The Goos at Shea's- October 20th

If you have known of a band for nearly two decades after its breakthrough album, and they hail from an umbrella locale , it's safe to say its time to see that band. I cannot designate a reason why this year I felt so compelled to see the Goo Goo Dolls live this year, and it really wasn't because of the 20th anniversary of Dizzy Up The Girl,  but it may have been due to the fact that I couldn't let any more time slide by without seeing them live. While the riff was a little muted, their energy more than made up for it, as well as that percussive break before that "Yeah" moment.
Although the former 2-Day, then 3-Day residency was in honor of the celebrated album, I had not heard it "from top to bottom" until that night. While I did not know the majority of songs aside from "Broadway" and the string accompanied "Black Balloon," my body was still under the influence of euphoria, and their performace was quite persuasive. The percussion of Craig Mcintyre was lively and sounded spot on, and  Rzeznik may have appeared disconnected at times, but he was engaging, and focused on giving us the best he has. Robby reminded me of Alice Cooper, and not just for his looks; that is a compliment. His silent interactions, kept the crowd engaged, and his leg extensions communicated excitement and vitality. If there were a song that had the crowd dizzy with anticipation, it would be "Iris," and it was quelled by their performance of the song with its larger than life sound and thematic transcendancy.
The first break found Rzeznik admitting that it would be a good time to bring out a celebrity guest, and that there was a reason he doesn't have many famous friends, most of them are a--holes, "and this guest is no exception." The rectangular vertical screen revealed the next few songs to be a collaboration with himself. The first of which being the song promising "Better Days," and it was a heartwarming, candid and energizing presentation that included "Can't Let it Go" and "Two Days in February," the latter of which found Takac jumping in toward the end.
One of the reasons why I had never seen them was because I hadn't heard much aside from the hits, and the interest in going to a show wasn't as potent until now; point being, the only song I could "Name" when it came to the deeper cuts was that breakout hit from A Boy Named Goo, that was preceded by a phony story before the performance.
 One song that sounded out of place in the context of the rock show was "So Alive," and it was during that extended performance that Rzeznik had the crowd participate in a test to see if their patience was "Notbroken," the latter song included commentary remarking how it was written when the world was in some of its darkest days and it seemed that no one that had power to do anything about it cared.
While I had a few more that I would have liked to hear, I was floored when "Big Machine" was played, and it was the near ending to a show better than expected, coming from a fan, not the biggest, but big enough to see their musical showcase.