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The Goo Goo Dolls
All eyes were on John Rzeznik when
the Goo Goo Dolls hit the Tweeter on August 14th.
Performers: The Goo Goo Dolls,
Third Eye Blind, Vanessa Carlton
Where: The Tweeter Center
When: Wednesday, August 14th, 2002
7:00 PM
Despite the stifling humidity of the
mid-August, Philadelphia evening, a hearty crowd ventured to the Tweeter Center
on the 14th in the hope of being entertained by the supposed rockers
known as the Goo Goo Dolls. Unfortunately, their two hour, mostly monotonous
set proved far from impressive. Although Rzeznik and the crew started off
strong by playing old favorites such as “Long Way Down” and the radio hit
“Slide,” they quickly fell into a middle-set slump consumed with
similar-sounding, lesser know material, like “January Friend.” And who knew
that bassist, redheaded Robby could sing? Now there was a shocker!
The Dolls were briefly pulled out of their slump when
they played their seven-year-old, first hit, “Name,” only to plummet back into
it once again. They remained in a rut until playing the immensely popular,
“Iris,” at the conclusion of their set. As part of their surprising encore, a
cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” was performed. However, the general
consensus seemed that although the eyes of the American girls in the audience
were obviously thrilled to gawk at the stylishly buff, bandana-clad Rzeznik,
their ears were probably a lot less happy.
On the other hand, the evening was not a total waste of
money. And no, I’m not talking about the piano playing, MTV friendly,
Vanessa
Carlton, who opened the show. Playing a hand- full of songs off of her album,
Be Not Nobody, Carlton received little attention from the crowd until she
hilariously tried to change her bubble gum image by proclaiming that her hit
would be changed to “A Thousand Fuckin’ Miles” for Philly’s “fine
smelling, hot” people. Yes, it was confusing.
I’m talking about California’s
Third Eye Blind. The
show marked the triumphant return of Stephan Jenkins,
Tony Fredinalli, Brad
Hargreaves, and Arion Salazar, who had been on a nearly two year hiatus. From
the moment 3EB stepped on stage with “Graduate,” it was obvious that the guys
were ready to rock. The crowd, who sang along to favorites such as “Jumper,”
“How’s It Going To Be,” and “Semi-Charmed Life,” stood captivated as 3EB played
new material off of their upcoming album, Crystal Baller, which at this
point seems guaranteed to be a hit.
In conclusion, Third Eye Blind was excellent, saving
the show. It’s just a shame that they were sandwiched between a teenaged,
wannabe bad girl and mediocre, has-been rockers. -Kristal
Austin
Click on the artist to see photos from this
concert:
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