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JohnnysValentine
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GGD Still Can Rock
« on: Feb 28th, 2007, 11:20am » |
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Goo Goo Dolls still can rock
By Rob Thomas
It had to be tongue-in-cheek. Having venerable rockers like the Goo Goo Dolls take the stage at the Alliant Energy Center to the sounds of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" had to be a sly joke.
Heck, the band itself is older than that (they formed in 1986), let alone the 40-something founding members.
But the Goo Goo Dolls certainly aimed to play with the enthusiasm of 18-year-olds Tuesday night. Most of the songs themselves sported the polish of a more mature band, and for the most part, they succeeded.
The high-energy show before an appreciative, multigenerational crowd in Exhibition Hall moved ably back and forth between crunchy guitar rock and heartfelt acoustic pop.
Goo Goo Dolls still can rock
Metal Blade
The Dolls' first album, in 1987.
Goo Goo Dolls still can rock
googoodolls.com
Their latest album, from 2006.
Singer Johnny Rzeznik, who sported a bed-head cut above his matinee-idol looks well before that was in vogue, mused during the set on how long the band had been together.
He expressed surprise that their first huge hit, "Name," is already 12 years old and growled to one 13-year-old fan, "I've got T-shirts older than you, kid." But he added that with age comes wisdom, even for a rocker.
"Just because you play in a rock band doesn't mean that every woman wants to sleep with you," Rzeznik mused. "Now women will throw me their phone numbers, and they'll turn out to be real estate agents."
The young women who squealed loudly at Rzeznik all through the show, however, didn't appear to be Realtors. Unless holding up a sign saying "Can I lick your dimple?" is some kind of negotiating tactic.
The five-piece band, featuring the bass-guitar-drums core of the band plus a second touring guitarist and a keyboard/saxophone player, started the 75-minute set with quick, punchy versions of "Dizzy" and "Slide," which largely served as icebreakers.
From there, the set roamed from the familiar to the unfamiliar, often seesawing from a roughneck rock tune directly into a tender ballad and back again.
The Goo Goo Dolls, whose sound has evolved greatly over 21 years (detractors would say it's been watered down), seem to be comfortable pushing further at both extremes than the average radio-friendly rock band. Their rock songs are a little harder, their ballads more overtly emotional, and somehow they mostly get away with it.
Bassist Robby Takac, who sang lead on the three punkiest songs of the night, including the lean "January Friend," visibly enjoyed the louder tunes, slamming his bass like it was a percussion instrument and leaping around the stage.
Takac's songwriting isn't quite as noteworthy as Rzeznik's, and his voice is flat-out weaker, but his presence seems to provide the band with a vital link back to its punk rock roots.
Spirited versions of "Broadway" and a crowd sing-along for "Iris" closed the set, and the two-song encore finished up with a giddy cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit."
Like a lot of the Goo Goo Dolls' material, it has aged very well.
E-mail: rthomas@madison.com
Published: February 28, 2007
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Shannon
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #1 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 1:34pm » |
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Thanks so much for posting this. I was just coming here to do it.
Quote:| Takac's songwriting isn't quite as noteworthy as Rzeznik's, and his voice is flat-out weaker, but his presence seems to provide the band with a vital link back to its punk rock roots. |
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Finally a reviewer gets that Robby is vital to the band....I get so tired of them bashing him. It's like we've always said....John reels 'em in and Robby keeps 'em coming back. Robby is the spirit and vitality.
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Nicole
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #2 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 3:54pm » |
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Thanks for posting the great review!!
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ChickenCookie
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #3 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 5:47pm » |
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Whoa, I saw 'Rob Thomas' up there and thought he of MB20 fame ...
Anyhoo ... nice review! I agree Shannon, it's nice to see a so-called professional that really 'gets' Robby and his invaluable contribution to the band. His voice may be weaker (in some people's opinions), but his spirit isn't!
As for the licking of the Rzez's dimple ... 
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Shannon
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #4 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 5:59pm » |
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on Feb 28th, 2007, 5:47pm, ChickenCookie wrote:Whoa, I saw 'Rob Thomas' up there and thought he of MB20 fame ...
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HA! That's what I thought at first too.
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goober_1013
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #5 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 6:15pm » |
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hmm. . .what state was this in? cuz i went to a concert a couple years ago in Illinois and there was a girl there who had a sign that said, "Can I lick your dimple?" and Rzeznik said something like, "i haven't shaved today it'd be gross." then when we met them at the buses she was there and he actually let her do it and she went to town. . .security Mike had to pull her off of him. . .craziness. . . 
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UPDATED July 10th, 2006
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Shannon
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #6 on: Feb 28th, 2007, 6:23pm » |
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I believe this review was from the Madison, Wisconsin show.
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ChickenCookie
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #7 on: Mar 1st, 2007, 11:30am » |
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on Feb 28th, 2007, 6:15pm, goober_1013 wrote:| hmm. . .what state was this in? cuz i went to a concert a couple years ago in Illinois and there was a girl there who had a sign that said, "Can I lick your dimple?" and Rzeznik said something like, "i haven't shaved today it'd be gross." then when we met them at the buses she was there and he actually let her do it and she went to town. . .security Mike had to pull her off of him. . .craziness. . . |
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Ewwww. The crap that the guys have to put up with sometimes ... 
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Shannon
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #8 on: Mar 1st, 2007, 11:49am » |
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on Feb 28th, 2007, 6:15pm, goober_1013 wrote:| hmm. . .what state was this in? cuz i went to a concert a couple years ago in Illinois and there was a girl there who had a sign that said, "Can I lick your dimple?" and Rzeznik said something like, "i haven't shaved today it'd be gross." then when we met them at the buses she was there and he actually let her do it and she went to town. . .security Mike had to pull her off of him. . .craziness. . . |
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I had a friend who was at that show and witnessed the whole thing. I don't think I could ever be so brazen to do that. I can barely muster enough courage to hug them.
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| « Last Edit: Mar 1st, 2007, 11:51am by Shannon » |
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nmf016
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Re: GGD Still Can Rock
« Reply #9 on: Mar 1st, 2007, 12:08pm » |
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on Mar 1st, 2007, 11:30am, ChickenCookie wrote:
Ewwww. The crap that the guys have to put up with sometimes ... |
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Well, at least she had his permission... 
I feel SO bad for John when people remark how they touched his ass, his arm, his hair or whatever without asking (even though I have no idea how they'd get the balls to ask in the first place...). I'd love to see how some of those women would react if a perfect stranger came up to them and grabbed their ass.
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