The Goo Goo Dolls lit up Cadence Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park on Aug. 28, featuring three songs from their new album throughout the concert.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the band kicked off with “Yeah, I Like You” from their newest album “Chaos in Bloom,” followed by throwbacks “Slide” and “Big Machine.” Two more songs from the new album were featured in the middle of the set with rhythmic headbanging during “War,” and a dramatically drawn-out guitar solo during “Going Crazy.”
Passionate guitar solos colored the set as John Rzeznik swapped out guitars seemingly at least twice in each song. At several points throughout the set, Rzeznik and Robby Takac leaned back with passion during the solos, danced around on stage and headbanged with the rise and fall of the strobe lights.
“It is so great to be here on this beautiful, beautiful night,” Rzeznik said to the crowd in the middle of the set. Before continuing with “Lucky Star,” he also reminisced on performing at a different venue in a past Atlanta performance. Takac’s gritty voice took over the melody as Rzeznik’s harmony rose throughout the song.
The most obvious crowd favorites were “Sympathy” and “Iris,” as the amphitheater erupted with cheers, and everyone stood up. Most people took out their phones to film “Sympathy.” During “Iris,” they held up their phone flashlights and swayed their arms back and forth with the rhythm. Everyone went wild with loud, drawn-out cheers after the long guitar solo at the end of “Iris.”
Several song themes were addressed throughout the set. Black balloons descended upon the crowd during “Black Balloon.”
“Thank you for keeping this band alive for a long time,” Rzeznik said before jumping into an animated performance of “So Alive.” A bright galaxy lit up the monitors behind the band during “Better Days” and Rzeznik ended the song by declaring, “Today’s a good day, and tomorrow will be better.”
Most of the crowd clapped along to the beat during “Miracle Pill,” joined by the band encouraging everyone with enthusiastic overhead claps during “Over and Over.” During “Broadway,” the crowd stood up cheering at the start, and danced as Rzeznik performed. He tucked back his hair wet with perspiration and kept on singing with passion, leading into a riveting guitar and piano duet toward the end of the song.
The band wrapped up the concert by going down the line of people in the front row with energetic high-fives. The next destinations on their summer tour include several California and Midwest cities, according to their website.
