Good Old Fashioned Rock n’ Roll with Goo Goo Dolls at MidFlorida Amphitheater

I walked into MidFlorida Amphitheatre on Monday, August 24th, with no expectations beyond being excited to photograph a band I’ve loved for most of my life. I also had no idea just how great they would sound. And that’s unbiased. I’ve seen plenty of bands I love very much hit the thirty year mark and, let’s just say, the fire had burned out. But man, did the Goo Goo Dolls bring the heat.

The Goo Goo Dolls, made up of John Rzeznik (lead vocals and guitar), Robby Takac (bass and vocals), Brad Fernquist (guitar and mandolin), Jim McGorman (keyboards and guitar), and Craig Macintyre (drums and percussion), opened with “Over and Over” before moving into “Dizzy.” When the third song turned out to be “Slide,” the crowd nearly lost their minds. Phones went up in unison. The screaming was deafening. And from that point forward, it was pretty clear just how deeply this music still resonates with people decades later.

When “Black Balloon” came midway through the set, hundreds of balloons (ironically white balloons with “black balloon” written on them, I’m still laughing about this) spilled into the crowd and bounced across the stage while Rzeznik playfully kicked them away and popped them with the neck of his guitar. It was one of those perfectly ridiculous and joyful concert moments that made an already beloved song even more fun live.

Then they brought the energy down for a well deserved breather. Rzeznik spoke openly about his journey with sobriety before explaining that “Sympathy” was, in many ways, a documentation of it. He shared stories about his difficult but creatively fulfilling relationship with his mother before moving into “Acoustic #3.” Then came the most beautiful rendition of “Name” I have ever heard. The crowd that had been screaming only minutes earlier went completely quiet. Everyone just listened.

The second half of the set brought the energy roaring back with songs like “Stay With You” and “Let Love In.” Rzeznik commanded the stage, but never seemed overly concerned with commanding it. He made jokes and didn’t take himself too seriously. And somehow, even more striking than how great they sounded was how much fun they seemed to be having up there.

They finished with two songs. First, “Broadway,” before, of course, bringing the house down with “Iris.” What is there left to say about “Iris”? You hate it or you love it, but whether you like it or not, you know it. And man, did this crowd know it. Thousands of us sang it together, bringing the night to exactly the kind of massive, cathartic ending you’d expect from a song that has somehow only gotten bigger with time.

More than thirty years into their career, the Goo Goo Dolls don’t sound like a band coasting on nostalgia. They sound like a band that still genuinely loves being onstage together. And if Monday night proved anything, it’s that the fire is nowhere close to burning out.

Photos and Review by Andrea Ingrande