The September night began with American Idol season 11 winner Phillip Phillips opening up the show. Phillips show went over well with all of the energized crowd.  It was a very relaxing set that had you tapping your feet and singing along, especially with a few of the more well-known songs such as “Gone Gone Gone.” Phillips also introduced the crowd to one of his newest songs, “Magnetic,” which had more of a bluesy soulful vibe and had the crowd singing along by the second chorus.  When Phillips started the song “Home” it made you realize how popular this brilliant young man has become.  Everyone in the audience sang along and the song had the added ability to make you smile and feel good inside.  It was a moment I will never forget.

As the crew setup for the Goo Goo Dolls I noticed that the majority of the audience was college students or returning alumni.  I talked to a few students who came back just to see the Goo Goo Dolls perform, they said “they grew up with the Goo Goo Dolls and were looking forward to tonight’s show.”  It was nice to see the band headlining the show where you get the full visual effect mixed with the great tunes.  I overheard students saying things like “is that their song? I forgot that they did that.”  The Goo Goo Dolls have so many hit songs and I believe tonight they played most, if not all of them. They opened with a song from their new EP ‘You Should Be Happy’ which was released May 12^th 2017.  While the band performed the 1^st song on the EP “Tattered Edge – You Should Be Happy,” red and white lights flashed across the crowd signaling the start of the night.  By the second song almost everyone in the crowd was on their feet except for a few people who were glued to their cell phones; which was something that might have been attributed to the age of the crowd.  Johnny Rzeznik (Lead singer and founding band member) told a brief story about the first hit song they had titled “Name” from their 1995 album “A Boy Named Goo.” He said “Name” was the first song the band had ever heard of theirs on the radio.  He went on and talked about how he wanted the band to play a variety of their songs on this tour. With more than 13 albums a few Greatest Hits compilations and EPS the task of song selection would be daunting;  bottom line is, the ‘Goo Goo Dolls’ had a lot a large pool of songs to choose from for this tour.  The night was magical, the weather was perfect and the venue is great for concerts; not a bad seat in the Theatre.  The Staff was friendly and willing to genuinely help.  People dancing and singing along with the band throughout the night was a common occurrence.  The show ended with a two-song encore, a blast of confetti and a standing ovation from the crowd.  Tonight Goo Goo Dolls found their Home in San Diego.

Goo Goo Dolls and Phillip Phillips

Venue: SDSU Open Air Theatre

Reviewed: Storm@backstage360.com