Goo Goo Dolls Shine Bright At The Astro!

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Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

It's been a great week for live music here in Omaha. Tuesday night I had the pleasure of attending the Goo Goo Dolls summer tour at the Astro Amphitheater. Along for the ride were the 2000s hitmakers Dashboard Confessional. With a completely sold out crowd in attendance the evening was pure magic from start to finish.

Up first was Dashboard Confessional. These guys started in the in the early 2000s with their first album Swiss Army Romance, followed by the album The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most which included the hit "Screaming Infidelities". The song and its accompanying video made a splash on MTV, winning video of the year in 2002 beating out The Strokes, Norah Jones, and even the champagne of bands, The Hives (What a crime!). The success of the video paired with a taping on MTV Unplugged rocketed the band to mainstream. Dashboard followed up in 2003 with the album A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar. This proved to be Dashboard's most commercially viable release yet. The single "Hands Down" received heavy play from alternative radio stations across the U.S. In the summer of 2004 Dashboard's song "Vindicated" was featured on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack and played during the credits of the film, establishing Dashboard as a household name.

The sun was still shining on the horizon as lead singer Chris Carrabba strutted on stage in a cool all black outfit. Paired with some black shades, he resembled an emo Johnny Cash. Strumming an acoustic guitar, Chris and the band kicked things off with "The Best Deceptions" from The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most. The crowd swayed to the soft crooning with hands waving and cold drinks raised high. The band threw in some newer songs but stuck to mostly hits over the next 45 minutes. While Dashboard had a lot of success in the 2000s and the crowd was giving some pretty good energy, things noticeably peeked when they broke out "Vindicated". From front to back even the most casual fans could be seen mouthing the words to the blockbuster hit. The band followed with classics like "Stolen" and "Screaming Infidelities". As everyone in the venue could predict the band closed with "Hands Down". Even I couldn't help but sing along to the emo anthem. Dashboard did an awesome job getting the party started and warming things up for the Goo Goo Dolls.

By now the sun was starting to set and things were finally cooling down just a bit. The majority of the sold out crowd was now in attendance and ready to jam! There had to have been close to 5,000 people young and old waiting to hear their favorite 90s hits. Johnny and the band pranced out ready to give the folks a show! The Goo Goo Dolls opened the set with "Naked" from their debut 1995 album "A Boy Named Goo". I've never claimed to be a Goo Goo Dolls historian so I have no idea where they got that title, but there was a lot of weird stuff that went down in the 90s. The crowd was on their feet and giving really great energy, singing along and clapping to the beat. Johnny seemed to be in a great mood bouncing around the stage and calling out the apartment folks perched behind the stage on their balconies. "Look at these cheap mothers! Didn't even have to buy a ticket!". The crowd was eating it up.

With an arsenal of hits the band rolled through their set like a freight train. One after another the hits kept coming, "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Here Is Gone", "Sympathy", and more! While the Goo Goo Dolls found the majority of their success in the 90s and the 2000s, the band has never slowed down. They've been a staple of the modern pop and alternative charts for nearly 30 years and they don't show any signs of stopping. Goo Goo Dolls just released a new E.P. Summer Anthem and I have to say it does sound like summer. There's some bangers on there! It's kind of in the vein of "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley.

With a 24 song set Goo Goo Dolls put on a masterclass in how a legacy band should tour. They gave Omaha a show we won't soon forget. I'm so grateful I was able to capture it.

Huge thanks to Mammoth Live and Goo Goo Dolls management for photo access!