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DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
The Goo Goo Dolls are in the middle of a cross-Canada tour buoyed by the recent trending audio moment and following the release of its 2025 EP, Summer Anthem.<\/p>\n
Sporting a grey tee and a blond shag, lead singer John Rzeznik appeared at centre stage bathed in light and strumming along to Naked off the band\u2019s breakout 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo.<\/p>\n
The set was simple, a spacious stage with a black backdrop bearing the band\u2019s name in white lettering. The purple hair of Goo Goo Dolls co-founder and bassist Robby Takac frequently matched the production\u2019s colourful light show.<\/p>\n
Formed in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1985, the prolific band gained widespread acclaim after shedding its earlier punk sound in favour of a more polished rock vibe. The Goo Goo Dolls have since released 14 studio albums and earned four Grammy nominations.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s setlist jumped around the band\u2019s discography and didn\u2019t just save the best for last. Hits like Slide and Black Balloon came early, the latter paired with a sad half-dozen black balloons released to bounce around the crowd.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n Things got slow and melodic during the acoustic middle, during which Rzeznik shredded on his guitar and performed solos of Acoustic #3 and Sympathy \u2014 written during the singer\u2019s stint in rehab \u2014 before inviting the rest of the band back on stage for Name.<\/p>\n Despite a few momentary lulls during transitions, the energy rose once again during the back half of the jammy 90-minute show.<\/p>\n The band ripped through a few newer and lesser known tracks, such as 2025\u2019s Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes), before teeing up the grand finale.<\/p>\n Iris was written for the soundtrack of the 1998 film City of Angels starring Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage and was included (among many other hit singles) on the band\u2019s sixth record, Dizzy Up The Girl. The song was an instant classic, spending a record-making 18 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and later becoming diamond certified.<\/p>\n On a cold spring Saturday in Winnipeg, the opening riff of Iris was greeted with reverent cheers and swaying cellphone flashlights before the crowd of 7,200 people joining Rzeznik in a booming singalong.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n While some bands gloss over their most monumental songs, the Goo Goo Dolls gave Iris its well-deserved due.<\/p>\n The house lights rose. The band and crowd lingered momentarily, they didn\u2019t wanna go home right now. Not just yet, anyways.<\/p>\n \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n Dashboard Confessional opened the show with The Best Deceptions, a defiant acoustic song about infidelity from the band\u2019s sophomore album, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most. It\u2019s a track that gets straight to the point: angsty feelings and frontman Chris Carrabba\u2019s impressive upper register.<\/p>\n This hour-long set goes out to all the sad boys and girls who like their ennui heavy and hopeful.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n The Florida emo-rock band brought a taste of its sunny home state by way of a beachy backdrop that was transformed into a sea of stars during slower numbers.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tDish<\/p>\n Every Second Friday<\/p>\n The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Dish<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Dashboard Confessional broke onto the scene in 2000 and has released eight studio albums over the past 26 years. On Saturday, Carrabba and his bandmates \u2014 Scott Schoenbeck, Armon Jay, new drummer Trevor Hogan and Kenny Bridges of Brampton indie-rock band Moneen \u2014 played a few new tunes but largely stuck with hits from the aughts.<\/p>\n The 50-year-old lead singer has taken excellent care of his instrument; his vocals were crisp and clear and sounded like they hadn\u2019t aged a day.<\/p>\n Wearing a white shirt and tight black pants, Carrabba chatted comfortably between songs and even led a group stretching session, which gave the somewhat subdued crowd permission to stand and clap along to Again I Go Unnoticed from the band\u2019s debut album, The Swiss Army Romance.<\/p>\n The set closed with two of the band\u2019s biggest crowdpleasers, Vindicated and Hands Down.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/evawasney<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DWAYNE LARSON \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The Goo Goo Dolls played their Canada Spring Tour 2026 at Canada Life Centre Saturday evening.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Eva Wasney Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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