Goo Goo Dolls - The Otis Midnight Sessions with Run River North (April 7, 2014)

The Goo Goo Dolls have been one of my favorite bands since I really knew enough to have a "favorite band."  This past year marked the 10th time I've seen them live in concert...and though this was a slightly different show than those that preceded it, it was no less special.

Back around 8th grade, my friend Jen decided to give me a "music education."  I was, at the time, listening to mainly whatever my parents listened to in the car and hadn't really branched out beyond oldies and country of the mid-to-late 90's.  We spent several weekends together and she had me listen to groups like Matchbox Twenty, Live, Gin Blossoms, and, of course, the Goo Goo Dolls.  From then on, I was hooked...forever.  To this day, Dizzy Up The Girl is still one of my favorite albums of all time.

When the Goo Goo Dolls were returning to our area (right here in Syracuse...we didn't even have to drive anywhere!) and it was 5 days before my birthday, I knew how I wanted to celebrate turning 29...with my girlfriends and our boys and the Goo Goo Dolls.

After a fiasco of getting tickets which involved actually GOING to the box office after a freaking blizzard the night before (instead of screwing with Ticketmaster online...), almost not getting tickets at all, and ending up with 6 seats in different rows...2 of which were on the opposite side of the theater...we were set to go.

I'd never heard of Run River North until we arrived at the show - in fact, I don't think I even knew who was opening for GGD until we showed up and Run River North had a merch table set up.  They play a kind of chill folksy music on a variety of instruments.  The lead singer doesn't wear shoes.  They were...to say the least...interesting.  I didn't dislike them, but I wasn't totally inspired to run out and buy their album, either.

Run River North

RRN finished up and then it was time for Goo!  Going in we knew that this was the Otis Midnight Sessions, Acoustic tour...so it was going to be different than what we'd been used to at the previous 9 shows.  In the past, the Goo Goo Dolls put on a high energy rock show, usually with lots of staging and with Johnny Rzeznik running around the stage.  Previous to this tour, Mike Malinin, drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls had parted ways with the band, citing personal and family needs.  So this tour was just Johnny and Robbie Takac, a stage, their instruments, and some low key backup.  Really, the setup was beautiful:

Johnny and Robbie remained seated through the whole show, playing hit after hit as well as some newer stuff.  I could not have asked for anything else in the setlist and I, as usual, enjoyed every single note.  Johnny and Robbie told stories of the songs, including much of their debauchery in Buffalo, NY, just down the Thruway from where we were that evening.  The show was at the Civic Center here in Syracuse, in the smaller of 2 theaters at that venue, creating an intimate, no-one-has-a-bad-seat kind of experience.  I've pulled a few of my favorite shots from the show to share with you:

All in all, the acoustic show was an amazing experience.  It was great to hear a kind of boiled down, back to the dorm rooms at Buff State type of jam session that has led to so much of the success of the GGD over the years.  You could see the comfort between Johnny and Robbie and they really seemed to enjoy playing their hits for some truly invested fans...including the guy who kept yelling things out about Buffalo during any of Johnny's stories...yeah, even including that guy.  It was a perfect way to spend my "birthday" and I couldn't have asked for a better show. 

(Me - the short one in the middle - and the gang after the show!)

You can experience a bit of the show with the YouTube playlist linked below...all my videos from that night's show :)

Up next:  Blues Traveler (Sorta...)

Bobby Long at WAMC's The Linda - Albany, NY (February 21, 2014)

If you've never heard of Bobby Long (and you enjoy a fantastic, British, singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar), go check out some of his stuff on YouTube or last.fm

There, now that you've done that (and one of the YouTube results was a video from the concert I'm going to talk about - so you've even gotten to see almost exactly what I saw) let's get on with things.

