Goo Goo Dolls set to blend new, old hits in 'Chaos in Bloom' tour stop in Lubbock

John Rzeznik was tired of sitting around the house, wondering if he'd ever get to tour again.

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began altering the world and shutting down large events, the Goo Goo Dolls frontman still feels grateful to be past those dark times.

Rzeznik will get another opportunity to do what he loves when Goo Goo Dolls take the stage Wednesday at Buddy Holly Hall.

"We had to postpone the tour one year and then the next year," Rzeznik said in a recent interview with the Avalanche-Journal. " So we hadn't done a tour since 2019. It's like there's an energy out there. People are just so excited to be out of their houses and in groups with other people. There's just something about a gathering of people listening to live music. It just transcends any differences that people have."

Rzeznik and Robby Takac formed Goo Goo Dolls in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1986 and have since sold 15 million records worldwide. The Grammy-Award-nominated group has played Lubbock before, Rzeznik said, and he added he might stop by to see the Buddy Holly statue.

"My dad was really into (Buddy Holly)," Rzeznik said, "so he would listen to that."

This year's rendition is part of the tour for Goo Goo Dolls' latest album, "Chaos in Bloom." Released in August, the group's 14th studio album "reminded us how special this whole thing is and to cherish the relationships that we have together," Rzeznik said in a release.

He said fans seem to be responding well to songs off "Chaos in Bloom," which he added is "gratifying" for a band that's been together for more than 30 years.

"We've been a band for so long," Rzeznik said. "Sometimes people get caught in a nostalgia trip and they don't really want to accept any of the new material that you're doing. But we've been very lucky with that. We have an awesome audience."

That's not to say the all-time hits will be skipped in Lubbock.

"You've got to play all your hits, because that's an amazing thing," Rzeznik said. "That's an amazing problem to have is a bunch of song that people know. So you do those, and then we've been trying to rotate a couple of older songs here and there."

That, of course, includes "Iris," which was No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 18 consecutive weeks, according to the release announcing the band's Lubbock stop.

It's hard to guess how many times Rzeznik has played the '90s classic, but he said it doesn't get old.

"My goodness, a few thousand probably. A couple thousand times maybe," Rzeznik said. "I don't know. I'll have to sit down and do some rough math and figure it out. But I never get sick of it. I truly do not get sick of it."

If you go

Who: Goo Goo Dolls, with special guest Whitehall

What: "Chaos in Bloom" tour

Where: Buddy Holly Hall

When: Show set for 8 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m.

Tickets: For tickets and more information, visit buddyhollyhall.com/event/goo-goo-dolls-chaos-in-bloom-tour.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Goo Goo Dolls set for Lubbock stop on 'Chaos in Bloom' tour