Sunday, July 21, 1996
Bad sound, song selection leave fans quietly disappointedBy
Brian Remick
Summer Bruin Contributor
"What  are you guys scared of us or something?"
This was the question posed to the audience last Wednesday night
at the El Rey Theater by Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznik. It
pretty much summed up the evening.
The Goo Goo Dolls are on tour supporting their latest album, "A
Boy Named Goo," which was actually released late last year. What
the crowd didn’t know (or didn’t suspect) was that the band has
four albums before this one under their belt.
A sold out audience packed into the elegant El Rey Theater in
Hollywood, which is complete with plush carpeting and three huge
chandeliers hanging above. After waiting patiently through a
respectable set by Dishwalla, the Goo Goo Dolls took the stage.
Aside from sounding terribly muffled  which hadn’t been a
problem for Dishwalla  the band’s performance was strong.
Guitarist/lead singer Rzeznik and bassist Robby Takac are
incredibly lively on stage and always seem to be having way too
much fun for members of an alternative band.
Opening with "Only One," the sound problem became immediately
obvious. The Goo Goo Dolls already have one detriment in that all
of their songs have basically the same chord structure  which
leaves only solos to distinguish them. Throw in a major flaw in
sound design, and the band might as well have played the same song
over and over.
The tragic mistake of the night, however, albeit unavoidable,
was the band’s decision to include a large portion of songs from
their previous albums. Hardly anyone in the audience responded
enthusiastically. Most just stared in shock, wondering how this
band before them could possibly be the same one who wrote the
gentle "Name," which became so popular earlier in the year and
received major air play on rock and alternative radio. At one
point, Takac even said, "You are aware that we had a few more
albums before this one, right?"
The Goo Goo Dolls did manage to play most of the songs on "A Boy
Named Goo" in their hour-long set, receiving the best response from
"Name," despite the fact that it sounded terrible. They also played
an impressive cover of the Plimsouls’ classic, "Million Miles
Away," which, unfortunately for the Goo Goo Dolls, sounded better
than most of their own songs.
The band pounded through a few more of what they generously
referred to as punk with "Disconnected" and "Long Way Down," before
concluding their set with "Flat Top," one of the best songs on the
album. The crowd was already quite bored, and a large portion had
left after "Name," probably the only song they were waiting to
hear.
The encore was disappointing, consisting of two songs from
previous albums which didn’t impress anyone. Rzeznik left the stage
with his guitar hanging from the microphone stand, causing an
irritating amount of feedback of which he could not have been more
proud.
The audience on Wednesday evening spanned all ages imaginable
 from teenagers who bopped around to the beat of every song
to people in their mid-30s who just sat at the tables that lined
the El Rey Theater, in a comatose state of wonder and
disbelief.
Or, perhaps it was fear.
The Goo Goo Dolls are now on tour promoting their newest
album.