boys night in?

Boys Night Out
"Dude, You Need to Stop Dancing"
(Ferret)

Up until last year's "Trainwreck" I've had a love-hate relationship with Boys Night Out. Their Ferret debut, 2003's "Make Yourself Sick," came out at a time when I was personally sick of the pop-punk/screamo hybrid. But, it's still hard to deny that the band has hooks. They know how to write a good pop song, otherwise, I wouldn't think twice before dismissing this band.

Their latest release, a live DVD coupled with a "documentary," probably captures the band at their creative apex. Many of the live songs come from "Trainwreck," 2005's concept album about a man who murders his wife during his slumber. It's tricky to do any song from a concept record live, but the band manages to pretty much do the entire album, throwing in songs from "Sick" as intermissions.

The documentary portion captures the band during their final days, a la "Hard Core Logo." This, of course, is all fictious and there are some funny parts, but once the "death" of Dave Costa comes up, all humor is pretty much lost.

This is pretty much a standard DVD release for a new band: live show, a short documentary, and a few music videos. It's hardly anything to cheer about, but if you're a fan of the band, or even marginally interested in their music, I'd recommend it.