GOO GOO DOLLS
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Bonner Springs (Kansas City), Kansas
Sunday, August 4, 2002
STAGE SET UP
Compared to the set up for the Spring (theatre) leg of the 'Gutterflower' tour, I would call the set up of Sunday's show Industrial. (Which, of course, would make sense since the current single is "Big Machine", creating a visual interpretation of the literal and/or surface meaning of the song.)
During the set change, an extremely large burnt-orange/red curtain was installed at the front of the stage, which served 2 purposes. One, it blocked the view of the stage crew (and who really wants to see a bunch of sweaty guys - other than the Goo Goo Dolls, of course - doing heavy lifting?) and two, it added to the sense of anticipation for the start of the show. This curtain was back-lit once the venue lights shut off and you could see the silhouettes of Mike at his drum set and John and Robby coming on stage. Suddenly the curtain is pulled down and ... there they are! :-)
Gone are the four disco balls on the hydraulic arms that played an integral part of the opening of the concert. There is now one extremely large disco ball, set in the center of the over-stage lights, which is featured heavily during "Iris". The six vertical columns of lights (on mechanical pulleys) have gotten a face-lift of sorts, receiving a facade of large metal overlays reminiscent of machine gears. These 'gears' do not move, and the light columns' movement is the same, but I think the facade really added an extra element to the visual picture.
Over the stage, the lights now feature a large array of Vari-Lights set in circular patterns, also akin to mechanical gears. (Since my grasp of the obvious is so mind-boggling, I was sensing a theme to the set up. LOL) The set up still has the hydraulic arms, but the arms now have Vari-Lights attatched to them, rather than the disco balls as I mentioned before.
Space-wise, I think this particular stage was larger than others, because John and Robby had a much larger area to play on. And, they took full advantage of it. John made sure that he visited each side of the stage many, many times during the show and it was nice to know that he was cognizant of the fact that the seating was set in a arc and there were a lot of people sitting to the sides of the stage. However, Robby seemed to stay on his side of the stage for most of the evening. He did go to center stage, in front of Mike, but rarely seemed to make it to the left side of the stage.
SET LIST - ATTIRE- WEATHER- CAMERAS
Sunday night's set list was not the same as the show the guys did here in Minneapolis on June 21, 2002.
Big Machine
Long Way Down
Slide
Naked
You Never Know
Truth Is A Whisper
Dizzy
Here Is Gone
January Friend
Smash
Black Balloon
Think About Me
What You Need
Name
Lucky Star
Tucked Away
Broadway
Sympathy
Iris
What A Scene
Encore:
All Eyes On Me
American Girl
A few items of note: ATTIRE WEATHER MERCHANDISE THE CELL PHONE INCIDENT GENERAL COMMENTARY PART 5 ... THE GOO GOO DOLLS! :-) (Thank you so much Sara! This review was great!)
1. I was glad to hear that John still drops the notes at the end of each of the first two lines of "Naked" (I'm fading ... and I call out ...)
2. "Dizzy" still has that killer guitar intro that I just *love*.
3. It was interesting to see Robby perform 2 songs in a row rather than interspersed throughout the show.
4.
5. When John started the intro to "Name", he stopped and said "Nah, I'm not going to do that one", which got him some "Boo!'s" from the crowd. John said, "Of course I'll do that song. I can't believe you booed me!" and then riffed on how "Name" was such a staple on 90's radio that down the road, there will be an infomercial for "that great 90's music, featuring songs like "Name". Relive those memories" ....yadda, yadda, yadda. I can't remember the rest of it, but it was hilarious!
6. "Iris" ... the lighting for this song was *beautiful*!
7. I was thrilled to hear "All Eyes On Me" in the encore.
John wore a white tank, black pants and black sneakers and after 3 or 4 songs, he added a blue and white striped hat, which I think he used to keep his hair out of his eyes.
Robby was wearing - and I think he was insane for doing it - a black shirt, black pants, and black socks, but no shoes.
Mike was wearing his standard t-shirt and shorts, but you know what? The goatee of his has *got* to go.
