Playing 5 tracks off of “Boxes,” the band splashed in other songs that have carried not only the band for the last 20 plus years but the personal soundtracks for the generation Y’ers as well. Rzeznik bounced back and forth all night between his acoustic guitar and Fender Stratocaster. He traded off lead vocals at times with his partner Takac as he took the microphone lead on “Already There,” the Prince cover “Never Take the Place of Your Man,” “Smash” and “Bring On the Light.”
Appropriately, black balloons were released before the track “Black Balloon” was played. It was a cool effect that made the meaning of the song come to life. In fact, most of Rzeznik’s lyrics follow that path. He talked about how he wrote the song for his then girlfriend (now wife) called “Come to Me” and how he gets nervous playing in front of his hometown fans. He talked about how the band started to get notice and the song that launched that path in “Name.”
The set ended with a confetti storm during “Long Way Home.” A perfect song selection for the fans who have been with the band since the beginning. They really enjoyed having their families on stage during the show. Maybe this added a little zest to their performance as well?
Opening the show were new band Tribe Society and also Collective Soul. Tribe Society was a different band who played a 30 minute set. They incorporated synth sounds and a flute to form an eclectic sound. I believe the crowd appreciated their performance.
After Tribe Society was the band out of Georgia called Collective Soul. Laden with a bunch of hits from the mid 1990’s, the band led by brothers Rowland (Ed and Dean) were a perfect match for the Goo Goo Dolls. Ed Rowland can be classified as one of the most underrated front men out there. Not many are as energetic as Rowland and not only was he all over the stage, he sounded as he did when hits like “Shine” and “World I know” were released. Rowland and his band (who played the Record Archive in Rochester earlier in the day) stated “we are a rock band and we have it in our blood to create new music. We want to thank you for giving our new songs a chance.” The band then began playing “All Our Pieces” in which they played 3 times prior. Again, in my opinion this selection was a perfect compliment to the Goo Goo Dolls.
Goo Goo Dolls setlist:
Over and Over
Long way Down
Slide
Big Machine
Rebel Beat
Here is Gone
Black Balloon
Smash
Brining on the Light
Name
So Alive
Naked
Souls in the Machine
Better Days
Already There
Never Take the Place
Come to Me
The Pin
Stay With You
Iris
Broadway
Encore:
Long Way Home
We would like to thank Ashley Ball from Livenation for her assistance in getting the credentials so BackstageAxxess could review the show.
