Show Review : Dashboard Confessional and Goo Goo Dolls: A Night of Nostalgia

By Colette Custin

Two ‘90s stalwarts of indie and alternative rock hit Northerly Island this week for a trip down memory lane.  The “Summer Anthem” tour from Dashboard Confessional and the Goo Goo Dolls offered many opportunities throughout the night for reminiscing and singing along to some classics of the genre.  

“We erased the stigma of wearing the band’s shirt to the band’s show,” joked vocalist/guitarist Chris Carrabba as the band blazed through a thirteen-song set that drew from just a handful of the band’s albums, including singles “Screaming Infidelities” and “Vindicated.” Summer anthems, indeed!  

“You guys opened your arms for us before everyone else in this country,” noted singer/guitarist John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, to rapturous applause from the audience on a beautiful summer night.  Opening with “Naked” from the band’s breakthrough album A Boy Named Goo, the hits were plentiful (“Slide,” “Name”) along with some new tunes.

“We’re gonna play a new song now.  I’m always reluctant to say that,” Rzeznik joked, introducing “Nothing Lasts Forever,” and a dedication to Rzeznik’s mother came later with “Acoustic #3” before they closed out with a one-two punch of Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me” and their chart-topping 1998 single “Iris.”  One of the most enduring bands of the ‘90s alt-rock scene, the Goo Goo Dolls proved why they’ve managed to stick around with a jam-packed setlist and good vibes for all. 

Goo Goo Dolls – Northerly Island

Dashboard Confessional – Northerly Island