Wednesday, November 6, 8 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of the band's September release Miracle Pill – a recording Cryptic Rock deemed “a journey full of heartfelt emotion and well-constructed tunes” – Grammy-nominated rockers the Goo Goo Dolls play Davenport's Adler Theatre on November 6, the musicians' 12th full-length album described by Pop Matters as “new music that easily stands alongside the best of their career.”
Formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1986 by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeknik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac (both are whom are still with the group) alongside drummer George Tutuska, the trio picked their name from a True Detective ad for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll. As Rzeznik told Rolling Stone, “We were young and we were a garage band not trying to get a deal. We had a gig that night and needed a name. It's the best we came up with, and for some reason it stuck. If I had five more minutes, I definitely would have picked a better name.” The rockers released their self-titled 1987 debut on Mercenary Records – a recording that was picked up by the larger Celluloid Records in 1988 – and played around Buffalo's underground music circuit and across the country, opening for punk bands such as Gang Green, SNFU, Dag Nasty, and Bad Religion. The Goo Goo Dolls released its second album Jed in 1989 and its third, Hold Me Up, in 1990, a work that included the hit singles “There You Are” and the concert favorite “Two Days in February.” Embraced by local college-radio and punk scenes (including playing such venues as CBGB), Hold Me Up incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop, and punk rock, and its song “I'm Awake Now” was recorded for the soundtrack of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
Fourth album Superstar Car Wash was also a critical success, and A Boy Named Goo, released in 1995, became one of the most successful alternative-rock albums of the mid-1990s, as well as the first album in Metal Blade history to achieve double-platinum status. A couple of years later, Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was “Iris,” which continued the band's fame as it stayed on top of Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart for a record-breaking 18 weeks and spent four weeks at number one on Billboard's Pop Songs chart. In 1998, the song was nominated for three Grammy Awards, and was included on the Goo Goo Dolls album Dizzy Up the Girl, a recording that boasted another chart-topping smash in the gold-selling single “Slide.” To date, the Goo Goo Dolls have had 19 top-10 singles on various charts and have sold more than 12 million albums worldwide, and the musicians' accolades have included four Billboard Music Awards, six ASCAP Pop Awards, and Rzeznik's 2008 induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The Goo Goo Dolls bring their “Miracle Pill Tour” to Davenport on November 6 with an opening set by The Unlikely Candidates, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $39.50-79.50, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting AdlerTheatre.com.
