From Playing Short Set Nasty, wintry weather didn’t keep the Goo Goo Dolls from performing at NIU in DeKalb but the phrase “short but sweet” was more like it. As fans braved the elements and ignored weather advisories to find their way to the stadium, the blowing winds and icy roads only gained in strength giving everyone present a unified feeling of courage and accomplishment.
Moments after the Goo Goo Dolls hit the stage singer/frontman John Rzeznik acknowledged his legion of fans’ daringness by shouting, “Thanks for coming out in this storm” then looked at a fan in the front and asked, “How’s it going tonight, dude?” A song or two later bassist Robby Takac exclaimed something to the likes about the crowd being the bravest in the nation for coming out in such dangerous weather, leading fans to believe they were in for a long night of rockin’ and rollin’. However, 65 minutes from the time they took the stage the Goo Goo Dolls were done for the night, surprising most of their crowd, which was mostly students with a decent blend of 40 year-old housewives.
During their 65 minutes that they played, the Goo Goo Dolls were entertaining and energetic, especially the highly animated Takac, who was a perfect throwback of late eighties rockers as he repeatedly hit his bass while kicking into the air and shook his head back, moving his long black, red-tipped hair away from his face. Takac’s liveliness made up for the less active touring musicians who bookended the three official Goo Goo Dolls members. Rzeznik also patrolled the stage with intensity although he kept his face a secret never taking off his billed hat that covered everything except his nose and mouth. A teasing moment was when Rzeznik adjusted his hat briefly making fans think he was about to ditch it altogether in order to see the frontman they’ve been accustomed to seeing. Psyche! Still, screams ignited the arena when the Goo Goo Dolls opened with “Dizzy” then later went into favorites “Stay With You”, “Name” and “Naked”. After playing “Name” Rzeznik thanked the fans for remembering the song.
Rzeznik’s voice was album perfect, the songs were tight and the two added touring musicians did add a lot to their live sound that I best compare to Bon Jovi meets Eddie Money. For every rock ballad the Goo Goo Dolls dished out they balanced it with a more upbeat, rocking number including three in which Robby Takac sang the lead. Every song played met John with a different guitar, seemingly never using the same one twice. Drummer Mike Malinin did a great job planting the band with his mistake-free playing and thrilled a few fans by flinging his sticks into the crowd every other song.
The highlight of the night was when the Dolls came back for an encore with “Acoustic #3” as the noise of the crowd must have been similar to the cheering at an NIU basketball game. It was the classic everyone was waiting for and it was played to perfection. Two songs later the Dolls ended their set with their version of “Give a Little Bit”. Moments later fans waited to see if they would take the stage once more despite the arena lights being turned on. Instead, the event manager grabbed the microphone and cautioned everyone to drive safely before pointing out that some roads had been closed. Maybe fans shouldn’t have expected a marathon set for the going rate of $30 general admission tickets – after all, they had a strong opener in Augustana. Then again, no one was asking for a marathon, just a decent set time for a headlining band in an arena, in which they fell a little short – especially considering the trouble it took their fans to get there.
Afterwards opening act Augustana made themselves available to meet every fan that wanted autographs and their pictures taken with the band members.
