A review by jonboy

Excellent show in Charlotte last night by the hardest working band I know. I am 37 years old, keep myself in good shape, and it gets harder and harder to keep up with these guys. I was totally exhausted when this show was over. How on Earth the band, and Tico in particular, keeps rocking the way they do is beyond me. It had to be the fastest two hours of my life. Just awesome energy by the band.

I thought the setlist was excellent. I was critical in my review on the Crush tour of the stale setlist, but it seems like they are doing a slightly better job on the Bounce tour. I was happy we got Keep the Faith, Hook Me Up, Blaze of Glory and Have A Little Faith In Me rather than some of the alternates they have played recently. Raise Your Hands is a great live song, that I hope remains a regular on this tour. Shout is another one I like. I read some complaints from time to time about the band playing it, but it is impossible not to enjoy hearing it. And the crowd response to it is incredible.

It was a large crowd in Charlotte, but took a while to get into the groove, IMHO. Seemed to take awhile for the crowd energy to match the energy of the band. Most of the louder responses were for Richie most of the night, particularly early in the show, and especially during I'll Be There For You. The crowd energy seemed to improve as the show progressed. I don't mean for this to come off as a negative, just I've been to shows on previous tours where the crowd energy matched the energy of the band from the start, and continued throughout.

I enjoyed hearing the new songs off Bounce, but I wonder how many will become staples of future setlists. All the new songs were good, but I doubt any will be able to match It's My Life in concert, much less any of the arlier classics. Not many sing-along type choruses in the new stuff. The Distance was very impressive. It is my favorite song off Bounce, and I am glad it is getting a good response. I am happy Misunderstood is doing as well as it is on VH-1, but it is not a good concert song IMHO.

I have very little to report on the performance of the Goo Goo Dolls. We were late arriving at the coliseum, and instead of trying to find our seats in the dark, we just stayed out at the concession area. We took a peek from time to time, and although they have very good radio songs, I don't think they have many good concert songs. Didn't seem to be much band or crowd energy the limited time we watched them. Not to mention all the people hanging out at the concession area during their performance.

My wife and I have compiled what we remember to be the setlist. We think we have the right songs, though some may be out of order. Hopefully someone can confirm.
Bounce, Bad Name, Wild In The Streets, Prayer, Everyday, Undivided, Runaway, Just Older, Wanted, The Distance, Have A Little Faith In Me, It's My Life, Keep The Faith, I'll Be There For You, Blaze of Glory, Hook Me Up, Raise Your Hands, Sleep When I'm Dead, Born To Be My Baby.
Encore: Someday I'll Be Saturday Night (slow version), Misunderstood, Captain Crash, Bad Medicine, Shout.

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