Going to Gonerfest (Memphis' favorite garage and punk rock festival) can be a little overwhelming. There are a ton of bands to see, loads of people, and a lot of crazy behavior. It's easy to go to Gonerfest and miss a lot of the festival's cool parts.

This is where the Gonerfest DVD / CD  comes in.

There are two discs in the case - one is a DVD of live footage from Gonerfest shows, and one is a CD of recordings from the festival.

The CD has 23 tracks from bands that played at Gonerfest 4. Local favorites Greg Cartwright and Jay Reatard are represented, as is Cococoma (from the Goner Records label).

The DVD of live Gonerfest footage is the main event, though. There are 37 chapters, each one a different song by one of the Gonerfest bands. In each chapter, there are comments from festival goers, shots of people dancing, and in one case, a particularly funny bit about a pool party stunt involving futons gone horribly awry.

The Barbaras, Gentleman Jesse, Digital Leather, the King Louie One Man Band and Quintron and Miss Pussycat are all featured on the DVD. Here's Quintron and Miss Pussycat (I love her tinsel dress):

The chapter featuring Greg Cartwright playing "Pocket Full of Broken Things" was a stand out, largely because it seemed to be the only quieter song.

The nice thing about the Gonerfest DVD is that I feel like I'm actually able to see some of the bands. At the actual festival, it can be hard to get anywhere close to the stage. The DVD is like having staked out a perfect spot in front of the stage a week in advance (also, when you watch the DVD, no one spills beer on you).

The DVD was filmed by the fantastic Live From Memphis crew. Their filming style, angles, and editing match the frenetic pace of the festival perfectly.

You can order the Gonerfest 4 DVD / CD from Goner Records for $16.99 (or go pick it up at their physical store in Cooper Young).  If you're planning to make the trip to Gonerfest 7 in 2010, you should watch this first. Consider it your spring training.