14 October 2016 (gig)
19 October 2016
Effortless! Not the journey to Hammersmith, but the performance.
It's staggering to comprehend The Goo Goo Dolls wrote and recorded their debut LP thirty years ago with a budget of $750. Thirty years together is some achievement in itself. Let alone record sales which are approaching fifteen million.
Tonight the energy surrounding the venue is colossal as crowds of fans spill out of the near by bars and pubs. It's Friday night and The Goo Goo Dolls are in town. Four years since their last visit. We've waited patiently.
Slightly later than billed at 9:10pm the lights fade, the noise rises and some familiar looking silhouettes appear on stage. Lead singer John Rzeznik takes to the mic and opens the show with 'Over And Over'. The opening track from the new LP 'Boxes'. 'Turn it up' he sings. The fans oblige. A quick guitar change and just three and a half minutes later they launch in to 'Long Way Down'. The contrast between the two songs epitomises the bands transition through the years. Originally a punk/rock outfit and now evidently a much more polished, mainstream act.
Rzeznik is renowned for his love of peculiar tuning arrangements which their trademark sound stems from. A twenty song set features a dozen guitar changes, if not more. Their guitar technician may well have the most laborious job of the evening.
Next up is one of their biggest ever hits. 'Slide' is played and sung with such ease and confidence. Rzeznik commands the stage and appears at home. His composure and relaxed approach really strikes a chord. He might have done this before...Five thousand avid fans and it's as if he's playing in his living room but with a genuine and authentic enthusiasm.
The band as a whole sound incredibly tight for the duration. Robby Takac's exceptional bass playing mixed with Rzeznik's guitar skills, both rhythm and lead is sublime. However the real emphasis and sound of this band lies with the distinctive and pitch perfect vocals. Perhaps the most impressive I've ever witnessed live.
The set is spot on. Mixing old classics such as 'Black Balloon' and 'Here Is Gone' with newer material such as 'Come To Me' and the brilliant 'Souls From The Machine', again from their latest release.
Engaging with the audience in between hits, Rzeznik explains how the group nearly disbanded in the mid 90's. Four albums in and with very little commercial success, times were tough. Along came 'Name'. The song which propelled them to stardom. It's been one way traffic ever since. A real highlight of the evening.
With the end approaching, Takac is handed lead vocals, not for the first time this evening. They perform 'Never Take The Place Of Your Man', taken from Hold Me Up which dates back to 1990. A punk version of the classic Prince tune and an admirable tribute to the late great.
With such a vast catalogue of great songs to play with, arguably the most strenuous job for the band is picking the set list. But they wouldn't neglect 'Iris' would they? No chance. Twenty songs in and another guitar makes its debut as their most iconic hit is performed. It's magic.
Finishing with the new track 'Long Way Home', it's an appropriate send off and finish to the tour. An hour and a half for me. Three thousand five hundred miles for The Goo Goo Dolls.
What a pleasure. See you again.
