By L. Kent Wolgamott
Two days short of two years after they had been booked at Pinewood Bowl, Goo Goo Dolls made it to the stage in Pioneers Park.
And as if making up for lost time, guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac and their trio of backing musicians packed more than three-minute pop gems into the 90-minute show.
They started with “Yeah, I Like You,” the first single from their soon-to-be-released album “Chaos In Bloom” — a scrappy rock ‘n’ roll number that’s a slicked-up throwback to the band’s beginnings.
That connection was verified midway through the show when Takac took the mic for the gritty rocker “Lucky Star.” Then came “Slide,” which had the crowd singing as it set the pattern for the smartly constructed set that mixed hits with deeper tracks.
“I’m pretty sure everyone in this space has heard this one before,” Rzeznik said as he strummed the acoustic guitar intro to a gorgeous “Name” — he could have said the same for any of the hits that were scattered through the set.
"Name" was also interrupted by a bug in the mouth — one of the hazards of playing a show in a park.
And the Goo Goos hit all the songs the 4,400 fans who filed the bowl had to hear — mine was “Broadway,” which got an extended work with harmonica and a killer guitar solo from Rzeznik — in a show that sounded great from the start and got even better as it went along.
Of course, “Iris” became Rzeznik leading the Pinewood choir as the band brought the main set to an uplifting ending.
When I spoke with Rzeznik a month ago, I told him they’d probably be playing on a sweltering 90-degree night. I couldn’t have been wrong. For the fourth consecutive night, it was a perfect evening in the park for the best show I’ve seen by the Goo Goo Dolls.
It was more than worth the wait.