By Lauren Textor
Goo Goo Dolls
with O.A.R
Starlight Theatre
Sunday, Aug. 27
Last August, I attended my first Goo Goo Dolls concert at Starlight. As soon as frontman John Rzeznik stepped on stage, I was captivated by his voice… and his surprisingly muscular forearms.
But much has changed since I last wrote about Rzeznik’s sex appeal. I graduated college. I traveled abroad for the first time. It took a while, but I have now realized that Rzeznik and I are at incompatible stages in our lives: he got a haircut, and I got a boyfriend.
Instead of being completely starstruck, this time around I’m able to dedicate more of my focus to the music itself and less to fantasies, like a grown-up. (Though I dare you to take one look at a recent photo of the singer and not be impressed by those biceps.)
O.A.R. opens the Starlight show shortly after 7 p.m. to a good-natured crowd with no worries about sweating their asses off. Vocalist Marc Roberge comments on how the band got their start by practicing in various basements and how thrilled they are to be on tour once again.
“This is like a band from the basement’s dream,” he says.
In between songs, he gives background on where the band was at the time each track was written and recorded with humor and modesty. In his introduction to “Love and Memories,” he tells the audience about how the song was originally intended for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
“You might be saying, ‘I don’t remember an O.A.R. song in that movie,’ and you’d be right,” Roberge laughs. “It never made it in.”
Instead, Roberge urges us to picture Soccer Montage Scene 3B from the teen rom-com She’s the Man (2006).
“Amanda Bynes!” he says over the guitar riff. “Think about it!”
Saxophonist and guitarist Jerry DePizzo brings the crowd to their feet, creating the fullest, beachiest sound with his dynamic accompaniment. Somehow, he keeps from going blue in the face during his solo in “Heaven” and improves upon an already excellent cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
As the band closes their set with “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker,” playing cards are tossed up into the air in Orchestra and super fans scramble to collect them.
The crowd’s energy holds through the between-sets hiatus, the anticipation growing as the main act begins with the on-stage screens blaring overlapping news clips that abruptly end with a decisive motion from Rzeznik. The Goo Goo Dolls launch into “Broadway.”
As per usual, Rzeznik is simply dressed. He wears a black T-shirt and loose joggers, exuding easy confidence and charisma that would normally stir my libido, but alas. Now that I’m no longer a single woman, I’m much more interested in bass guitarist Robby Takac’s consistent choice to go barefoot.
Takac has become one of my favorite live performers because he sports purple hair, skinny shorts, a manic smile, and— I mean this in the most affectionate way possible— an overjoyed, batshit crazy expression in his eyes. He’s been performing “Lucky Star” from 1993’s Superstar Car Wash since before I was born, and I’ve seen it live once before, but nothing about it could feel stale with a grin as wide as his.
A Boy Named Goo, their fifth studio album that catapulted them into stardom, is particularly meaningful to the band, as Rzeznik explains.
“This is the first song we ever had that anyone paid attention to,” he says in his introduction to “Name.” “That is some heavy shit when you’re used to being ignored.”
No one’s ignoring them now. This audience has had plenty of time to learn all the words by heart. Even Goo Goo Dolls’ newest single, “Run All Night,” is treated to a sing-along.
“You guys are an awesome crowd for a Sunday,” Rzeznik praises. “Normally, it’s like, ‘Come on, come on! Play ‘Iris,’ I’ve got to get the fuck out of here.”
When he announces that he will take his sweet time getting to the encore, cheers erupt.
After half a dozen more songs, Rzeznik welcomes Roberge back for a well-received cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” The Goo Goo Dolls have become known for using Petty’s work as a go-to because, as they said in an interview with ABC Radio, he’s timeless.
I’ve gotten used to watching a mass exodus near the end of concerts, with less ardent fans leaving before the last few songs to get to their cars before traffic hits. I’ve participated in them myself. But few people are willing to go before the septuple-platinum hit “Iris” caps off the night.
The heart-wrenching, chills-inducing rock ballad has been covered by the likes of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, but there’s no substitute for the original.
All photos by Christen Schmitz (Insta: @christentkc).
Goo Goo Dolls Setlist
Broadway
Over and Over
Slide
Big Machine
Here Is Gone
Black Balloon
January Friend
Yeah, I Like You
Going Crazy
Lucky Star
So Alive
Sympathy
Come to Me
Name
Naked
Miracle Pill
Run All Night
Life’s a Message
Bringing On the Light
Better Days
Stay With You
Tattered Edge
I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty cover with Marc Roberge)
Iris
More