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Shannon
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Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« on: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:13pm » |
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Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits
Concert review
BY CHRIS VARIAS | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR
When John Rzeznik thanked the Taft Theatre crowd for sticking with the Goo Goo Dolls for the last 12 years, it didn’t mean he’s bad at math or that he’s necessarily trying to appear younger than he is. The band has actually been around since the mid-‘80s, but Rzeznik knows his current audience came aboard in 1995 when radio picked up the Goo Goo Dolls’ ballad “Name.”
Prior to ’95, the Buffalo band had a modest following on the college circuit and a sound best described as a second-rate version of their punk-rock heroes the Replacements. At the Taft Saturday night, it was a decisively 1995-and-after Goo Goo Dolls concert, from the radio-ready pop-rock delivered by the band to the very young, very female sold-out crowd.
The Goo Goo Dolls blazed through 16 songs in a one-hour set, and the crowd was familiar with and approving of just about every selection. Rzeznik is a machine that produces hit hooky ballads and mid-tempo rock, all very similar in their sound, and all sort of sappy in their sentiments about girls. There wasn’t a woman in the house not singing along to the Hallmark-card lyrical moments of the megahits “Slide” (“I wanna wake up where you are…”) and “Iris” (“You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be…”).
Rzeznik, the band’s primary lead vocalist and guitarist, was the night’s star even when he wasn’t singing lead. The Goo Goo Dolls, officially a trio with bassist Robby Takac and drummer Mike Malinin rounding out the lineup, were augmented by sidemen Brad Fernquist (guitar) and Korel Tunador (keyboards, guitar and saxophone).
Takac sang lead three times, which was at least two times too many. His selections, especially “Tucked Away” and “January Friend,” were models of the Goo Goo Dolls’ pre-“Name” power-pop days, but just because they were faster and louder than Rzeznik’s songs didn’t make them better. Takac’s bass-pounding, stage-sprinting act is always tiresome, and when he steps to the microphone it’s too much to take. The audience turned its attention to Rzeznik, who wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary to steal the spotlight from his over-singing bandmate.
Might Rzeznik let Takac sing lead to make himself appear that much better? Whatever the case, Keith Richards never gets more that a couple chances to front the Stones in concert, and he’s actually enjoyable to watch.
It comes down to the fact that the show works best as a love-song sing-along, and if Rzeznik didn’t have enough of them in his catalog before, he added a ringer in the form of the Supertramp cover “Give a Little Bit.” The song appears on the band’s most recent album, “Let Love In,” and the Goo Goo Dolls broke it out for their encore, complete with a sax solo by Tunador.
Augustana warmed up for the Goo Goo Dolls with a 40-minute set that closed with “Boston,” a current radio hit for the San Diego band. The band’s music is the sort of piano-laden soft-rock that has become popular thanks to Coldplay, and as for the band’s other obvious inspiration, melancholy-mannered singer Dan Layus is a set of dreadlock hair extensions away from a Counting Crows copyright suit.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/ENT03/30318 0006
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| « Last Edit: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:14pm by Shannon » |
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DWG
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #1 on: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:24pm » |
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"Rzeznik is a machine..."
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Shannon
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #2 on: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:26pm » |
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on Mar 18th, 2007, 11:24pm, DWG wrote:"Rzeznik is a machine..."
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  LOL
I'm trying real hard to ignore the negative crap this guy said about Robby.
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| « Last Edit: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:27pm by Shannon » |
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DWG
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #3 on: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:33pm » |
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I'm trying to ignore the fact that this guy is trying to ignore the band's first 10 years of work.
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Shannon
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #4 on: Mar 18th, 2007, 11:43pm » |
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yes, there is that too. There's just so much to ignore with this one.
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ChickenCookie
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #5 on: Mar 19th, 2007, 8:29am » |
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on Mar 18th, 2007, 11:24pm, DWG wrote:"Rzeznik is a machine..."
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I ... I ... I ... I'm just a love machine ...
Yeah, thanks ... now that song's in my head.
This reviewer sucks. 
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Gutterrose
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #6 on: Mar 19th, 2007, 9:44am » |
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Robby kicked ass at that show and had a rather large cheering section!!
And unfortunately the band is ignoring their first 10 years of work except for Name.
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Shannon
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #7 on: Mar 19th, 2007, 10:10am » |
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Robby always kicks ass at the shows that's why I get so frustrated with these reviewers. They just don't get it.
Gutterrose.....I'd love for you to give us a review of the show from an actual fan perspective...not some crappy reviewer's.
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Gutterrose
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #8 on: Mar 20th, 2007, 9:47am » |
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I'm not big on writing reviews. So I'll try a little. I will say the reviewer made it sound like only very young females were there. Must not have been sitting where I was. There was a good showing of all types of fans up front. We all loved the Robby songs and didn't turn our attention to Rzeznik.
I've been pretty outspoken about not liking the new album but I thought Feel The Silence was awesome. It has gotten better as the tour goes along. And Let Love In is decent I just don't like the chorus. We'll be Here rocks live! Mike smokes those drums on Stay With You! Better Days is my least liked Goo song ever but the crowd goes crazy for it! I turn my attention to Robby thru lots of the show! Too many reviewers just don't get it! I'd rather watch Robby than Keith any day.
I like when the Goos play small theaters. I think it is more suited to what they do. The energy was high and the crowd very interactive!
I saw them in Louisville last month and it was a better show. Naked, Burnin Up and Big Machine has been dropped from the setlist since then. I hate to see more and more of the rock songs dropped. It is sort of a love-song sing-along. Which is ok but I prefer a mix of old and new.
All in all it was a kick ass show!
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Shannon
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Re: Goo Goo Dolls churn out the hits / review
« Reply #9 on: Mar 20th, 2007, 12:03pm » |
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Thanks for your review Gutterrose. I like LLI but I don't love, love it. However, I think most of the songs translate so much better live than they do on the album. I agree...Feel the Silence is amazing. In fact, I wish that was their next single. The Goos are just a rockin' live band. 
As for the crowd....I agree with you. That's exactly what I saw at my two shows as well. I think these reviewers translate their own personal opinions into the opinions of all at the show. It just isn't so. Almost all Goo fans I know love and appreciate Robby's enthusiasm, happiness and energy during the show.
I like the small theater venues as well. I hope they stick with that. I've never been a big fan of huge arena shows....too impersonal.
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