A dissonant piano melody rolled through the air, the lights flashed, a rough punch of guitar sounded, and the Goo Goo Dolls stomped onto the Hilton Coliseum stage.

The band immediately got the ball rolling with its latest hit “Dizzy,” off of its smash pop album, “Dizzy Up The Girl.” Lead singer John Rzeznik looked just like the punk rocker he started out as 13 years ago.

The tattooed Goo Goo Doll wasted no time between songs as he and barefoot bassist Robby Takac made swift instrument changes in seconds. As the last note of one song was ending, the duo had already strapped on new axes and were grinding into the next song.

The Dolls visited one of their older hits, “Long Way Down,” before moving back to the present with the ever-popular, radio-friendly “Slide.”

Behind the band was a giant backdrop, painted in a cryptic gray marble fashion with a window frame hanging in front. As the band finished “Slide,” the window lit up and lighted images of two star-crossed lovers glided around in the window’s view.

The images remained there while Rzeznik worked his way through the heartwarming ballad, “Black Balloon.”

As the song was ending, drummer Mike Malinin ripped into a quick solo before the band blasted into “Bullet Proof,” and then moved on to the band’s semi-hit, “Naked.”

Rzeznik and crew then paused for a short while to catch their breath. But Rzeznik kept the crowd with him as he played stand-up comedian.

“I went to a wedding the other day at a nudist colony,” he said. “It was easy to tell who the best man was.”

He then complained about the Backstreet Boys’ cheezy appeal. Yet the cynical Rzeznik offered hope.

“We’re gonna work on our dance moves, and we’ll be back with a bigger, better show!”

Rzeznik then got serious and reintroduced his fans to the first Goo Goo Dolls’ hit song, “Name.” The band played it awesomely amidst swaying lighters and dancing couples.

It was easy to tell that Rzeznik and Takac had been playing together forever. As Rzeznik moved about the stage, Takac was always right behind him, feeding off his energy.

The duo took turns at vocals for a half-dozen more fast-paced tunes before slowing things down for the greatest hit of the band’s career.

Rzeznik crooned out the moving lyrics to “Iris,” and the band played the song with the same passion that had earned the group three Grammy nominations.

The Goo Goo Dolls closed out the show with a quick encore that ended with Takac on the floor raping his bass, and Rzeznik smashing his guitar into pieces. The display was proof of the Dolls’ belief in putting on an amazing rock show.

Opening the Veishea Center Stage show was the Chicago-based foursome Dovetail Joint. Fresh from a small tour with the Marvelous 3, the band proved that it knew how to rock.

Lead singer/guitarist Chuck Gladfelter had all eyes upon him with his dapper red velvet suit and his James Hetfield guitar stance. Lead guitarist Robert Byrne was also fun to watch as he bounced around the stage beating the crap out of his guitar and rubbing security guards on the head.

When the band finished its set, the musicians left separately as small portions of the music died away slowly.

Dovetail Joint proved it didn’t need to play its hit song, “Level on the Inside,” first to entertain.

Unfortunately, the New Radicals weren’t as daring as the group came on stage next.

The New Radicals came out to the opening music of the teenage theme song “You Get What You Give.” As lead singer Gregg Alexander hollered out the signature “1… 2… 3… 4,” the band stopped and broke into another song off the album, “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too.”

Alexander complained about the price of bottled water before the band broke into its own rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” It was a mediocre attempt at best for a band that admittedly hadn’t practiced it very much.

Then, Alexander stole the show as he strapped on a guitar and played “You Get What You Give” without the rest of the band. The emotion of the moment sent chills down the spine as Alexander truly poured himself into the music.

The New Radicals then held a sound experiment. Alexander questioned if the “human spirit” could overpower electronics and computers. All the band members mugged their instruments, and then the crowd yelled as loud as it collectively could.

Apparently, neither competitor won because the band regressed back to “You Get What You Give” once again, this time as a group effort.

The New Radicals ended its set with the Oasis song “Wonderwall,” which led one to wonder if the band knew any original songs besides its only hit.