DAILY VARIETY

July 24, 1995

Goo Goo Dolls;

Smoking Popes

Whisky: 395 capacity: 512.501Presented by Goldenvoice. Bands:(GGD) Johnny Rzeznik. Robbie Takac, Mike Malinin: (SP) Josh Caterer. Eli

Caterer. Mats Caterer. Mike Felumlee. Reviewed July 21, 1995.

Friday’s sold-out show at the Whisky was a showcase for two musically similar modern rock bands experiencing far different circumstances, It was opener Smoking Popes, a fiest, young quartet who whip Beatles melodies and Smiths affectations into an irresistible punk froth, that came out ahead.

Buffalo’s Goo Goo Dolls have been at it for the better part of a decade now but have stalled of late. Often mentioned as a likely next- big-thing in the early ‘90s for its buoyant blend of pop and punk, the Dolls never did break through. Making matters worse now, the trio’s songwriting has grown complacent and predictable.

Onstage at the Whisky, the band’s touring experience and anti- fashion attitude combined to produce a polished but underwhelming set. Highlighted by a pair of cover tunes — the Plimsouls’ ‘Million Miles Away” and the Enemies’ “Disconnected” — the Dolls’ effort was commendable but far from provoking.

Capitol’s Smoking Popes, however, won over the crowd with a compact. casual style that simultaneously sports familiarity and invention, a winning combination. Front-man Josh Caterer sang his charming love songs of obsession, desire and inevitability with a graceful nonchalance that contrasted with his bandmates’ catchy yet unimposing pop style. His brothers, Eli and Mart Caterer, guitarist and bassist respectively, added plenty of gritty muscle to straight-ahead melodic riffs. giving the songs just the right memorable effect.

—Troy J. Augusto