Customer Reviews

Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004 (CD & DVD)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those of you who like the Goo Goo Dolls- and live concert DVDs you wont be dissapointed. If you have HDTV-and in particular a large screen- run and get this. Most of the other reviews failed to point out this was specially filmed in HDTV.

The surprise of thid DVD is the rain- I mean it poured on the 4th of July in Buffalo and they didnt stop the concert or dissapoint the thousands that came to see the band. The fact that Buffalo is home and their families and friends were all there probably propelled them to continue. Most bands doing a promo-4th of July gig would have bailed. Its actually funny to watch the band smiling and laughing during "Slide" - its raining so hard it seems ludicrous to continue. They probably threw out at least 10 guitars. With the high def cameras the rain has an almost MTV video style look to it- but its not staged-its real.

Final note- the "backdrop" to the concert is one of the most incredible art-deco buildings standing- Buffalos City Hall. The lighting of the building and the ornate columns and sculpture is pretty spectacular.

The Goo Goo Dolls are a pretty class act- to not dissapoint their fans and to play the entire show out. They love their roots and it shows.

By the way- the sound is FINE. Its a concert video-the crowd etc is not distracting -in fact Im gonna say after watching it a couple times you feel apart of it.

15 years into the Goo's career, the band has resisted releasing a proper "greatest hits" album. 2001's "Ego, Opinion, Arts & Commerce" compilation was a mixed bag of some (but not all) hits, early songs and obscurities.

Now comes "Live in Buffalo" (20 tracks, 77 min.), which for all practical purposes is a "greatest hits live" collection. All the classics are here, from "Name" (their biggest hit, as unreprestative as it is of their overall sound), to "Black Balloon", "Slide", "Broadway" and of course "Iris". While of course Rzeznik is the prime writer behind the Goo's, I'm glad that Takac gets a few tracks, including the excellent "January Friend", "Smash" and "Tucked Away", all of them all-out rockers, reminiscent of the early Goo days.

While near impossible to detect from the CD audio quality, the accompanying DVD shows that a torrential down-pour almost brought the show to a halt close to the end of the show. So the better for the band to soldier on! I've been a fan of the Goo's since the early days, and unlike some fans, do not begrudge at all the mainstraim succes the Goo's have obtained, straying from the early day "punk-rock" sound. Until we get a proper "greatest hits" CD, this is as good as it gets, and well done at that.

This album shows the incredible outgoing talent Goo Goo Dolls have been expressing over the past years.. You get a taste of their energy on stage, and their emotion with John's beautiful acoustic guitar playing.. You also get a taste of John's abilities on the electric guitar, his solos are simply amazing.. This shows most of their hits over the past years in a raw pure form, untouched through the studio editing, and at a level of unbelievable skill which stands out and never leaves your memory.. definately worth the buy.. and the listen.. You WON'T be disapointed..

This has to be the best live show I've ever seen and it's so great to see the love between the band and the audience! I don't understand the "esp" person's comment about that energy being a negative thing? what? And that in the dvd, first one hears the crowd and then the songs begin... Well, isn't that why we're watching the dvd, to see the band and the crowd and HEAR the great songs? The cover of "Give a little bit" is the best cover of any song in years. Loved it!

Before this video, I was a fan of the Goo Goo Dolls music, but didn't have a true insight into who the people were behind it, specifically the lead singer. I know there are a lot of people who were fans of their punk days, and this provides a great deal of authenticity to their success - it was not "overnight" by any means.

In purchasing this CD/DVD collection, I was looking for a kind of greatest hits + the new Give A Little Bit remake, since I am also a fan of Supertramp... What I got from this video and CD was much more. These guys are awesome musicians and it looks like, authentic people, too. They didn't have to play at the old, broken down train station, they didn't have to keep playing when the rain started, and they (John and Robbie) HAVE to stand in the rain to perform, but they did. And they gave an awesome performance. At one point, John actually grabs the camera that was trying to film him, and pushes it to the audience, the fans. They are the ones standing in the rain to see them, THEY are the ones who this is for. I think this is for all fans of this band, me included. It only helped to solidfy an already growing respect for the band. The performance of "Broadway" is absolutely awesome - you have to see it to understand what I am talking about!

The audio is awesome, no problem on a standard stereo TV, I listen to the CD in the car all the time. (A comment about the CD/DVD combination - why don't more bands do that?! A great value!) This band can obviously pull off live what they have on record.

So, my conclusion: Highly recommended, whether you are new to the bands music, or if you are already a fan, you probably have it already and understand the attraction.

