Sunday, July 22, 2007One minute it was saturday, Cayte & I were sitting down in the basement, checking our computers, and the next minute the clock strikes midnight and it was sunday. A few minutes later, Cayte was ready to go to bed, so she went up, but before that I made her play some billiards, European style. And she nailed it. Good job. Then she went upstairs to go to bed. I did some last minute computer checking and went to bed as well.
Then after a good night sleep it was time to get up and get ready for the show. We ate something and Cayte made some crackers & sandwiches to bring for our wait in line. We left a little before 1pm, so we would get there around 2pm-ish. So we got there around 1.50pm, and parked in 'early arrivals' and walked up to the entrance.
About 10-12 people were already there, waiting. They got there around noon. But all in all we had a good spot. They were friendly, and of course Goo Goo Dolls fans. I found out a few of them had actually seen Lifehouse live too, so that was cool. One of them was from Minnesota and she had lost her luggage in the process, but got it back last night, so she had all her concert tickets again, lol. A little bit later, probably around 2.30pm, some more people arrived. A group of 3 girls and another group behind them. Until 3.30pm or so, not much had happened at all. Cayte & I played some games with pen & paper (4-in-a-row & MASH) and we took the chairs and some food out of the car, so we were comfortable.
Then around 3.30pm we thought we heard the Goo Goo Dolls soundcheck. All we heard though, was "Name". But then, around 4pm, when I walked to the car & back, I saw a tourbus arriving, and it was not Lifehouse. It ended up being the Goo Goo Dolls. And then the girls behind us, who apparently are friends with one of the Goo Goo Dolls security people, told us that it wasn't the Goo Goo Dolls soundchecking, but just roadies. They did a good job fooling us though.
-Oh, and behind the tourbus was a gray pick-up truck, and it seemed very likely that the Goo Goo Dolls were actually in the pick-up instead of the tourbus to fool everyone, lol. It seems they do that more often.-
After that little happening, we noticed a Dunkin' Donuts truck pulling up right outside of the venue, so we figured they would have something to drink for us, but apparently they were just standing there. So I walked up to this other stand with fried dough and other crap, and bought some drinks there (major ripping off going on, but we were thirsty). We started talking to the people around us some more. The girls behind us asked about Cayte's earrings, and about my accent, lol. And the guy in front of us was talking about drinking urine (long story, but it was actually kinda funny. It comes down to being thirsty and not having anything to drink, and that you should drink urine cause it has all kinds of bad stuff in it and it will dehydrate you. And I was like, well, I wouldn't drink it anyway, but thanks for the info
) Also, we met Emily & her friend Stephanie (sorry if I spell your names wrong). We only talked to them for like two minutes or so, I think. Not sure where they went after that, but I think they might've gone inside already.
Then at 4.30pm Lifehouse did a soundcheck. I could hear Who We Are, Whatever It Takes, and a third song, which at first I thought was Make Me Over (I know, doesn't make sense), but later I was convinced it was something else, but I couldn't hear it enough to make out what it was. Ah well. We got a little teaser there. Then around 5pm I was about to bring back the chairs to the car, since people were starting to form a standing line and doors would open at 6pm. At that time, the Dunkin' Donuts people were handing out Iced Coffees so some people got those.
I brought back the chairs, and on the way I was stopped by Dunkin' Donuts people again, but I don't really care for iced coffee, so I said 'no thanks'. So then I got back, and we were forming lines. The girls behind us, I guess, are into hair care and they brought hair stuff (mousse & gels or something) for the Goo Goo Dolls, which they gave to their security guy friend, who took it to the band (or at least, I assume). So then this old guy from the venue security (event staff) came up and told us which doors would open, so we formed two neat lines. We were pretty much upfront (yay!) This other event staff dude, who was there for checking bags and opening the doors started talking to some people in line and showing his tattoos and all. He had a pretty cool (unfinished) one on his arm, even though I don't really care for tattoos, lol.
Then the three girls behind us got inside before the doors opened, probably thanks to their security friend. They were nice though
. And actually, the doors opened not much later, like 5.55pm (they opened early WOW!), so we went inside, and people (of course) started running towards the seating & pit. So we joined the 'marathon' but we were told to slow down numerous times. So we got to the pit, and there were about 10 (or more?) people checking your ticket. And they all single-handedly had to check it, so it took longer to get through ticket check than to get to the pit (craaaaaaaaazy). But ah well, we got there, and we were front row, right next to the girls that were behind us and got in a little early. We saw people setting up the stage for Colbie, Lifehouse & Goo Goo Dolls. We recognized Winnie & Ian. And I think I saw Ben taking a peek around the corner once. The girls were already befriending one of the venue security guys named Glenn. He was really kind and talked a lot with them, and we talked with him a little too.
