My first 3D movie experience in the theater since Captain Eo way back when turned out to be a concert movie - "Phish 3D" - that I saw more for the sounds than the sights.

With that in mind, it seemed to be a fitting experience for what 3D may offer in the near future. The band itself, in the grand scheme of things, has a large but essentially limited following, and that's probably why the movie was given a limited one-week run (after an advanced screening night that was sold out in many places).

People tend to be either fanatical about Phish or completely ignore them, so maybe they were a good litmus test for what 3D will be, and how 3D movies and TV programming will be reviewed. I'm in the former category of listeners, so for me and the other fanatics the sampling of songs from Phish's three-day Festival 8 over last Halloween weekend was first rate, in both performance and song selection for the theatrical release (which I'd expect to end up on 3D Blu-ray at some point).

But if I were to review the concert movie just based on 3D effects, there's just not a whole lot there when compared with action and animation flicks. So if it's a 1 out of 4 on the 3D scale and a 4 out of 4 on the overall concert movie quality scale, does that mean I give it about a 2.5-star rating?

I ask that because eventually, if the James Camerons of the world or other Hollywood execs and display manufacturers have it their way, we'll be bombarded with a lot of 3D programming on TV in which the 3D effects add very little to the viewing -- think reality TV, cable programming like Food Network and HGTV, some sporting events, etc.

"Phish 3D" effects-wise worked best in its simple enhancement of the predominantly close-up shot footage of the band on stage. Occasionally balloon bunches or other flying objects in audience shots gave you a 3D sense, as well as brief footage of the non-performance side of the festival.

But I never really felt the desire to reach out and grab the neck of Trey Anastasio's guitar as it poked into the third dimension. Still, I found it amusing that they opened the film with "AC/DC Bag," in which Anastasio sings, "If I were near you/I wouldn't be far from you," that could be viewed as a nod to the 3D-going audience and the greater immersion.

Upon release, "Phish 3D" was of course compared with "U2 3D" perhaps unfairly. Bono is a showman, and U2's stage shows are epic. Phish just rears back and plays. U2's theatrics are far more suited for 3D; however, Phish's movie release clocked in at 140 minutes, about 75 percent longer than U2's, and fans undoubtedly would have been disappointed if the film were that much shorter.

Musically, the band's performance was exceptional, and even non-fans perhaps dragged to the movie by Phish-loving significant others, could enjoy the enthusiastic selections from their full Halloween "musical costume" covering of the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" album and the sun-soaked acoustical set the following morning.

So one might ask, why bother with the 3D format if it's not central to the movie experience? There aren't a whole lot of theatrical concert movies being released these days, so maybe Phish and the producers just wanted something a little more enticing. So if you're going to release a special concert film to the theater, perhaps the better question today is, why not try 3D?