Last Night: GGD & Michelle Branch At The Woodlands

[HereIsGone]

Last Night: Goo Goo Dolls & Michelle Branch At The Woodlands

Goo Goo Dolls, Michelle Branch, Parachutes
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 13, 2011

The Goo Goo Dolls, Michelle Branch and Parachutes made an interesting lineup at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion Sunday night. The bill sounded more like a mini-music festival from a time long past, featuring one band you haven't really heard of (yet).

At least, that's what Aftermath thought going in. By the time we left, we had gained respect for a group of up-and-comers we had never heard of before, developed a crush on Michelle Branch and realized that the Goo Goo Dolls are absolutely nothing like we remember them.

Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, going into the show, we had this idea in our heads of the Goo Goo Dolls as alt-rockers from our youth whose fan base was closer to John Mayer's than that of a modern-day punk outfit. By that, we mean that we assumed most of their fans were female. Come to find out, that isn't the case.

Now, as most popular bands tend to, the Goo Goo Dolls have plenty of female fans, but their live performance - and their overall repertoire, actually - isn't composed primarily of radio-friendly alt-rock. Far from it, actually. Their tunes are poppy, sure, but they're a lot punkier than the well-known songs like "Iris," "Black Balloon" and "Broadway." After a little research (and a tweet or two), we found that the Goo have actually been compared to renowned punk acts, such as The Replacements.

In fact, Replacements singer Paul Westerberg co-wrote "We Are the Normal." That was back in the early '90s, though, and the Goos' style has changed a lot since then. But while they may be much more radio-friendly these days, they still warrant much more appreciation than we had given them before last night's show, which kept our hearts light, our ears open and our eyes dazzled with a lavish light show.

The only real drawback of the show came near the end, when someone in the crowd made a comment about Johnny Rzeznik's sunglasses, to which the singer tersely responded, "Fuck off." Rzeznik then told the crowd that he was "not trying to be somebody I'm not" and that he wasn't trying to be a big rock star by wearing shades at night; he was just hung over.

Well, that's that then. And even if he was trying to be a big rock star, if the shoe fits...

Before the boys named Goo, Michelle Branch put on a soulful, energetic performance accompanied only by a bassist and a guitarist. We don't need no stinkin' drums, here! All eyes were on the talented young lady, who kept the crowd dancing. A few of them even stood up and did "the sprinkler," gaining Branch's attention.

"Did you guys just do the sprinkler?" Branch asked a couple of girls in the middle of the crowd. After the two girls responded in the affirmative, Branch added, with a laugh, "You guys must really like me if you're willing to do 'the sprinkler' in public."

Branch also asked the crowd to keep Indiana concertgoers in their prayers. Mentioning the stage collapse before Sugarland's set at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis earlier in the weekend, where five people have now been confirmed dead and dozens were injured. The singer added that she had played that very stage before.

It was a brief but well-deserved aside in a night otherwise filled only with smiles, laughs and upbeat music.

The opening act, Parachutes (above), also put on quite a show. Their draw wasn't nearly as strong as those of Branch or the Dolls, but their performance was both convincing and promising. The young Virginia natives might not yet have as established of a fan base, but they're on the way. And if their act was any implication, they're more than willing to put in the work needed to get there.

Personal Bias: We only bought one Goo Goo Dolls album, Dizzy Up the Girl, but we remember it fondly. After seeing them live more than a decade later, we are now considering giving them another listen.

Overheard In the Crowd: Just before performing "Iris," Rzeznik said, "You know we've got to play this one," and a young woman in the audience muttered, "Yeah, because it's the only one anyone knows."

Random Notebook Dump: We may now have a crush on Michelle Branch, but she needn't worry... we're harmless.

source: blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/08/last_night_goo_goo_dolls_and_m.php?page=1

[HereIsGone]

I have the video where John says 'fuck you man.' It's not as mean as this article makes it out. It's more like a 'fuck you man' with a bit of a chuckle.