Then, at 7pm sharp, Colbie's band ran onto stage and started to play, and a shy looking girl, named Colbie Caillat walked up on stage and started singing. Colbie has a really good voice, and she writes really cute songs, but on a big stage like this, she doesn't really impress very much. Musically there's nothing wrong with the performance. It's just a little boring to watch. At least at first it was. She opened with
Oxygen which is a cool song, and after that she played
Bubbly, which is the lead single of her album. Then there was a little interaction with the audience. The sun was shining right onto stage, so someone handed her sunglasses, so she interacted a little there. After the next song,
The Little Things she gave them back again, because a cloud had blocked the sun a little bit, so she could see again, lol. The next song she played was
Tied Down and she actually invited the crowd to dance with her, and she started to move around a little more. I guess she was overcoming her initial shyness a little bit. Still, the stage presence wasn't very impressive, but she's young and new to these kind of events, so I'll just give her credit for her songs, and let her grow. She has potential, she's far from being a star though. But I think in a more intimate setting, especially acoustic, it could be a very pleasant experience to see her live. Colbie played two more songs,
Realize which I really liked live, and the catchy
Feelings Show which I think might be a single later on. She introduced her band somewhere in the middle of her set, and kept smiling and I think things are just going way too fast for her, from playing local bars to opening for Lifehouse & Goo Goo Dolls. She seemed excited about it though. Cause when she said that Lifehouse was up she sounded very excited and genuine about it. (who wouldn't be excited to play with Lifehouse
)
So then she went off stage and Winnie & Ian came back to do their thing. The girls next to us told Glenn, the security guy, to ask Winnie to give Cayte & me a setlist, so Glenn asked him, but apparently they are re-using the setlists, so Winnie couldn't give us one, but he gave us some of Jason's guitar picks. That was really nice. It was kinda funny because Winnie thought he recognized me (I would be impressed if he did, lol) but then Cayte told him that I'm from the Netherlands, and he was like 'wow!'. So we said thanks to him and to Glenn and let him set up the stage. We talked some more with the girls next to us, and then after awhile Lifehouse came on.
So it was like 7.50pm or maybe a few minutes later, and Lifehouse took position on stage. Ben was right in our faces, lol. They opened with
Spin which really rocked (Cayte was really into it, lol, she must've been tired after Spin already, hehe) and then after the jamming part of spin, they kinda kept the sound going on and dove right into
Hanging by a Moment. During Spin, a lot of people were moving and rocking out, but I think there was only a number of people singing along. During HBAM, of course the whole audience screamed along. Good to see people still recognize it. Oh, and may I mention that it was GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD to see them again after more than 4 years of waiting. They started out really strong, and Jason's vocals were spot on. And Rick was sooo funny on his drums, but I'll get back to that.
Then Jason introduced themselves as being Lifehouse and told people that "Who We Are" was just released and that they were about to play a new song. The new song was
Whatever It Takes which sounds sooooo cool live. He did a really long bapbapbap intro with some moaning here and there (you girls would've liked that). You could tell the guys were really into it because they put on a great peformance. At the end of WIT, Ian & Winnie were running around to get all the stuff ready for the next song. And when WIT ended, Ian (or was it Winnie?) ran up and set the 'bang-standard' for Ben. So then WIT ended, and Rick did some funny faces and got back to his mean face (I love it when he looks like he's mad at the whole world, lol). Then Ben & Rick looked at each other and Jason struck a chord on the guitar, and all of a sudden
Who We Are started. Ben got frenzy on his 'bang standard' and Rick was doing a great job on the drums. (Cayte took a nice little movie of this, it looks really cool). And I have to say, that especially on this song, Bryce was terrific on the bass. He was doing an amazing job all night long, but on this song, I could really hear how he was. I love the energy in Who We Are. After awhile, Ben got back to the guitar instead of banging the crap out of the irons, but he was having a good time. (I judge that by the faces he made and also because he was smiling a lot and throwing guitar picks in the crowd a number of times).
So after Who We Are, the guys needed to slow down a little. So Ben & Bryce took a step back, and hyena Rick sat behind his drums, waiting for Jason to start doing his thing to start
Storm. Rick reminded me of a hyena cause of the way he sits, with his neck bent and his head up (like
this hyena. I'm sure Cayte captured it in a photo or movie, lol. (see Rick
here)
So Jason started Storm pretty much on his own. And then after awhile the rest of the band joined him, at first subtle, and then more. They did the moaning stuff on the end of Storm, I think Jason was in a moaning mood all together.
