Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik be good

Concert ReviewJuly 21, 2011Boston Herald

We all know that Johnny Rzeznik is one sexy dude. The ruggedly handsome Goo Goo Dolls frontman hides behind mirrored shades, has tattoos in all the right places and sports the best rock-star mane that money can buy. Pop- music fans flock to his band’s concerts to hear him sing such Top 40 gems as “Iris,” “Name” and “Slide.”

How unexpected then that Johnny Cool was upstaged Tuesday night at a near-capacity Bank of America Pavilion by his bass player, the insanely overenthusiastic Robby Takac. Short, slightly pudgy and with greasy, coal-black hair obscuring his face, Takac bounced all over the stage wielding his sticker-emblazoned guitars like weapons. He sang lead with a nasally, cartoonish voice on four fast tunes —- the night’s highlights, in-cluding “Lucky Star” and “January Friend” — that recalled the Replacements and the Ramones.

But fans came to hear the hits, and the Goo Goos delivered for more than 90 minutes with 21 songs from all stages of their career. The furious “Broadway,” with its Clarence Clemons-like sax break, ended the regular set on a butt-shaking high. “Fallin’ Down” was an up-tempo treat and “Home” from most-recent album “Something for the Rest Us” found Rzeznik at his most emotive. The acoustic ballads fared the worst.

Rzeznik is an under-rated guitarist, using unconventional tunings to coax amazing sounds out of his battalion of axes. He’s no Richard Thompson, but he deserves props for trying to shake things up.

Michelle Branch opened with a winning 10-song blast through her country-pop catalog, including such hits as “All You Wanted” and a raucous “Everywhere.” An angel in black jeans, leather vest and Panama hat, the diminutive guitarist was nearly eclipsed by her huge Gibson Hummingbird. She pledged her love for Boston and raved about the Duck Tour she took with her daughter earlier in the day.

Virginia quintet Parachute started the night with a short set of punchy pop that delighted the young ladies who arrived early to sing along and swoon over wholesomely scruffy frontman Will Anderson.

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