By Megan King

One of the most popular bands of the last 10 years, The Goo Goo Dolls have seen a lot in their career. Yet even with numerous multi-platinum records and several Grammy nominations, it’s doubtful that the 3 guys from Buffalo had ever imagined playing for a huge hometown crowd on July 4, in the pouring rain.

But that’s exactly what they’ve done. A greatest hits CD of sorts, The Goo Goo Dolls’ Live in Buffalo is a great recording of what was undoubtedly an exciting and memorable concert. The guys start the night off with “Big Machine,” one of their newer songs off their last studio release, Gutterflower. As the energetic rock tune gets the crowd pumped, The Goo Goo Dolls waste no time diving right into other crowd favorites like “Slide” and “Black Balloon” (with great supporting vocals from Robbie Tacak). Older fans will be pleased with “Naked” and “Dizzy,” tunes that show where the band has come from musically. Later, songs like “Smash” and “Tucked Away” showcase bassist Robbie Takac’s truly unique vocal quality and songwriting ability.

The Goo Goo Dolls’ first big hit “Name” is an obvious highlight on the album, with its simplistic but moving melodic line and poignant lyrics. Other jems on the live CD are “Sympathy” and “Acoustic #3”-these slower, more emotional tracks really give frontman Johnny Rzeznik a chance to shine vocally. The 2000 smash hit, “Iris,” closes the show; Arguably their best-known tune, “Iris” caps off a great night with a solid hit song.

The band then comes out for one last encore number, entitled “Give a Little Bit,” originally performed by the 70’s band, Supertramp. With a great saxophone solo and infectious lyrics, this tune is definitely a crowd pleaser. “Give a Little Bit” is showcased at the beginning of the disc as a studio version, as well.

A live DVD accompanies the CD, giving the viewer a totally different sense of the concert experience. A great live album, Live from Buffalo is a solid recording of the band’s biggest hits and favorite songs from the past 10 years. With the near perfect audio quality of the show, it’s almost impossible to tell on the CD that most of the concert took place in the pouring rain. The DVD allows you to witness this firsthand, and also offers some great bonus footage of the band getting ready for the July 4 performance.

The Chronicle gives ´Live In Buffalo´, by The Goo Goo Dolls four out of five stars.