The Goo Goo Dolls w/ Sugar Ray and Fastball
GM Place, Vancouver, BC
July 24, 1999
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Well before I say anything else, I must say, that this was an AWESOME concert. Quite possibly the best I've ever seen. If you ever have a chance to see the Goos live, definitely go! You won't regret it! Now on to my review...

I got to GM Place around 2:30. (I had planned to go earlier, but, well, I don't really know my way around Vancouver, and we got a little lost.) There were a few people lined up outside, but not too many. I went with my friend Kristen, and we decided to just wander around the building for a while, to see what was going on. We went around back and could see the crew's buses parked outside, so we decided to wait there. About an hour and a half later, we saw this blue and silver bus driving up. I wondered if it was the Goos bus, but when I saw the Elmo doll in the window I knew it was. So the bus parked outside and everyone was crowding around, but no one came out of the bus. Finally it drove around and parked in front of the doors in the back. So there was a pretty big group of people just waiting around, staring at the bus. Finally, Johnny got off the bus. He was wearing track pants, a grey t-shirt and a black hat. He was signing autographs for everyone, and I got my Dizzy up the Girl CD signed. He didn't really spend too much time outside before he said he had to go, and went inside. So I didn't get to talk to him or get a picture with him or anything. Then next Robby came out of the bus. He was signing stuff for people too, and talking with them and stuff. I got him to sign my DUTG CD also. And plus he signed my arm, which was very cool. And I got a picture taken with him. He is so cool! And so nice! And I don't actually know where Mike was, I guess he must have just walked by and went straight inside without signing stuff.

So we waited around for a little longer, and got to meet up with a few of you other fans, which I must admit was very cool. Nothing seemed to be happening, so we decided to go wait in line. (Thanks for saving us the spot, Jen!!) We got together our stuff that we were gonna bring in, like the KISS dolls. (More about them later...) Well after what seemed like HOURS, they finally opened the doors and started letting people in. Me and Kristen ran inside, and we were right in the front! Well, actually, second row, but that's close enough. And we were on the left hand side, but not too far from center. We were right behind Jen and her friends. So we were all sitting there, just waiting...

After a while, the lights dimmed, and Fastball came on stage. They were actually a lot better then I thought they were gonna be, so that was cool. The guitarist, who was right in front of us, was making lots of eye contact with the crowd. It was cool. Well Fastball played for 40 minutes or so, then after them it was Sugar Ray. They came on stage, and that DJ Homicide dude was riding a bike around. Sugar Ray played, like, 8 songs. And they even broke into "Quit Playing Games With My Heart." Sugar Ray's set was full of energy, and the crowd was pretty into it. Mark had a little podium thing on our side of the stage, which he spent a lot of time on. And he kept sticking the mic down his pants, which was a little strange......

So anyways, pretty soon Sugar Ray's set was over, and it was almost time for the Goos. I was SO excited. FINALLY, that cool music started up, and before I knew it, there were the Goos, right in front of me, playing Dizzy. I couldn't believe it! Of course I was singing along to all the words, at the top of my lungs, and I'm sure I annoyed all the people around me. But oh well, too bad for them. =) From what I remember, John was wearing a white tank thing, black Adidas tear-aways, and Airwalks. (Okay so I guess I remember pretty well, lol.) Robby, Mike and Nathan were all wearing black. And Dave had black pants and a red shirt on. (And of course Robby had no shoes on.) So anyways, they played another couple songs without stopping, but finally Johnny goes "I am a visitor to this country" in this really cute little voice. (Actually it kinda reminded me of Daniel Johns... I dunno why.) Then next they played Slide, and everyone was singing along. During Full Forever, Johnny was over on our side of the stage, so Jen threw her KISS doll (kinda like a beanie baby, except for the band KISS) on stage, right by Johnny. So I did too, same with Jen's friend. He picked them up, and help them way up high in the air and gave us this huge grin, then gave them to some guy who took them backstage. The Goos kept the dolls!! Whoo-hoo!! So anyway, they continued with their usual set, and it ROCKED. A lot of the time Johnny and Robby would come over to our side of the stage and play, and it was really cool. I had a lot of eye contact with Robby, who looked like he was having a lot of fun. When they played Name, John goes "If you know this one, sing along, and if you don't, just play along and pretend like you do," or it was something like that anyway. I was holding my lighter up, (don't worry I don't smoke... I just brought it to hold up) and the guy standing beside me was looking kinda scared, cuz I had it right over his head, lol. Then at the end of the song, he goes "You're f*cking me up... I'm gonna forget the words..." But he sounded great anyway. =) Between songs, someone threw a bra on stage, and Johnny said "Oh I love it when this happens." Then he was like "But you know, if I was a girl, I'd have to wear it this way," and he did the little shake thing, like he was putting it on. It was really funny. =) Then he hung it from the mic stand.

When they played Iris, I was almost crying, it's just such a pretty song. But after Iris I knew it was time for that Greed in Action film. John goes, "Don't go away, we'll be right back." So they played the film, which was really weird. Finally they came back on, and went straight into Just the Way You Are. Johnny was wearing a towel on his head, but he threw it into the crowd. During that song, they dropped the confetti, which looked really cool as it was falling. I had a whole bunch of it stuck to me, but that's okay. =) Also, during Just the Way You Are, (it was a very eventful song) John was singing, and you know how he points when he sings? Well, I was singing along as loud as I could, and not many people knew the words, so when he looked over at me I guess he was surprised that I was singing along, and he pointed at me! Yay!! I got really excited and smiled at him, and had my arm in the air, and kinda pointed back at him. =) He just looked at me and gave me this HUGE grin, and kinda laughed. It was SUCH a cool moment. I will NEVER forget that. =)

Well before I knew it, and before I was ready for it to end, the concert was over. I was just standing there, wishing it wasn't over. But it was. =( Anyway, after collecting some of the confetti, Kristen and I went back up to look at the merchandise, and I got some GGD stickers. =)

Outside, I met up with everyone again, and we said our good-byes. Kristen and I decided to go back to where the tour bus was parked, and after a while Johnny came out, and threw some towels at everyone, then got on the bus. Then Robby came out, smiled at all of us, and got on the bus. Then Mike was just standing around outside, but finally he came over and got straight on the bus. Then they left... They were actually gone. I didn't want the night to end, but it did. But I had an AWESOME time, and I still have the memories. =)