On May 3rd, I saw Goo Goo Dolls at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. I want to make it clear that I only saw it because I got the tickets for free in order to review it. I remembered that I never posted the review I wrote for it, and I thought I would amuse myself at 2:45 AM while I cannot sleep. Enjoy.
Record-breaking floods can’t stop the Goo Goo Dolls; they just reschedule them. The weekend prior to Goo Goo Dolls performing, the city of Nashville experienced heavy flooding, threatening to flood the Ryman Auditorium and cancel the concert. Due to a fortunate set of circumstances, the show went on, and the excited looks on people’s tired faces were clear. The opener was The Rocket Summer, playing infectious pop rock songs and bidding people to “Let me see your cell phones!”
The Goo Goo Dolls took the stage, a confusing faux-stone texture as their backdrop. The audience was filled with Dawson’s Creek fans in their 30’s, thrilled out of their minds to see the band, now in their mid-40’s, that was the soundtrack for their high school days. Front man and main singer John Rzeznik wooed more than a few ladies with his perfect teeth as they flashed their cameras incessantly. He sang out the classics that the crowd knew by heart – “Black Balloon,” “Dizzy,” “Big Machine” – as well as songs from their upcoming album, due out this summer. Johnny switched between playing real chords on the electric guitar as well as his classic open chords on the acoustic guitar – “Look, no hands!” He hit most of the notes he went for. As for the ones he missed, who can blame the guy? He’s in his 40’s at this point; give him a break!
When Mr. Rzeznik needed a break from singing, he passed the microphone to bassist Robby Takac, who both looked and sounded like Gríma Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings – large, piercing eyes; black, wiry hair; and a rapsy, eerie voice. Maybe the band has Robby sing so that when John sings, it will sound that much better. Whatever the case, it is difficult to see why it would be pleasing to listen to. As for the rest of the band, the drummer was solid. The keyboardist/third guitarist/saxophonist took the “pretty” factor of the slow songs to the next level. And their rhythm guitarist never smiled, despite his semi-regular guitar solos. It is hard to imagine that he was having a good amount of fun, since it looked more like he was simply doing his job. Overall, however, the band sounded tight, and their long-time fans ate up every minute of it.
The final song before the encore was “Iris,” the song that shot the band into stardom in the late 90’s. Despite John not being able to hit the high notes in the chorus, the crowd sang along, remembering the sweet ending to City of Angels. Finally the band ended things out with an acoustic version of “Sympathy” and a final, full-band hurrah with “Broadway.” For a Goo Goo Dolls concert, the crowd will be almost exclusively long-time fans; and the long-time fan will likely find it pleasing to hear their favorite songs live. However, for those who did not grow up on 90’s chick flicks, it might difficult to find the concert more than “okay.”
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