BTW, I have the Music in High Places DVD and recommend that you check that out - I like the connection to nature, and the ability for their music to be played acoustically as well.
Like I said, these guys look like cool people as well as great musicians, a big bonus in my book.

Yes, I've seen them back in the day at the Continental in Buffalo.... But they have still got it. In the day in age when performing with a backing track is the norm, (Ashley, Madonna, etc) this is pure and simple LIVE Rock and Roll with energy! Who else do you know that will continue to play in the pouring summer rain of Buffalo?!?! What a show...
Only wish I could've been there in person... The only band who cares enough to give back to their home town. RESPECT!

Quality songs... you will sing along...

A greatest hits compilation this is not - how could it be with "Long Way Down" "Slave Girl" "Fallin Down" "On the Lie" "We are the Normal" "Girl Right Next to Me" "Out of the Red" "Domino" and "James Dean" omitted?

But as a concert dvd it's surprisingly good. The spirit of the show is really captured - from Johnny Goo's snarky sidebars, to Robbie doing the Pogo, to the water-splattered from-the-crowd camera shots.

The track list is a bit weighted towards the later albums (nothing from Goo Goo Dolls or Jed, only Two Days in February and Cuz You're Gone representing Hold Me Up and Superstar Carwash respectively, and even their first hit album - A Boy Named Goo - only contributing Name and Naked, for a total of four songs from their first five albums)but Dizzy Up the Girl and Gutterflower are certainly not subpar material. They are, in fact, two of the best albums to come out in the past eight years.

And when your first commercial release in three years contains no new original material, it helps to play songs the entire crowd, and not just the die-hards, know all the words to.

There was some slight censorship (Robbie Tacac's defiant and thrilling scream of "F**K this rain!" was overdubbed as "Screw this rain!" and Johnny Rzeznick's taunting his bandmates into joining him back onstage after their managers turned their amps off was completely cut off of the dvd, though it's included in part on the audio cd), which was a little disappointing.

But somehow, with all the limitations that the business side of music and the technical difficulties that come with producing a video in a torrential downpour, the dvd captures that elusive something, that purely... Goo Goo Dolls feeling of expecting the worst and laughing in its face that turned some South Buffalonian kids into international superstars.

These guys simply don't give a sh-t if you rain on their parade. And that's why we love them.

I picked this up the other day because I was looking for Gutterflower which seems to be impossible to find in Australia:( and saw the double cd/dvd and looked at the tracks and thought "yeah why not?"It is the second Goo album I own Dizzy Up The Girl was first. After reading a previous review of someone saying Rzenic's vocals was off i was a bit hesistent but after watching/listening the dvd and im happy to say that it is an awesome performance,the way he sings the songs are cool compared to how they are done in the studio(ive compared listening to some of my friends albums)So this album has made me discover some old Goo and songs Id never heard but absoloutly love now (Naked,Name,Sympathy,What A Scene,Cuz Your Gone) all songs Id never heard.Well if the Goos back catalouge was easily available here in Aus Id buy it all but this is as good as it gets for now as far as a greatest hits go but i really hope they bring one out.The concert is awesome and the rain enhances it so much.Even if your not a Goo fan I think you will appreciate the music and the performance.

I've been thinking that the 'live album' must different from the 'studio album.' Today's most live albums are the very like studio albums just adding cheers and reverb. I don't expect the excellent sound quality or impeccable performances. Musicians' novel arrangement, different melody and even their slips are what I do expect in live albums and Goo's new album satisfy every requirement. I've met some bootlegs and live clips of Goo but John and Robby's vocal condition is the best in this album. Though there is no enough gap between each track, John's vocal has continuous power and Robby's is also good and much better when he undertakes background vocal, especially at 'Black Balloon'. John and Robby sing every song in the different way, not as their studio albums. It will be interesting to find which Goo makes a slip - I know who and when :) -. In fact, the sound of a trio is apt to be felt empty. Greg Suran and Jason Freese carried out their part(an additional guitar, keyboards, etc.) perfectly and made all songs solid.

This is the REALLY Goo's fresh best album(see the track list!) and I bet you are never disappointed. Listen, right now.

I'm not sure what J. Cox was listening to when he did his review (below). Perhaps Mr. Cox you need to learn how to adjust the settings on your stereo system (the little faders on the mixer part). This is an exceptional CD, and the DVD is amazing, and I'm not even a huge Goo Goo Dolls fan.

Worth the price of admission.