Goo Goo Dolls
As planned, I saw the Goo Goo Dolls in the Saratoga Mountain Winery. The winery is a great venue; it has a rustic yet cozy feel, and the view is amazing.
The concert itself was solid. The opening act was a band called Vedera, and I thought they sounded pretty good. Their lead singer, kind of a spunky chick, plays either guitar or piano depending on the song. They also threw in a Depeche Mode cover along with their own songs, which I enjoyed.
The Goo Goo Dolls were fine, though unspectacular. I suspect John was fighting vocal discomfort, because he seemed to shy away from high notes - which is a shame, because those are often the most glorious parts of his songs. On the other hand, song selection was very good. They played many songs from Dizzy Up the Girl, which works well for me (and I suspect many others), but they also previewed some new stuff off an album coming out in August. Surprisingly, Iris actually was not the last song to be played - that honor went to Broadway instead - but it was definitely the biggest crowd-pleaser. Probably half the people wanted to record it on their digital cameras (sea of illuminated screens!), and I of course did the same.
It was a good experience, though I wish I could have had a friend join me.
Back to the Mountain Winery, because I was super impressed with it, it seems like a great place to have a meal overlooking the mountains and relax a bit with some friends. If I were a true Saratogan, I would definitely try to do that from time to time. I can't do that as a grad student, but I can find times to do things by the ocean. I bet that's a pretty close substitute.
The concert itself was solid. The opening act was a band called Vedera, and I thought they sounded pretty good. Their lead singer, kind of a spunky chick, plays either guitar or piano depending on the song. They also threw in a Depeche Mode cover along with their own songs, which I enjoyed.
The Goo Goo Dolls were fine, though unspectacular. I suspect John was fighting vocal discomfort, because he seemed to shy away from high notes - which is a shame, because those are often the most glorious parts of his songs. On the other hand, song selection was very good. They played many songs from Dizzy Up the Girl, which works well for me (and I suspect many others), but they also previewed some new stuff off an album coming out in August. Surprisingly, Iris actually was not the last song to be played - that honor went to Broadway instead - but it was definitely the biggest crowd-pleaser. Probably half the people wanted to record it on their digital cameras (sea of illuminated screens!), and I of course did the same.
It was a good experience, though I wish I could have had a friend join me.
Back to the Mountain Winery, because I was super impressed with it, it seems like a great place to have a meal overlooking the mountains and relax a bit with some friends. If I were a true Saratogan, I would definitely try to do that from time to time. I can't do that as a grad student, but I can find times to do things by the ocean. I bet that's a pretty close substitute.
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