What I realized much later in the evening was I won the Pavilion Trifecta.  Not one, not two, but three back to back to back terrific groups showed their stuff and I liked it a bunch.

Usually one band or another on the bill doesn’t measure up to the other/s but this night was a clear exception.

It started off with the Plain White T’s, a group that formed back in 1997 in Illinois and has been out on the road ever since.  Tom Higgenson, their lead vocalist, was on point the entire night except for the occasional times Dave Tirio took the mic.

These guys had terrific harmonies song after song and besides that I quickly discovered that I did know their music even though I didn’t know their name. Hey There Delilah is one of my favorite tunes as is 1,2,3,4 and I was clueless who did them. What was I thinking?  It was a valuable lesson in learning that if I like a song find out who’s performing it!

By the way, if you go to YouTube and watch 1,2,3,4 you will help get the views to that video up to 15 million. They are at 14.9 now…not bad for an opening act!

As much as I liked the Plain White T’s tunes I liked Daughtry’s stage show just as much.  I had not seen Chris Daughtry’s performances on American Idol when he was a finalist in Season Five. Wish I had.  I certainly would have been way more prepared for this power house entertainer.

He is all about working hard on stage from the moment he gets past the black curtain until the moment the lights go out. The boy is always getting after it and he knows how, very well.

He is out on tour promoting his fourth studio album Baptized and kicked off the evening with the title cut.  A fitting start to a well laid out set.  I liked it as I did all his stuff that included Feels Like Tonight, Over You, Traitor, It’s Not Over, What About Now, Wildheart (one of the highlights for me), Battleships, Home, and September.

His encore was Waiting On Superman, which I really enjoyed and Long Live Rock and Roll which was really a cool tune. I would urge you to go listen to it, if you haven’t.  It celebrates those of us that grew up on Rock and Roll and are happy we did!

Daughtry, I think you stole the show from your headliner.  That was no easy task and still a very close call.

The headliner and third leg of the trifecta was the Johnny and Robby Show, better known as the Goo Goo Dolls. The Goo Goo Dolls reportedly got their name from an advertisement in a detective magazine.  I didn’t know there were detective magazines but for me it’s easy to learn something new every day.

I wasn’t very familiar with the GGD’s however I should have been . The two guys that front the band are both very interesting characters and so very different in musical style.  John Rzeznik looked a lot like John Travolta in his prime, very handsome, great smile and smooth as silk whereas poor Robby Takac is quirky, jerky and squeaky.  Still very entertaining but in a much different way.  I was impressed by them both, or at least extremely amused.

John spent much of his youth being raised by four sisters and I think as a result had a lot of practice being charming.  It showed this night.

Regarding Robby, I spent the entire time watching him run around the stage in his black socks trying to figure out what Rock Guy that preceded him had a similar look?  Also this guy Robby must have another nick name besides Robby, I just have no clue what it might be. Please someone help me out here and tell me what I am missing? There was a clue on his bass guitar but he was never in one place long enough for me to study it and figure out the riddle.

How these two guys joined forces in Buffalo, NY, actually anywhere, is a hard one for me to figure out. Having said that, it works BIG TIME.

The guys make terrific music together and they played almost two dozen tunes before they left the stage. Most featured John but others featured Robby on lead  vocals.

The highlight was their mega hit Iris, over 41 million views on YouTube. . In October 2012, and I quote, “Iris” was ranked #1 on Billboard’s “Top 100 Pop Songs 1992-2012” chart, which also featured Goo Goo Dolls hits “Slide”, ranking at #9, and “Name” at #24. Their biggest hit, “Iris”, from the City of Angels soundtrack, spent nearly 12 straight months on the Billboard charts and held the number one position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks.

Robby summed the evening up best when we came to the mic and said ‘It’s a perfect night for a rock concert in Houston, Texas.’  He was spot on and thank you Woodlands Pavilion for providing the perfect venue.

Until next time I hope you remember there is no time to kill.