The Goo Goo Dolls at the Brixton Academy

I saw The Goo Goo Dolls at the O2 Academy Brixton on Saturday night. I wasn't sure what sort of crowd to expect because none of the people I talked to before the show had heard of them. But the venue was sold out and there was literally a queue round the block to get in! This was the first event I'd been to at the Brixton Academy, and I'd definitely go back since it had plenty of bars and it was small enough that you could actually see the band from anywhere inside. The surrounding area looked fine regardless of what I'd been told about it beforehand too.

The band is currently on tour in the UK to support their latest album, "Something for the Rest of Us". I got the album a couple of months ago in preparation, and to be honest I wasn't that impressed. Each album they make is increasingly bland and they've almost completely lost touch with their alternative rock roots much like U2, Bon Jovi and Coldplay before them. There are some great songs on the album and I'm sure they'll make a killing selling them to TV shows like Grey's Anatomy to provide the soundtrack to heart-wrenching break ups. However it's never a good sign when the token songs they let the bassist Robby Takac take lead on are a welcome respite from the monotony of commercial love songs.

Despite all that I actually enjoyed the concert and I probably appreciate the album more after having heard it live. They are one of the few bands I've seen who sound just as good, if not better live. And the live performance added a rawness and volume which provided a much needed kick to their latest songs. They also acknowledged their past successes by covering most of their greatest hits including "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Dizzy", "Broadway", "Name", "Here Is Gone" (my personal favourite), "Better Days" (Merry Xmas everyone!), "Stay With You", "Let Love In" and of course "Iris", which according to lead singer Johnny Rzeznik, "they have to play." (Although he left it to the crowd to sing most of the words and had to pause at one point because the cheering was too loud for him to sing over!) I would have liked to have heard "Sympathy", "Naked", and "Long Way Down" too, but I'm not complaining because I expected the setlist to be much more weighted in favour of the new material.

Rating: 6 out of 10, enjoyed myself but wouldn't bother seeing them again unless they release some new material as good as the 90s stuff.

Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac (and random backing musicians)

"Black Balloon" with actual black balloons!

Robby Takac was over-excited throughout the performance.  Most of the time he seemed like a crazed fan who'd jumped on stage and was milking it for all it was worth before security tackled him!