When I saw Bobby - who now makes his home in NYC, but is originally from outside of Manchester, England - was going to be playing upstate in Albany, I knew I had to be there.  I don't get the chance to travel to the city THAT much, so the couple hour drive to Albany was much easier to make happen on a rainy Friday evening in February.  Not to mention that it was only $17 for a ticket, rather than frequently higher NYC show prices.

I first discovered Bobby's music a couple of years ago and this was my first easy opportunity to see him live and in person - my friend Serenity gladly accompanied me, as she is also a fan, but had seen him a few times in NYC in the past.

Somewhat unsure of the venue or what kind of seating/viewing situation we'd be in, I chose to consult with a friend, originally from Albany, who told me he was pretty sure that the venue was an old bank and would be small - maybe 60 seats or so - and intimate.

He wasn't wrong.  Behind the stage (several 2 or so foot high risers placed toegther) was the bank's original steel gate which used to lock in the Safe Deposit box room.  Much of the inside remained "bank-ish" but the main floor was cleared of cubicles and teller windows and now featured rows of chairs for the general admission show.  Once inside, we could choose whatever seats we wanted...and we happened to spy a couple of empty seats in the front row - so of course, we took those.

We got situated and got our cameras ready as we wanted to get some good memories from the show.  The opener, Tor and the Fjords (although it was just one guy, so I'm not sure who "the Fjords" were...) performed several songs in that folk-y, acoustic, singer-songwriter vein.  He was quite good and i enjoyed the stories he told to go along with the songs.  It was also nice that he didn't take himself too seriously.  He was in the midst of starting one song, for example, when he felt that his guitar wasn't tuned quite right, so he stopped, fixed it, remembered that it actually HAD been right, and went back and fixed it again before continuing.  He poked fun at himself the whole time, making it a fun and lighthearted (rather than an "oh crap, I'm on stage and just messed up, and now I'm so nervous I don't know what to do) moment.  It really showed his comfort with performing, even if his hands did look a little shaky up on the stage.  I hadn't heard of this artist before that night, but I thoroughly enjoyed his set.

Bobby appeared next in rolled up jeans, a white tee, maroon cardigan and a black beanie.  He was also rockin' a fairly scruffy beard, which oddly worked on him.  He arrived on stage with a water bottle, a beer (Magic Hat #9 if I remember correctly...) and his guitar.   Serenity leaned over to me when she saw the beer and said - he's particularly chatty and funny when he's drinking...so here we go!  I laughed and the show started.  He played many of his more well known and popular songs among fans, telling stories - that may or may not have been true about where the songs came from.  The story about his father asking him to write a song about a dead prostitute, was one I found particularly funny.

The acoustic set was fantastic and when he decided to perform one song sans microphone at all and he unplugged his guitar and just played even more simply it was beautiful.  Many selections were from Wishbone - his more recent album from February of 2013, but there were selections from A Winter's Tale and other releases as well.

Throughout the show, Bobby was talkative yet shy - something I wasn't sure someone could accomplish so fluidly.  His self-deprecating humor had the crowd of about 60 laughing along with him, while also watching him keep his gaze lowered throughout most of the show.  Every song was ended with "Thank you very much, Ladies and Gentlemen."  He was sweet and charming and had the attention of every single person in the venue.

One of the things I truly enjoy about small, intimate venues like this - with perhaps lesser-known artists, is the accessibility.  Bobby informed the crowd that he had some CD's and "children's t-shirts..." available for purchase after the show and that he'd be happy to sign things and meet people.  We got into line fairly quickly - maybe 5-6 people back - and had to wait quite a while as Bobby took time with each person and group to really chat with them, ask them questions, answer theirs, and personally sign items.  When we got up there, I purchased 2 older albums - Summer Dangerous Tour 2009 and Dirty Pond Songs - that I somehow didn't have and chatted with him for a few minutes.  He signed both CD's TO my name and message - one reading Best Wishes and one reading Thanks for me and then was kind enough to also pose for a picture with me.  You'll have to excuse the fact that I look like hell...but it was a great experience even if I look terrible in this picture.