It was in the high 90s and muggier than HELL at the show. It was so incredibly hot that I was seriously thinking the guys were going to get electrocuted from their guitars. The sweat was literally dropping off of them ... but as usual, John was sexier than sin the sweatier that he got. I swear! Good Lord, watching John perform from the 4th row was AMAZING! He was so incredibly sexy! And personally, I thought he was *damn* sexy with that hat on. It was a look that was so completely John that it did nothing but add more sex appeal. :-)
John even commented on the weather ... and I quote "It's hotter than FUCK up here! And what do I do? I go and put on my winter hat!" Robby commented that he was sure he was losing a few pounds just by sweating so much.
All of the the merchandise featured in the picture from the GGD Tour Diary was at the show, including:
A. The panties ($10) in black and white with the lyric "love and sex and loneliness" stitched on the front, which I thought was hilarious.
B. The metal 'ball' necklace was $10, and the charm is the Gutterflower, with the GGD logo on the reverse side.
C. They also had the sweatshirt, which was $35.00, I believe.
Most of the t-shirts ran $25.00 each and the baseball cap was $20.00. The sticker set was $5.00 and they also had a set of 3 small buttons for $5.00. At least 2 of the shirts came in only one size which, apparently, were for those females in the crowd who were size 4 and smaller. Sheesh!
However, I really want a KEY CHAIN, which of course (since I wanted it and that's the way the world works) they didn't offer. Nor a tour book, which would've been nice, as well.
I honestly can't remember which song this happened during, but it was one of the funniest damn things I've watched in a long time.
During the song, John - obviously - noticed that this guy in the 2nd or 3rd row center was on the phone. So, instead of singing the song, he first told the guy to get off the phone. Then, during the song again, he told the guy that if his friends were "too damn cheap to buy a ticket of their own, then fuck 'em!" My first thought was "Uh oh ... here we go again" because John mentioned in the Buzzine article that he let one guy who flipped him off ruin the entire show for him. (That particular incident was so bad that apparently Robby smacked John upside the head after the show and got on his case for letting one man bug him so much.)
However, I was pleasantly surprised when the song ended, John asked the guy who he was calling. When John found out that he was calling his sister, John said "Give me the phone ... let's call her!" Once he got the phone, he also asked the guy if he was there with his girlfriend, and then started to go through the guy's phone book. John proceeded to recite off the names in the book, which were ALL women, including such memorable names as: Mom, Bonita (which he thought was funny), Brooke and Bobbi, which John was quick to point out, was spelled "with an I". The finger gesture that John made when he said "with an I" was really cute. After about 10 names, he stopped and said, "Damn, dude, you sure get around!"
He found out that the sister's name was Brooke, so he then called her. While the phone was ringing, John said "Hey, it's ringing! One ringy dingy..." (I can't believe that the phrase 'one ringy dingy' came out of this man's mouth. How adorable!) Unfortunately, her answering machine came on and John had the entire crowd yell "Hi, Brook!" into her machine and then thanked her for not bothering to buy a ticket to the show. John didn't leave his name, so I wonder if she'll believe it was him?
John then told the girlfriend that he was kidding about the phone book and the only names in there were Mom and Brooke. Next, he thanked the guy for being a good sport about the whole situation because, as John said, realistically, he could have "kicked the shit out of me!"
All in all, it was a great part of the show!
***First and foremost, I want to reiterate that the Bonner Springs (Kansas City), KS show ROCKED!! The Goos put on a spectacular, straighforward, rock-and-roll show. If you go to one of the shows on the Summer leg of the tour, you WILL NOT be disappointed. :-)***
We made our way to the Merchandise booth and spent about 10 minutes looking at stuff. Personally, I didn't buy anything since I don't really wear T-shirts all that much. While we were standing there, Vanessa Carlton started her set ... about 10 minutes early, which was fine by me, since the earlier her set starts, the earlier the Goos hit the stage!
My friend Amber and I made our way to our seats, which turned out to be directly in front of the speaker cluster on the right side of the stage. The seats were a bit too far to the right for my taste - about 5 feet to the right of Robby's microphone stand - but they worked for me. I was in the 4th row!! I wanted to test out the 115mm lens on my camera, but there weren't nearly enough people to block the guards' view of me, so I bided my time.
And sweated ... and sweated ... and sweated!
John did make an appearance on the right side of the stage, behind the speakers right before VC's set ended. It looked like he was talking to some of the crew and nobody seemed to notice him. Amber (my friend, who wasn't a huge GGD fan before the show, but is NOW) nudged me and said she thought that was John. I looked up, saw his left shoulder's tattoos, said "Yep, that's him." (with a slight squeal, I might add), which made the man directly me to yell "John!" John looked up, waved and then disappeared.
