The Goo Goo Dolls kicked off their Long Way Home tour last week at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. And what a kickoff it was! The NY natives opened their set with “Tattered Edge / You Should Be Happy,” the title track from their new EP, released in May. They also debuted the EP’s lead single, “Use Me,” mid-set, after a fair mix of tracks off Dizzy Up The Girl, Magnetic, Boxes and Gutterflower. Following that second live debut came, “Name,” the song that undisputedly skyrocketed the band to fame in the late '90s.
Johnny Rzeznik’s solo acoustic performance of “Sympathy” followed by “Acoustic #3” made for a more intimate moment in the 24-song set. See some fan-shot footage above.
Before the tour got going, we snagged a few minutes with frontman Johnny Rzeznik, who, despite having played thousands of shows, managed to choose ONE that really stands out as memorable. "The one show that sticks out for me is a show we played in Buffalo in 2004 and we actually wound up making a DVD out of it. It was about 50,000 people and it was out hometown and it was the 4th of July. And of course, it started like a typhoon like just unbelievable rain. It was just a really exciting night.”
"The one show that sticks out for me is a show we played in Buffalo in 2004 and we actually wound up making a DVD out of it. It was about 50,000 people and it was out hometown and it was the 4th of July. And of course, it started like a typhoon like just unbelievable rain. It was just a really exciting night.”
To tie up the Shoreline show, the Grammy-nominated band busted out brooding ballad “Iris” and then, as an encore, played the title track from their 2016 release “Boxes” for the first time ever.
So what do YOU need to do to get your hometown show in Rzeznik's personal hall of fame? Here's an idea:
"I think what I need to feel like I did a good show is I have to walk off that stage, I have to be exhausted and I have to still hear that crowd."
The Goo’s Long Way Home Tour runs through August 12th.