Then Jason said something that I can't completely remember and told us he was about to play another new song, and pretty much before he was done talking they already started
The Joke. This song was really intense and everyone really got into it. I think the crowd was really enjoying this song live. I really liked the song on the album, because it's so creative and also because of the story behind it. It gives the song extra meaning to me. But hearing it live is special. Don't think that you've heard it from a video, because it's so much more when you can experience it live. You can tell the band is trying to make it a special experience. Probably also for themselves. Cayte really got into this, I had never seen her get into a song like that before, it was really cool, hehe. And I love how in the end Bryce keeps going on "The Joke Is On Youuuuuuuuuu". And when he was done I saw Jason smiling/nodding at him.. it kinda looked like "good job, son" .. somehow that just really cracked me up.
Then Winnie brought Jason an acoustic guitar, so I figured that
You And Me would be next up. And indeed it was. People started screaming and whistling (hey, they knew a song, can you blame them?) And even though You And Me isn't really one of my favorite Lifehouse songs, they did a splendid job, and it was lovely how everyone sang along
It made me smile. I think Jason sorta had a hickup or something, early in the song. It was only very short, so I don't think many people noticed, but I heard something, hehe.
After You And Me it was time to slowly round up the set.
First Time was played and I was surprised how many people sang along to it. I guess it is getting a decent amount of airplay in this area, since I think about 40-60% of the audience (at least) sang along. (it was kinda hard to tell if the people way in the back were singing along or not, since they were kinda far away). Jason was hitting the notes very clean this time, though I think sometimes he had to work for it. I know that First Time can be hard for him sometimes, but he did a great job. And I really liked how near the end he walked up to Rick and how they were sorta in their own zone for a few seconds, while Bryce & Ben were rocking out on the sides. I really like this song live.
Then the closer of the evening was
Broken as it has been for awhile. Broken is really intense. The album version, though it's a good version, doesn't even get close to the live version. The emotion and intensity that is almost visible in the live version isn't really there on the album version. I mean, on the album, it's still an emotional song, but the level of intensity that you can give a song live, you just can't do that on a studio recording. Cayte called Kristi to let her listen in to the song, and even Kristi could tell it was really intense. I couldn't tell if Jason had tears or not, but he was really in his own world throughout most of the song. I think that also makes this song so strong. He can really add something personal to it, which gives the song extra body. As you probably know, I was never convinced about Broken being the next single, but after hearing it live myself, I think that if they make a little radio edit, this song could actually be huge. Of course it all depends on promotion and the way they bring it, but I think people can really feel this song if it gets a chance. It has more radio potential than Blind, I think, because it has that what I call 'more body'. You could tell that after they played this song, Jason was really tired, but also very pleased. During the moaning and screaming part, Ben & Bryce switched places and Bryce was jumping and kicking and climbing around and having a jolly good time.
Then after the music stopped, the guys handed their instruments to Winnie & Ian (and this other guy that helped them out) and they walked up front and thanked the audience, and bowed a few times. They got a really good applause, well-deserved, and I think overall, the Goo Goo Dolls fans really enjoyed them. And that made me happy.
So then all the tech people took over the stage again, and while I was talking to Glenn (security guy), thanking him again for asking Winnie about the setlist/guitar picks, Cayte was talking to the girls next to us. One of them took a photo of us. She said it was cool to meet people who are crazy about another band than the Goo Goo Dolls (and of course still like the GGD
). I think Cayte gave the lady her e-mail address so maybe we'll see that photo someday
. It was nice meeting these people. They were very kind to us.
So then, we tried to see if Lifehouse would be around, but they weren't as far as we could tell. We checked out the merch and walked around a little, but didn't see any of them. That was too bad, but you can be sure we'll go stalk them in Phoenix
Gotta break my streak of seeing them/not talking to them, lol. We went to the restrooms and then got something to drink/eat. After awhile we made our way back to the pit and found a spot near the back of the pit, where we had some more room so we could enjoy the Goo Goo Dolls set. I remember all the songs they played, but I don't have the exact order, though I think some of these might be in order.
GGD setlist1. Long Way Down
2. Slide
3. Lucky Star
4. January Friend
5. Black Balloon
6. Fiction (Before It's Too Late)
Name
All Eyes On Me
Slave Girl
Feel The Silence
Iris
Stay With You
Become
Let Love In
Cuz You're Gone (w/ 1000 words)
Better Days
-Encore-
17. Broadway
18. American Girl (Tom Petty cover)
Johnny was really energetic right away, he carried the mic standard everywhere around stage. And
Long Way Down was a great opener. Also because it has vocals by both Johnny & Robby. And then they played
Slide really early and the crowd got wild. That was cool. Then they played
Lucky Star which I really really liked. I was happy they played that song, cause it is probably my favorite song with Robby on vocals.
January Friend came out really well too. Then Johnny joked that everyone should have a good time, or he'd have to pay them back their money.
