I had a flashback to the first time I had seen them perform in 1996 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Goo Goo Dolls were one of three bands on the bill, the headliner being Bush and the opening band was No Doubt. Q99, the radio station I was the Program Director of at the time, did a giveaway where we did a rather large meet and greet party event with No Doubt. We had 25 station listeners meet the band backstage and we did the usual picture and autograph thing.
Gwen Stefani along with the other members of the band spent about an hour with the listeners and the Q99 staff chatting and hanging out. That would be unheard of these days with the level of fame that she and the band have but at the time Spiderwebs and Don't Speak were the two songs that had received airplay. You never know without time unfolding afterward (years!) what a successful band they turned out to be and what a superstar Gwen Stefani is today. If I recall, she must have told me half a dozen times how grateful they were that the station was playing their music and helping their career. She, along with the rest of the band, are very gracious and wonderful people.
Back to the present, I purchased the Goo Goo Dolls tickets in early November and we attended the show last night. During my radio dj days I played a crapload of their music on various radio stations I worked at so I knew 90% of the songs they performed.
It was a nice evening to go do something like that with Anthony because we each work about 60 hours a week so it was good to find time to go.
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| Safety Suit was the opening band at Desert Diamond |
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Selfie of Anthony, Anthony's duck face, and my giant head.
See the random blonde guy behind Anthony in this photo?
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| The blonde guy couldn't stop playing with Snapchat filters during the intermission |
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Our view of the Goo Goo Dolls performing
We were about ten seats from center, 2/3 of the way back in the theater from the stage |
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| Wave your hands in the air like you just don't care |
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| A few balloons floating around during the performance of "Little Black Balloon" |
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Guy in the row in front of us shooting photos.
One of the video screens at Desert Diamond is in the background.
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| Tried to do an artsy shot behind Anthony's head of his view |
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| Goo Goo Dolls performing "Broadway" near the end of the show |