The first time I heard 'Iris', I was 11 listening to grown-ups talk about wedding songs. The ones they slow danced to.
I had nothing to add, no song to call my own. So I searched for songs from 1998, the year I was born, and there was 'Iris': 'And I'd give up forever to touch you.'I remember sitting there, staring at one of those fan-made YouTube edits with the lyrics on the screen, feeling something crack open inside me. Like I already knew what it meant to long for someone I hadn't even met yet.
As time passed, I learned it wasn't about a wedding or a first dance. It wasn't about anything real at all. Just a feeling, but I knew 'Iris' was mine. A song for the moments when the world felt too distant. A song to hold onto before I even knew why I needed to. For when I'm alone, on the floor, thinking about everything and nothing simultaneously. It's been 'Iris' since then – and last night, I finally heard it live.
I grew up on the Goo Goo Dolls without even realising it. They were one of those bands that were just there playing over car radios, tucked into movie soundtracks, woven into the fabric of every coming-of-age playlist ever made. Shout-out to the playlists on Tumblr back in the day.
When they walked onto the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre stage (25 February), it was like stepping back in time. The night opened with Thirsty Merc, an Aussie classic band. Rai Thistlethwayte's voice is still sharp, that thick accent cutting through every note.
The band pulled out all the stops, shredding on the keyboard, flexing their guitar skills, and of course, throwing in 'In The Summertime', aka the 'Bondi Rescue' theme song. Because if you're playing to an Aussie crowd and don't give them a song that reminds them of sunscreen and sharks in the surf, did you even play?
Goo Goo Dolls - image © Naureen Mazari
Then came the Goo Goo Dolls. From the first note of 'Naked', something in me braced itself. 'Slide' arrived early, with shimmering guitar tones and that undeniable, sticky-sweet hook that made it one of their biggest hits.
Both 'Black Balloon' and 'Here Is Gone' unlocked something in the crowd. People were singing like they'd just time-traveled back to whatever moment these tracks first meant something to them.
They gave the crowd a wildcard moment when frontman John Rzeznik took an audience request and played 'The Pin', a deep cut that isn't a set-list regular. It was raw, stripped-back; a reminder this band still knows how to deliver a moment of vulnerability even in an arena setting.
Production-wise, the show wasn't over the top. No excessive visuals, no back-screen or theatrics, just a solid rock show built on strong musicianship. Rzeznik was in fine form, despite forgetting the words to a couple of songs (which, honestly, just made him more endearing). "You can stand if you want. Sounds better when your arse is off the seats." Brisbane got the memo.
Goo Goo Dolls - image © Naureen Mazari
Then there was 'Sympathy'. Before playing it, Rzeznik told the crowd: "I was sitting in an empty room trying to be sober. I grabbed a notebook and wrote and that's how 'Sympathy' came about." You could feel it, too, that quiet, raw energy the way he played it.
The set list was a well-balanced mix of the classics and deeper cuts. Rzeznik cracked jokes in between songs, even casually announcing: "I'm looking for a green card. Guy, girl, doesn't matter."
The encore was everything it needed to be. 'Better Days', 'Broadway', and finally, 'Iris'. I'd thought about this moment for years. Wondered what it would feel like to hear that opening in a room full of people who knew exactly what it meant to just want you to know who I am.
Goo Goo Dolls - image © Naureen Mazari
When it happened, I didn't overthink it. I just felt it. Sure, the backup vocalist was a little off, but it didn't matter. The weight of the night, the history behind every lyric, the collective voice of a crowd was what mattered. Some songs come and go, and some songs, you hold onto before you even know why you need to.
- written by Audrey Songvilay
More photos from the concert.