[magnetronnie]

I smiled reading that part. ;D

[TuckedAway]

Aug 15, 2011 14:54:03 GMT -5 HereIsGone said:

I have the video where John says 'fuck you man.' It's not as mean as this article makes it out. It's more like a 'fuck you man' with a bit of a chuckle.

I totally second this... Reviewer totally missed the context. John was in an awesome mood, and the "fuck you" was totally chummy.

[HereIsGone]

I haz proof nao!

[TuckedAway]

I love this review, so I'm just going to tack it on here...


Goo Goo Dolls, Branch electrifying at Pavilion
www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/living/article_7eccbcfb-cb8e-5297-9756-c9481b8ba75b.html?mode=story

The Goo Goo Dolls’ performance at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sunday was an eclectic lineup that featured an older band many had almost forgotten could still move us to the catchy rhythms of its sly, poppy rock ‘n’ roll hits and revisited an artist with new sounds before introducing a new band.

Prior to transporting us back to the time when they were more popular with many hits in the 90s after forming in 1986, Parachute – a young band many have not yet heard of – energized the growing crowd by performing its tender rock songs that hit close to heart with their deeply honest lyrics.

The band’s first CD, “Losing Sleep,” released in May 2009, and the song “Under Control” was later released as an iTunes free download of the week. But the band stuck to maybe what is the best-known song on their first album, “She is Love,” which stemmed several in the audience to sing along by heart or by the slightly repetitive nature of the ballad.

They then ventured to play a few songs from their new album released in May, “The Way it Was,” running through the stands and pumping up the heavy crowd that awaited Michelle Branch.

Just 10 years ago, on Aug. 14, 2001, Branch’s first album “The Spirit Room” released, a fact she was proud to point out to the lively crowd and expressed her joy for following through on an answer she gave a decade ago about where she wanted to be in 10 years: making music.

While the eager Virginians of Parachute gave an eager performance to a crowd who stumbled through their thoughtful lyrics to those who knew them, Branch offered up old classics such as “Everywhere,” “Breathe” and “Goodbye to You,” followed by some newer tunes of “Loud Music” and “Spark,” which will appear on her new album “West Coast Time” in October.

Closing her set by singing farewell with “Are You happy Now?,” Branch waved goodbye to an audience that was already up and out of their seats swaying to her soulful melodies, prompting a group of girls to dance the “sprinkler” – an act that made Branch call out to them and laughingly joke that they loved her so much to do the dance in public.

The Goo Goo Dolls then shined, with lead vocalist John Rzeznik dazzling the crowd with the opener “Last Hot Night.” While the band has sang to nearly three generations, it was clear with the momentum from the crowd and cheers when the classics like “Slide” and “Iris” were performed that the band will not see its last hot night for a while.

With the release in May 2010 of their ninth studio album, “Something For The Rest of Us,” the Goo Goo Dolls have maintained a steady stream of followers – as witnessed by the various age groups who belted out lyrics along with them.

Rzeznik donned the stage in sunglasses, completing his rocker look, which he pointed out was not intended to make his look like “something I’m not” when an audience member commented on them – he was just hung over, as he matter-of-factly told the crowd for the reasoning behind the eyewear.

Perhaps it is the lack of conforming to conventional rocker roles that has made this band continue to influence listeners, or maybe it’s because their music still speaks to audiences, something Rzeznik said he hoped some of their songs accomplished before playing “Better Days,” a song he said personally “means a lot to me.”

Following an exit that seemed too soon for the band’s performance of nearly 90 minutes, the pleading crowd drew them back for little more of the band’s love, shaking the audience one more time with “Give a Little Bit” before departing for a crowd that still screamed for more.

[kellbells]

Great reviews. Love that they are loving Parachute. She's very cute but how do you do the sprinkler dance to a Michelle Branch song?

[HereIsGone]

I take it that you have to love her very very much.