Third Eye Blind was next and they came on stage at about 7:50pm. I knew they did a 60-minute set, so I was working really hard on not being frustrated by having to wait another HOUR for the Goos. Stephen Jenkins, the lead singer, certainly knows how to play to the crowd and TEB got a much warmer reception than VC. Granted, there were lots more people in the seats for TEB's set.
After TEB's set, I walked up to the stage and chatted with a few of the security guards regarding a trio of men who were escorted from the 1st row. (TMI: they were guys from a band playing on a secondary stage at the venue and were allowed to be in the front row during TEB's set, but didn't have seats.) Anyway, here's a lesson for everyone: make the security guards your friends. Be pleasant and friendly, but don't push your luck. After my little chat, I didn't have a single problem with either of my cameras - even the 'contraband' one. :-)
Suddenly, the venue lights were out and the stage lit up! The curtain was backlit and you could see Mike and his drums, and John and Robby coming on stage. The crew ripped the curtain down ... and BAM! There they were ... in all their glory. And I almost fell over because I was SO excited. I was jumping and screaming and trying to take pictures at the same time.
I thought John looked incredibly sexy with his current, longer, hairstyle. However, when he went and put that hat on - which looks like a bandanna because the top is tied off and sitting towards the back of his head - he looked even better. Robby looked like, well, Robby. (Hey, my attention was focused on John. LOL) Mike's drum set was set so far back on the stage that I had a difficult time seeing a whole heck of a lot of him.
I've already listed the Set List, so I won't go into it here. Both John and Robby were in excellent vocal form and I was glad to hear that the balance issues that the mixing board crew seemed to have with VC and TEB were fixed for the Goos' set. (Stephen Jenkins' guitar damn near drowned at all of his vocals at times and VC's bass guitar was simply too much.)
Personally, I thought the set list was a nice mix of older and newer tunes, and was really glad to hear they kept "Naked" and "Long Way Down" in the set, but really would have loved to hear "It's Over" instead of one of the other 'Gutterflower' tunes. Amber was surprised to see that I knew every, single song - and all of the lyrics - immediately. (What? Can't every Goo fan worth their salt do the same thing? LOL)
Let me take the time to say that I am constantly amazed at the content, depth and quality of the Goos' songs, regardless of whether they are John or Robby's creations. No matter how many times I hear "Black Balloon", it never fails to touch me in the deepest part of my heart. I'm not sure just what *it* is about "Black Balloon" - either the music or the lyrics - but hearing and watching John perform this song live is about as close to heaven as I'll get.
John and Robby were great entertainers, interacting with the crowd. John made sure that he went to each side of the stage, and Robby did so a few times as well. Both John and Robby commented on the blast furnace that doubles for weather in Kansas. Both of them were sweating like you wouldn't believe! John also thanked the fans for sticking with the band for so long. John said he was certain that "Name" was going to be their one and only hit and seven years later, they're still rocking out on stage. He seemed genuinely touched. :-)
About 3/4 of the way through the show, John came over to our side of the stage - again! - and stood directly in front of me. I yanked my camera up and had him in the viewfinder when he stopped playing and put his arms up to his shoulders. I thought for a second that he saw me with the camera and was being a goofball (which is great) by posing for me. Can you imagine my chagrin when I realized that he was encouraging the woman directly in front of me by 2 rows to flash him? Obviously, this is quintessential John, because he's always doing stuff like this. (Even at the Olympics concert in February!) She obliged him and he obviously got a big kick out of it because he started laughing and worked his way back to his microphone to continue singing.
This particular woman got nothing but attention from both John and Robby for the rest of the show. I swear on a stack of bibles that Robby was leering at her for extended periods of time. That whole situation made me feel ill and want to reach forward and yank her by her hair and say "Quit being a tramp!" Yes, I *know* she was being encouraged, but for cryin' out loud, have a little respect for yourself, would you? But, I guess being a tramp has its privileges, since she was pulled aside by security and given an 'aftershow' pass.
Overall, I say the concert ROCKED. I'm glad that I drove 10 hours from Minneapolis for the show and would do it again in a heartbeat. John, Robby and Mike put on a great show and don't disappoint their fans with their performances.
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