Or a high-energy holiday celebration with a city full of your closest friends. Or an up close and in-person career retrospective from a band that got to the top the old fashioned way; with hard work and great music.

However you look at it, Goo Goo Dolls – Live in Buffalo July 4th, 2004 is a live and kicking chronicle of everything that makes The Goo Goo Dolls one of America’s great rock ‘n’ roll originals: an incendiary stage show; a catalog of timeless original songs and a fierce commitment to a following that has grown to worldwide proportions over the past decade.

A generous helping of both music and exclusive concert footage, Goo Goo Dolls – Live in Buffalo July 4th, 2004 features a twenty-track audio CD and a full length concert DVD recorded live on the 4th of July in the band’s hometown of Buffalo, New York in a pounding storm that saw more rain drop on the city in a single day than at any time during the past ten years.

“The July 4th concert was a great homecoming for us and a way to thank our fans and reconnect with our roots,” Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik remarks of the historic event. “This is our way of thanking everyone for giving us the opportunity to let our music be heard. It’s been a fantastic experience but what’s even more incredible is that guys from Buffalo can play for audiences on every continent. We hope this album will give our fans everywhere something to remember us by until we’re back in their town.”

Given such sentiments, it’s only natural that the Goo Goo Dolls selected their Buffalo stomping grounds as the site for this historic concert recording. The city that nurtured and supported them since their formation in 1986 has always held a special place in the heart of the threesome, even as their evocative and emotionally resonant music has earned them a fanatic following around the globe.

In 1986 by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik and bassist Robby Takac, the Goo Goo Dolls began making a name for themselves on the rough and tumble Buffalo music scene after they started writing and performing their own material. They released their debut album in 1987, following it up with 1989’s Jed and 1990’s Hold Me Up, which helped break the band on college campuses across the country.

The breakthrough widened with 1993’s Superstar Car Wash, featuring such Goo Goo Doll classics as “We Are the Normal.” 1995’s A Boy Named Goo capped nearly ten years of relentless touring and recording with the smash single “Name” and multi-platinum worldwide sales.

Along with drummer Mike Malinin, the band capitalized on their hard-earned success with “Iris,” the chart-topping phenomenon from the 1998 soundtrack to City of Angels. The song would go on to spend nearly a year on the Billboard airplay charts, including an amazing 18 weeks at number one, and was nominated for three Grammys. Small wonder their next album, 1998’s Dizzy Up the Girl would go on to sell over three million copies and yield an unprecedented string of hit single including “Slide,” “Dizzy” and “Black Balloon.” In between a packed concert itinerary, the band released What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art and Commerce, their 2001 collection of lesser-known material. A year later, they were back on the charts with “Here Is Gone” from their seventh studio album Gutterflower, which, in turn, was followed up by a further worldwide touring schedule, and the release of the highly acclaimed singles “Big Machine” and “Sympathy.”

It’s a history gloriously chronicled on Goo Goo Dolls – Live in Buffalo July 4th, 2004. Aside from live versions of such indispensable songs as “Iris,” “Slide” and “Black Balloon,” the deluxe package features such signature Goo Goo selections as “Big Machine,” “Think About Me,” “Here Is Gone,” “What A Scene,” “Sympathy,” “Smash,” “Tucked Away,” “Dizzy,” “January,” “Acoustic #3,” “Burnin’ Up,” “Naked,” “Name,” “We Are The Normal,” “Cuz You’re Gone (1000 Words)” and “Two Days In February.” Also highlighted is the band’s mesmerizing version of the Supertramp perennial, “Give A Little Bit.”

The DVD portion of Goo Goo Dolls – Live in Buffalo July 4th, 2004 spotlights nineteen live tracks recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound as well as an exclusive half hour behind-the-scenes documentary of the event.

But in the end, Goo Goo Dolls – Live in Buffalo July 4th, 2004 is more than a merely a tribute to a band whose determination and dedication have earned them an enduring place of popular music. It’s a milestone in a career that has yet to reach its peak.