WALLINGFORD, Conn. – The Goo Goo Dolls kicked off their summer tour at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Conn. on Thursday, June 12, to a very excited and loud crowd. The Dolls touring in support of their 2013 release Magnetic wowed their fans with a 25-song set filled with hits.
The Dolls took the stage at 9:15 and kicked off the set with Lazy Eye, which was originally recorded for the 1997 Batman film starring George Clooney. They quickly moved in to playing Dizzy and Slide before taking a breather and talking to the fans. It’s hard to believe that this band started in 1986 as a punk band out of Buffalo. Almost 30 years later, this former punk band now tours the world, have sold over 10 million records which have produced 14 top ten singles and continue to impress with their live shows… talk about coming a long way.
Big Machine off 2002’s Gutteflower release came next followed by four new songs including their initial single off Magnetic, Rebel Beat. One of the highlights of the new songs was Come to Me as the band’s backdrop turned into a scramble of letters that highlighted specific words in each verse of the song. This was a cool addition to the stage show that had the audience searching for the next word to be highlighted.
Lead singer Johnny Reznik took a few minutes out of the set to thank the fans for coming out for them and supporting them by buying their releases. Reznik mentioned bass player Robby Takic’s name and stated, who would have thought people would come out to see a couple of polish guys from Buffalo. With that, the band played crowd favorite Black Balloon as some fans in the audience had black balloons ready to send in the air and bounce around the audience. Reznik got into the act and actually caught a few of the balloons, one of which took him by surprise as he missed a word or two of the song by grabbing it.
The rest of the set was a combination of new songs off of Magnetic and some Goo Goo Dolls classics including Here is Gone, January Friend, Better Days, and Iris. Also in the mix was a cover of Supertramp’s Give a Little Bit, which now seems to be a staple in their live show. The band finished out the night with Let Love In.
The Goo Goo Dolls took a few minutes before coming out for a two song encore and played Name and Broadway before truly calling it a night. These were great songs to end the night and a great show to kick off the tour. They will be in Boston mid-August… so go buy your ticket and check them out!
