Sonoma Mountain Village kicked off their first outdoor concert tonight and they really set the bar pretty high for other musicians. The Goo Goo Dolls performed and delivered a spectacular concert which will be a hard act for musicians to follow.  First, the new venue is really going to be one of my favorites, boasting free parking, easy access, very well organized and set in a beautiful backdrop of the Sonoma county.

It has been a couple years since the last time I saw Goo Goo Dolls perform and they have always been a personal fave of mine. Their latest album Magnetic was released in 2013 and it was awesome to hear them play several songs from their album such as the fan favorite Come To Me and my faves Caught in the Storm and Rebel Beat.

John Rzeznik and Robby Takac sounded spot on and delivered an above studio quality set! It was amazing how well it sounded, especially for being an outdoor concert. Kudos to Sonoma Mountain Village for really providing an excellent sound system and I am really looking forward to seeing if the next shows sound as good as this one. It was great to see a quality light show at a concert which highlights the emotions of the songs. That is something I really miss from shows today. Not enough attention is put into the overall concert experience but with the Goo Goo Dolls, attention was given to all aspects to create the perfect environment for the listener to truly connect through song and have it take them away on a musical journey. The set list for the night was:

Lazy Eye

Big Machine

Slide

Dizzy

Rebel Beat

When the World

Smash

January Friend

Come To Me

Black Balloon

Stay With You

Here is Gone

Caught In the Storm

Feel the Silence

Name

Already There

Bringing on the Light

Better Days

Slow It Down

Let Love In

Iris

Broadway

It was amazing to see the entire crowd was purely engaged in the concert, people were dancing, eyes filled with emotion, tears of joy trickling down some cheeks, people singing along to every word, holding their loved ones, all while, the music of the Goo Goo Dolls fed their soul whatever it has been missing. Oh the power of music!

Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can’t – Johnny Depp

Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence – Robert Fripp

Music is an outburst of the soul – Frederick Delius

Music is a second language to my heart – Mara Arps

Those are some of my favorite quotes about music and not all music does the same thing. There is some music that can feed your soul, comfort your sorrows, heal your wounds, inspire, give you hope, bring joy, awaken a range of emotions. It is the type of music that can truly affect someone in all these ways that intrigues me the most. The Goo Goo Dolls have been that music for me. Their songs have been the soundtrack to my life for almost the past 30 years, the ups, the downs, the joys and the sorrows, the yesterdays and the tomorrows. I hope you find this special gift of music as I have with the Goo Goo Dolls. 

The Goo Goo Dolls are currently out on tour and you can head over to their website for a complete list of upcoming tour dates. This is one tour that I would urge you to see. With the amazing musicianship, dramatic light and stage performance, this just may be the tour of the year! Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol