By Marley
After nearly two decades of waiting for Goo Goo Dolls to return to South Africa, they certainly didn’t disappoint a single fan in Pretoria at Voortrekker Monument Amphitheatre. But I have to start my story back to 1998.
In the previous article about the Goo Goo Dolls announcement of touring SA, I told the story of how I learned about the band’s music. Under the shady thorn trees of my high school, a lifelong friend, Jaques, gave me a mixed tape with a whole lot of bands on it. I heard “Iris” on the radio and when he gave me that tape with the song on it, I was now hooked for life.
Coming back to our adventure to Pretoria that started on the Friday leaving a very wet and cloudy Nelsparta. I was a bit worried about the weather but the show has to go on, right? Not for Durban as the whole show was cancelled on Friday due to heavy rains. The Durban Botanical Garden turned into a muddy lake, and I really feel for the Goo Goo Dolls fans who were extremely disappointed. Robby Takac (bass and vocals) said on stage during their Pretoria show they will be back for you Durban (let’s hope in less than 18 years).
Saturday afternoon turned out to be one of the sunniest days Pretoria had experienced all week. And driving towards the beautiful and magnificent Voortrekker Monument I was shaking like a kid. Excited like Christmas Eve, nervous like a Matriculant on her final exam. I have been to the monument a few times before, but I have never seen this side of the monument. On the way to the amphitheatre, you are surrounded by the history of the Voortrekkers by their drawn ox wagons, an area of horses and goats, and a real-life Voortrekker Tannie making some food on an open fire. It was an experience just to see that. The queue went very fast and from check-in to the Golden Circle was without any problems. My breath was taken away the moment I saw the stage and the open field ready for fans to fill it. The amphitheatre is truly massive and if you have never been to this side of the monument, please go visit. You will not be disappointed at all and make a day of it.
We first took a walk around the food vendors; the options were a wide range of choices from biltong to nachos to burgers and more. We have learnt to eat before the show starts and we just missed Matthew Mole’s first song.
photo by Small Town Music/Marley
Matthew Mole’s show was as friendly and as vibey as the man himself. I have always enjoyed his shows and he must come back to Nelsparta for a visit. We made our way during his show to where we ended up standing all night long, right in the middle of the centre stage about 3rd from the front. Perfect.
Ross Learmonth’s solo show was quite interesting as this was the first time we saw him as a solo act. Yes, he did sing some Prime Circle songs, no we don’t know how the permission works. Yes, it was a great set and if you get to see Ross somewhere on stage, please go see his show. He is still a great songwriter and vocalist.
Roan Ash was surprising as we always expected more Afrikaans but what we got was a blues rock set that was completely humbling and beautiful. I do feel some of the music went over some of the people’s heads but we music fans appreciated it. Even saw an old fellow Seerower on stage (looking at you Dawie de Jager). If you are like us, and appreciate good blues rock then give Roan Ash a listen on your next Spotify.
And then the wait was over, when we saw the guitars and the GGD banner we kind of thought it was a dream. When the band suddenly came on stage and John Rzeznik in a black vest and shorts jumped onto the stage, I think that the whole venue lost their minds. Tattoos and all proved this moment was real. Robbie Takac’s purple hair and facial expressions were real. This is not a movie or an online video – this is real. I had little tears coming out of my eyes because shit, we spoke about this show for so long and here it was, in our faces.
photo by Small Town Music/Marley
The band and their technical guys have smooth operation, the sound in the beginning was a little soft (in Golden Circle) but it became better by the 3rd song. For a band whose age range above the 50’s was quite impressive. And don’t think they just stood there, played their instruments and just didn’t move. John was up and down the stage; Robby was up and down the stage. Brad Fernquist (on guitar/ukelele) came to the front and the three of them had a playoff. A friend of mine asked about the set list and to be honest I don’t remember the exact order of songs. What I can tell you is that songs like “Black Balloon”, “Slide”, “Broadway” were sung out loud.
photo by Small Town Music/Marley
Another highlight was when John brought out a very interesting guitar that is made out of an old Castro Oil can and is a working electric guitar. John mentioned it was a gift from Andy Mac (of AMP Events) and I overheard in the crowd “He makes that guitar sound like a god”. He did indeed and John played it like he had it for years. What a piece of South Africa to take home with to the USA.
photo by Small Town Music/Marley
If you were in the golden circle and you stood the whole night yakking away, I want to know what you were doing there. Yes, there was akkedose (don’t be a doos, be lekker) and during some of the quieter songs like “Name” which John told the story behind the song, our neighbours were laughing and yakking away loudly. When I shushed them, John actually looked at them. He also played “Sympathy” and he had my heart all over again with the song. They played a lot of their newer songs that I knew but not many around us knew “So alive”, “Miracle Pill”, “Come to Me” and “Home”. Eventually, everyone realised the show was on its highlight and more people around us got into the music like we were from the start.
photo by Small Town Music/Marley
Of course, with “Iris” you take off your hat and sing that song like it’s a national anthem. It was like the heavens heard us. Pretoria echoed with the cords and I still get goose flesh just thinking of what it sounded like in the crowd, never mind to the band. This was of course their last song as well and although we wanted more, the rest of the crowd didn’t seem to get to an encore. And just like that, Goo Goo Dolls performed a 2-hour set, it felt like 15 minutes.
After the show, getting out of the venue was quite a struggle as there were no signs of security staff or venue staff to tell you where to exit, or where to wait for what (e-hailing and busses). There was no traffic control, and Eeufees Road looked like a bad block party due to all of the congestion. We were very lucky with our lift to and from the venue as we found them quickly. Just took a good 30 minutes to walk from the amphitheatre to the street entrance of the monument.
To Good Life Productions (and AMP Events) THANK YOU for bringing Goo Goo Dolls to South Africa. Thank you for all your hard work and the memories you gave us all. Please do not stop doing what you are doing. Please bring us more rock shows (Lenny Kravitz…… hint hint) as we are hungry for more. To Goo Goo Dolls, you guys rock. Please come visit us again real soon. Thank you for the music, there is always something for the rest of us.
Rock on.
