Dang it if being a Meat Puppets fan ain't kind of a challenge sometimes. An even half of their recorded output is pure turd, and their live shows can vacillate between transcendent and downright retarded. All the same, I eagerly pounce on everything they put out. I have so much invested in my Meat Puppets fanship that I'm certain that I'll be able to find something worthwhile in even their worst records. You know how you get so wrapped up in a band that you start to feel like you're keyed into the mindset of the bandmembers, and so even their bad output has some intrinsic value to you? That's the kind of relationship I have going with the Meat Puppets. Luckily, there's enough amazing shit on this DVD that it's not much of a stretch for me to dig it. As the name indicates, it's footage from a bunch of different venues throughout the 90s, from the "Forbidden Places" era (circa '91) to their arena-rock days in '94. You'd think that footage taken from an arena show would be a top-notch, high-fidelity major label endeavor. But as it turns out, the arena footage is the least gratifying by far. For one thing, there's the light show going on, so you got this huge blue lamp blinding you every three seconds. For another thing, the camera is so far back, you may as well be watching a Lakers game or something. The best footage is from before the Meat Puppets had a radio hit, when they were still playing smaller clubs and in-store shows. Several of these are acoustic shows, which suits the Meat Puppets very well. When the camera is up close, you can really get a feel for the mastery exhibited by these Arizonans. Bonus footage abounds! There's a long interview with Mike Watt where he talks about the days when the Minutemen and Black Flag toured with the Meat Puppets with 10 people in a van, and how put-off the orthodox punkers of the day were by the Meat Puppets. Another interview with Thurston Moore provides more historical perspective from the early 80s era. The highlight for me is this footage from maybe '87 where guitarist Curt Kirkwood is being interviewed by this excitable, over-zealous college documentarian girl. It's perhaps the most bizarre interview I've ever seen, mostly due to the fact that the camera keeps zooming in right up to the girl's face. At one point, the girl, looking like she's about to wet her pants, asks Curt about their album "Huevos" and, sounding very ponderous, asks what the name means. Curt, looking kind of sickened and freaked out by this girl, deadpans, "It means... eggs."