show live themselves. The problem is they need to do a lot more to make that happen.

For one thing, they have to TURN UP THE VOLUME.

What is the point of making a film 3D if the minimal volume makes you feel like you are watching it from the privacy of your own home. The beauty of the live performance is the assault on the senses, visually and audibly. You can't have one without the other.

Secondly, the films aren't really shot with a 3D movie in mind. Unlike films like "Beowulf," which are specifically directed and shot for maximum 3D results, the concerts in the same dimensions only have that dramatic effect when the camera is in the crowd, graphics are incorporated, Bono reaches towards the camera or there is a dramatic zoom on a bass neck. Just know unless they film the members Rammstein constantly wielding flamethrowers in 3D, this experiment in live music films may disappoint.

But it doesn't mean they don't have potential.

With the Hannah Montana live 3D film grossing $29 million in its opening weekend, there are plenty of parents and children who couldn't get tickets that obviously settled for a 3D performance of the tween popster. And with the new Martin Scorcese-directed documentary "Shine A Light," which chronicles The Rolling Stones' performance at the Beacon Theatre in NYC hitting multiplexes this spring, audiences will be able to catch another rock group they may have wanted to see play live but didn't want to donate one of their kidneys to afford.

Rock movies may not be able to capture the raw energy of actually being there, but for music fans, it has the potential to serve as the next best thing.