Sunday, July 21, 1996

Bad sound, song selection leave fans quietly disappointed

By Brian Remick
Summer Bruin Contributor

"What are you guys scared of us or something?"

This was the question posed to the audience last Wednesday night at the El Rey Theater by Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznik. It pretty much summed up the evening.

The Goo Goo Dolls are on tour supporting their latest album, "Boy Named Goo," which was actually released late last year. What the crowd didn’t know (or didn’t suspect) was that the band has four albums before this one under their belt.

A sold out audience packed into the elegant El Rey Theater in Hollywood, which is complete with plush carpeting and three huge chandeliers hanging above. After waiting patiently through a respectable set by Dishwalla, the Goo Goo Dolls took the stage.

Aside from sounding terribly muffled ­ which hadn’t been a problem for Dishwalla ­ the band’s performance was strong. Guitarist/lead singer Rzeznik and bassist Robby Takac are incredibly lively on stage and always seem to be having way too much fun for members of an alternative band.

Opening with "Only One," the sound problem became immediately obvious. The Goo Goo Dolls already have one detriment in that all of their songs have basically the same chord structure ­ which leaves only solos to distinguish them. Throw in a major flaw in sound design, and the band might as well have played the same song over and over.

The tragic mistake of the night, however, albeit unavoidable, was the band’s decision to include a large portion of songs from their previous albums. Hardly anyone in the audience responded enthusiastically. Most just stared in shock, wondering how this band before them could possibly be the same one who wrote the gentle "Name," which became so popular earlier in the year and received major air play on rock and alternative radio. At one point, Takac even said, "You are aware that we had a few more albums before this one, right?"

The Goo Goo Dolls did manage to play most of the songs on "A Boy Named Goo" in their hour-long set, receiving the best response from "Name," despite the fact that it sounded terrible. They also played an impressive cover of the Plimsouls’ classic, "Million Miles Away," which, unfortunately for the Goo Goo Dolls, sounded better than most of their own songs.

The band pounded through a few more of what they generously referred to as punk with "Disconnected" and "Long Way Down," before concluding their set with "Flat Top," one of the best songs on the album. The crowd was already quite bored, and a large portion had left after "Name," probably the only song they were waiting to hear.

The encore was disappointing, consisting of two songs from previous albums which didn’t impress anyone. Rzeznik left the stage with his guitar hanging from the microphone stand, causing an irritating amount of feedback of which he could not have been more proud.

The audience on Wednesday evening spanned all ages imaginable ­ from teenagers who bopped around to the beat of every song to people in their mid-30s who just sat at the tables that lined the El Rey Theater, in a comatose state of wonder and disbelief.

Or, perhaps it was fear.

The Goo Goo Dolls are now on tour promoting their newest
album.