The Goo Goo Dolls seemed right at home when they took to the stage in “one of the only parts of the country that understands rock music,” according to lead vocalist John Rzeznik.
The popular band, active for three decades now, showcased their big catalog of hits Wednesday night at the Stranahan Theatre in Toledo with a crowd of more than 1,200 fans.
The diverse crowd ranged from middle-aged to teenaged with the common trait of going goo goo for the Dolls.
The band celebrated with “Home,” their 14th single to hit the Billboard chart’s Top 10 list, and featured songs from their newest album, “Something For The Rest Of Us.” Bassist Robby Takac encouraged the crowd to buy 10 or 12 copies of the album because they made perfect Christmas gifts and could maybe “get the kids off [Justin] Bieber.”
The band’s humor was a nice touch to their setlist the entire night. Between songs Rzeznik even grabbed a fan-made sign from the audience and read it aloud, which said the fan was from West Virginia, had all of her teeth and wasn’t married to a cousin, just in case Rzeznik needed a date.
But the lack of a date seemed like a far problem from Rzeznik since the crowd was full of women singing along to every lyric. When walking across the stage at one point, after accidentally hitting a woman in the front row with the neck of his guitar, he said, “please don’t sue me.” The crowd laughed at the comment.
But it was when the band played their first hugely successful hit, “Name,” that the crowd was ecstatic.
The band also performed fun hits like “Stay With You,” “Better Days” and “Black Balloon” (fully equipped with a black balloon floating across the arena). Throughout the set, red, blue and green spotlights shined across a backdrop that resembled a rock wall.
Just when Rzeznik began to look fatigued, both from leading the show in song and playing guitar, he led the crowd into their biggest hit to date. Red lights shined on the stage before the Dolls opened with the acoustic notes to “Iris,” which was enough to send the fans into a frenzy.
It was evident from the performance of the 12-year-old song that Rzeznik’s voice hasn’t aged one bit, and the audience loved it just the same. The performance featured an extended guitar solo followed by a singalong with the fans to one of the most popular choruses of the ’90s: “I don’t want the world to see me ’cause I don’t think that they’d understand. When everything’s made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.”
After the song, the band walked off the stage, but like any show, they returned minutes later after the crowd chanted for more.
Their encore was “Not Broken,” a song from their new album that Rzeznik said was about an injured soldier scared to return home to his wife.
The band’s long life on the stage was evident. They were comfortable and displayed a love for their fans. Plenty of times, Rzeznik thanked those adoring him for sticking with the band since 1986 when the band formed, even making it the final thing he said before walking off the stage one last time.
