From: Monica

Pictures at bottom...

I took my friend Stephanie to her first ever concert last night to see the Goo Goo Dolls, and let me tell you, it was great!

We got to Atlantic City about 5:30 p.m. and had to wait for the box office to open at 6:00 for our tix. We didn't have to wait too long so of course, we were chatting with the folks around us. A woman behind us said that she had just seen Robbie at the Bar and she bought him a drink, and that Johnny had just been by about a half an hour before that. I guess being in Casino, most people didn't recognize them unless they were fans, so no was really bothering with them. We didn't get to meet them though.

After we got our tickets, we went to stand on line to get into the Show area. We met a girl there, who was very familiar with everything about the Goos and their concerts. Her name was Sarah (Hi Sarah, A & M!), and she was there with her friends from Boston. They had come the night before and stayed at the hotel. She said that when they went to breakfast that morning, they sat right next to Johnny and Dave (the manager), and that she had also been in the elevator with Johnny at some point during the day. Then they went to the Casino, and found Mike playing Blackjack, so of course, joined in at his table.

Anyway, she was very knowledgeable about where to stand during the show, so we kind of hung on to her shirtails and flew with her for the rest of the night. She was really sweet, and we had a great time.

They finally let us into the show area at 8:00 and there was still an hour before Fastball came on. We were wondering whether there was going to be moshing and/or body surfing, but once again, being Atlantic City, and at Trump Marina, there was no way anything bad was going to happen. Donald Trump and staff had the place surrounded with security for everyone's safety. Also, there were alot of little kids there (I'm talking 8 and 9 years old!)

Fastball came on and played for about 45 minutes and let me tell you -- they rocked. They were great as an opening act. They definitely got us in the mood.

We were standing left of center stage about 2-3 people back, so were had a prime location for the show. During the intermission, Sarah told us about Johnny's Guitar Tech (she called him Damage - said it was really Demahge) and that he was really cool. He caught a glimpse of her during the break and came over to us and was talking to Sarah. She said we would see him again after the show.

Finally, the moment of truth, the Goos break out onto the stage doing Dizzy, and the place went wild. The show was incredible. Johnny and Robbie (although hobbling), were all over the stage. My friend Stephanie was just amazed at what was going on. Right before Johnny sang "Name" he was talking to the crowd, and you could hear that his voice was very raspby, but when he sang you couldn't tell, he sounded great, and looked even better. The whole group looked like they enjoyed the show as much as we did.

I guess alot of the same people go to the shows, because John was like saying hello to everyone by name and pointing to them as if he knew them.

Johnny didn't tell the "Name" story and someone threw a note to him asking him why, and he said "I've told that story 500 fricking times, you all know it already". People also threw guitar stickers up for him, one of them being "Tattooed White Trash", and Johnny's comment was "This is exactly what we are"!

Also towards the end of the show, Johnny and Robbie were goofing around on stage talking and laughing, and Johnny says "Oh man, I'm bleeding", as we wiped his mouth, then he remembered he had a cough drop in his mouth and "On no wait, it just a cough drop", it was very funny. The song list was the same as all the past reviews.

After the last song, Sarah told us to hang out with her, which of course we did, and sure enough, "Damage" came out onto the floor to see her. She introduced us to him and he introduced himself as "Michael". He gave us each one of Johnny's guitar picks with the word "GOO" on them, which I will treasure forever, since it's the only pick I've ever gotten. I had to tell Stephanie, don't get used to this, this is not what usually happens during a concert. Now I've spoiled her.

"Michael" had to go finish clearing the stage, so we said our "goodbye's". Then we had to say goodbye to Sarah and friends.

It was a night I'll never forget, because I'll have the pictures and the pick as a great memory.

I should get my voice back in 2 to 3 days, and then life will continue until the next Goo Show! Until then -----------