(Photo: Courtesy of Serenity K.)

The show was fantastic, we got some amazing pictures of his performance, and a great story to tell about meeting him afterwards.  He was super sweet to everyone and really performed his heart out.  Constantly signing with so much passion that his eyes were often closed and his face strained with the emotions of the songs.  I twas incredible to get to be so close and to finally get to see this artist up close and personal - and live - after being a fan for a long time. 

Tor and the Fjords 

This is one of my favorite pictures that I took...

I don't even care that this is somewhat out of focus...I feel like it adds something...

Next up:  The Sing Off (Again!)

3 Doors Down: Acoustic Songs From the Basement (February 18, 2014)

 

When I saw the concert announcement for this show, I was pretty much already sold.  I love acoustic sets and I'd seen 3 Doors Down two other times and knew they put on one hell of a rock show - so I was curious to see what they would do acoustically.

After procuring floor seats for myself and my husband, I was pumped and ready.  Listened to pretty much nothing but 3 Doors Down in the car and at home for like three weeks and really got in the mood.  I love the band, but sometimes with new music and the excitement of new bands I move away from some of my old loves - not because I stop liking them, but just because there are other things occupying my attention.  I fell back into love with so much of the music that I loved in the early 2000's and was totally ready to hear this new spin.

Boy, oh, boy, did they not disappoint.  It was like jam session of all of my favorite 3 Doors Down songs, stripped down.  There were no crazy lights and huge stacks of speakers...as there had been when I'd seen them with Breaking Benjamin and Staind or with Papa Roach at our local rock festival a few years later.  There were 5 guys, 4 couches, a couple of random lamps (even a leg lamp!), and a single lightbulb hanging above the center of the stage.  Of course there were stage lights so we could actually see them, and for sound projection, the instruments were, in fact, plugged in - however the stripped set and simple accompaniment worked really well.

Brad's voice was spot on and the vocals seemed all the more powerful set against the simple instrumentation.  Despite saying that he had a cold and apologizing in case his voice broke at all during the show, I didn't notice any issues in that regard.

The set included both a Garth Brooks cover (The Dance) and a Metallica cover (Nothing Else Matters) which really showcased the range that this group can manage.  It also included all the big hits from the boys themselves, including Kryptonite, Loser, When I'm Gone, Away From the Sun, among several others - both classic and newer.

The stage setup was cool - and although we were in the shrunk down event center at Turning Stone casino (they were only using floor seats and the stadium seats along the back wall of the room - the others were blocked and the stage moved closer) the venue felt intimate.  The couches looked comfy and you could have even purchased seats, right up there on the stage, if you were willing to spend about $400 a piece.  A few people did and it was fun to watch one of the guys taking photos with his phone from the stage.  At the very end of the night - after the encore - Brad reached up as he was walking last off the stage and turned out the single hanging lightbulb designed to make this set look even more like a basement jam session.  It was a nice touch indeed and made me smile.  Definitely a fantastic night.

Turning Stone has also incorporated, for some of their shows, giveaways and prizes as well.  On the way in, we were each given a raffle ticket and told to hang on to it.  After the show was over there were signs set up in the halls saying "Drawing this way" with arrows pointing us in the direction of the main lobby where a DJ was set up.  There, you dropped half of your ticket into a clear acrylic bingo ball style cage and just hung out.  Once most of the crowd had gathered, they drew numbers to win one of 3 signed posters from the band, or the grand prize - a signed acoustic guitar.  Neither my husband or I won anything, but it was definitely a cool - if somewhat unorganized (people milling about and we were waiting for everyone to get down there from the show) little perk.  Nice touch by the casino - even if I really think it's probably just a ploy to get concert-goers to stick around longer and possibly wander into the gaming rooms and spend some money.  

While this was the last stop for this leg of the tour, 3 Doors Down is heading back out to do more acoustic style shows this spring and summer.  If you get the chance, I'd put this on my "check it out" list.