I'M A NEWER FAN OF THE GOO GOO DOLLS. MY FRIEND VANESSA AND I REALLY STARTED TO TAKE A SERIOUS INTEREST IN THE BAND AFTER SEEING THEIR STORY ON BEHIND THE MUSIC, ALTHOUGH WE ALWAYS ENJOYED HEARING THEIR SONGS ON THE RADIO BEFORE THEN. I PURCHASED "DIZZY UP THE GIRL" AND "SUPERSTAR CAR WASH" SIMULATEOUSLY AND PICKED UP " A BOY NAMED GOO" A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE'RE CONVINCED THAT THESE GUYS ARE BRILLIANT. BOTH ARE AWESOME SONGWRITERS AND MUSICIANS TO SAY THE LEAST.
BOTH VANESSA AND I ARE HAVE TIMBUSY PROFESSIONALS SO OUR TIME IN EAST LANSING WAS LIMITED. WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO "HANG OUT" BEFORE OR AFTER THE SHOW. WE GOT THERE ABOUT 20 MIN.BEFORE 8:00 AND A BAND NAMED "FERN" WAS ALREADY ON STAGE PERFORMING. AFTER THEY FINISHED THE CROWD WAS ENTERTAINED BY THE ROADIES WHO DECIDED TO DO A LITTLE DANCE TO LEN'S "STEAL MY SUNSHINE". THIS PERKED UP THE CROWD AND MOST ON THE FLOOR BEGAN TO DANCE ALONG.
TONIC TOTALLY ROCKED! I'VE BEEN A FAN OF THIS BAND FOR QUITE AWHILE AND WHEN I HEARD THEY WERE OPENING UP FOR THE GGDS I THOUGHT "I'M THERE!" OUR SEATS WERE UP ON THE PLATFORM ABOUT 6 ROWS BACK (ABOUT 4 O'CLOCK FROM THE STAGE). WE COULD SEE QUITE WELL. THEY LITERALLY CUT THE ARENA IN HALF AND I'D SAY THERE WERE ABOUT 2000 IN ATTENDANCE. I MADE SURE I BROUGHT MY BINOCULARS AS I DO FOR EVERY ROCK SHOW I ATTEND. TONIC IS A BAND THAT TRULY DESERVES MORE ATTENTION. I WAS PLEASED TO HEAR SO MANY SONGS FROM "LEMON PARADE" AND I LOVE THEIR NEW CD "SUGAR". I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU ALL PICK IT UP. THEY SOUNDED GREAT. NO SCREW UPS. THEY'RE REAL PROS. THEY EVEN THANKED THE CROWD AND SAID THAT WITHOUT US THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIVE THEIR DREAM.
THE BREAK BETWEEN TONIC AND GGDS WAS A BIT TOO LONG (MORE THAN 30 MINUTES). I COMMENTED TO VANESSA THAT MAYBE THEY WEREN'T EVEN IN THE BUILDING YET. THE CROWD STARTED DOING THE WAVE. THAT'S HOW BORED WE ALL WERE. WHEN THE LIGHTS FINALLY WENT DOWN I SCREAMED AND JUMPED TO MY FEET. THE LITTLE DISCO LIGHT SHOW WAS PRETTY COOL. A NICE TOUCH. THEN THE GGDS STORMED ON THE STAGE WITH "DIZZY". VANESSA AND I WERE ON OUR FEET THE WHOLE SHOW. I NEVER STOPPED MOVING. JOHN WORE ALL BLACK AND NO HAT, THANK GOD! ROBBY ALSO WAS IN ALL BLACK (SANS SHOES OF COURSE!) CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE OTHERS WORE.
TOWARDS THE END OF "DIZZY" JOHN HANDED HIS GUITAR TO THE GUITAR TECH. HE WAS OBVIOUSLY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH IT. THEN ABOUT 2 SECONDS AFTER HE STARTED PLAYING IT HE TOOK IT OFF AND THREW IT AT THE GUY! WE WERE BOTH SURPRISED TO SEE THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR FROM HIM. THIS WAS JUST THE FIRST OF SEVERAL DISAPPOINTMENTS. THERE WERE SOME MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE BACKDROP WHICH WAS REALLY NO BIG DEAL. JOHN COMMENTED BETWEEN LYRICS, "YOU SHOULD SEE IT WHEN IT WORKS IT'S REALLY COOL!" THE CROWD LOVED IT. ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH THE SHOW JOHN DECIDED TO TELL EVERYONE THAT HE WAS SUFFERING FROM A HANGOVER. NOW I LIKE TO PARTY AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON, BUT I DOUBT I'D EVER TELL THOSE I WAS TRYING TO IMPRESS THAT I WAS HUNG OVER. VANESSA AND I AGREED THAT THIS WAS A BIT TACKY. THEN WHEN HE DID "ACOUSTIC #3" (THE SONG THAT ALWAYS BRINGS ME TO TEARS) HE SCREWED UP THE LAST 2 LINES. I GUESS KNOWING THAT HE HAD A HANGOVER WAS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO DEFLATE MY FANTASY BUBBLE.
BUT OVER ALL I GIVE THE SHOW A B PLUS. I HEARD ALL MY FAVORITE SONGS EXCEPT FOR "STOP THE WORLD" AND THEY PLAYED FOR CLOSE TO 2 HOURS. THE REST OF THE BAND WAS RIGHT ON TOP OF THINGS, ESPECIALLY ROBBY. HERE'S A GUY WHO DOESN'T'T GET ENOUGH CREDIT. AFTER SEEING HIM RUN LIKE A MAD MAN ALL OVER THE STAGE AND READING TESTIMONY FROM THOSE WHO'VE MET HIM, HE'S JUST A SWEET AND TALENTED GUY. ALL HIS SONGS MAKE ME SMILE (HEY ROBBY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?). AND MIKE IS A PHENOMENAL DRUMMER. JUST LISTEN TO HIS WORK THE NEXT TIME YOU LISTEN TO "BLACK BALLOON" AND YOU'LL KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
OH YES, WE STILL LOVE JOHN, REALLY. IN FACT,EVERY TIME VANESSA AND I GOT A GOOD LOOK AT HIM THROUGH THE BINOCULARS WE'D LOOK AT EACH OTHER WITH OUR TOUNGES HANGING OUT. HE'S ONE HOTTIE! BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, HE'S REALLY GOT A GIFT FOR FINDING BEAUTY IN PAIN. HIS SONGS ARE INCREDIBLE AND HIS VOICE IS LIKE THE PERFECT BLEND OF PERFUME AND SMOKE. I MELT WHEN I HEAR IT. HE'S TRULY A GIFTED AND TALENTED GUITARIST AND SONGWRITER.
MY HAT IS OFF TO THE MUSIC AND TECH FEST. WHERE ELSE COULD WE SEE 2 AWESOME BANDS FOR 20 BUCKS! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THESE GUYS AGAIN EVEN IF IT'S NOT UNTIL THEIR NEXT CD COMES OUT (WHEN EVER THAT WILL BE). THANKS FOR READING THIS AND KEEP ROCKIN' WITH THE GOOS!!
BYE NOW FROM JANE AND VANESSA IN GRAND HAVEN, MI