During
Black Balloon there were no black balloons dropping from the ceiling, but there were some balloons floating around (either fans brought them, or some were handed out. Johnny got a balloon on his head during the song, lol. And later on he popped one with his guitar while Robby popped one by standing on it (accidentally). It was all kind of funny. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
Before they played
Fiction Johnny was saying something like:"tonight we'll be playing some songs for you, some old stuff, and some older stuff, oh and some new stuff, and now we'll play you something brand new". Then there was
Slave Girl which was cool live, lol.. took me a little while to figure out it was that song, hehe. They played
Feel The Silence,
Become,
Cuz You're Gone (with something in between, which I guess is called '1000 words'?)
Surprisingly they didn't play anything from the self-titled or Jed, or even Gutterflower. Mostly DUTG & ABNG stuff and some SSCW songs. And of course Fiction. Later on they would play stuff from LLI too.
Stay With You, Let Love In, & Better Days. I think Cayte called someone during Let Love In to listen along.
During
Iris Johnny let the crowd sing the first verse again, like halfway the song. That was pretty sweet. And also they played
Name which I was really glad, because that used to be my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song. It probably still is though I have more favorites these days, lol. Name was played really tight.
The Goo Goo Dolls (especially Johnny) seemed to have a really good time on stage. They were all laughing a lot. Johnny was making jokes too.. at one time he called their drummer "Ringo" when he said "take it away, Ringo". That was funny.
Then they went off stage and said they'd be right back. And they kept their promise. They returned to do
Broadway which is still amazing live. And they closed with a Tom Petty cover,
American Girl. I didn't have the lyrics for that song memorized, so it was the only one that I didn't sing along to, but it sounded really good.
It was really cool to see the Goo Goo Dolls again, after it was the first concert I went to almost 9 years ago. This night really felt like coming home (musically) for me. Because Lifehouse & Goo Goo Dolls are two of my favorite bands, and bands I haven't been able to see play a live show in a long time. So it was good. I really had a great time. And Colbie, I can understand why people don't really care about her, but I just really enjoy her songs. I agree that there's not much coming from her on stage, but I think her songs come out better in an intimate, acoustic gig anyway, so maybe I'll go see her doing a local club or something later on in life. Don't think I'll really be following her closely though. Like someone said in another review I read:"This girl has a promise, but time will tell if she can keep it." I agree.
If I have to rate the performances, I'd rate:
Colbie Caillat: Musically 8 - Performance 3,5
Lifehouse: Musically 9.2 - Performance 8.8 to 9
Goo Goo Dolls: Musically 8.3 - Performance 9
I think I'll have to rate Goo Goo Dolls' performance the highest as for stage presence and interaction, but obviously they had the advantage of having the light effects and projections and stuff that were all set for them, and weren't really used during the opening acts. And of course a lot of people came for them, and not explicitly for Lifehouse (or Colbie) so the interaction was more present during the GGD set. However, Lifehouse was really really close. I think they impressed a lot of people, and that is definitely a good thing.
After it ended, we pretty much walked to the car, and drove back, and on the way took a glance at the merch to see if Lifehouse was there, but it seemed they were already gone, cause of the Regis & Kelly thing they did this morning. They must've had a pretty short night. Though on the way to the car, we picked up some lady saying something about "free" & "Lifehouse", so we were like "wait up", so we walked up to the lady, and she was handing out free Lifehouse keychains. All you had to do for it is pose with the keychains and let her take a photo. So we did that. Woo, two more keychains for my keychain collection, and best of all, it's Lifehouse. I wonder where the photos will go though, but maybe we'll find out someday.
So in retrospect this was a musical highlight, and it was so worth it. Too bad the set was a little short, but you can't have everything. Quality wins from quantity, so at least we got the best. And I can't wait to get more of the best in Phoenix, in August.
Lifehouse, thank you for a great performance (It was worth waiting 4 years for this) and thank you Winnie for the guitar picks. They will get a special place. Also, thank you Colbie, good luck with your career, and thank you Goo Goo Dolls, for another enjoyable experience. It's been good seeing you again after 9 years of waiting.
So to anyone who's seeing them this tour. I'm sure you will have a great time, like we did. It's just so much better when you're actually there. Hopefully I was able to give you a little insight in it through my review.
Cayte took a few photos & videos, so I think she'll post those later (she's working now).
) Also, we met Emily & her friend Stephanie (sorry if I spell your names wrong). We only talked to them for like two minutes or so, I think. Not sure where they went after that, but I think they might've gone inside already.
. I'd also like to know if anybody has an HD copy of Lifehouse at Pinkpop 2003. BY far their best concert ever
Apr 21, 2018 16:35:38 GMT -5
. I'd also like to know if anybody has an HD copy of Lifehouse at Pinkpop 2003. BY far their best concert ever
Apr 21, 2018 16:35:38 GMT -5