GOO GOO DOLLS ROCK FINAL NIGHT

The shout that went up with the opening chords of "Dizzy Up the Girl" must have been confusing to those outside the Canfield Fair grandstand Monday night. It wasn't another British invasion, but three guys from Buffalo that caused quite a stir.

The part punk, part pop Goo Goo Dolls give the final performance of their concert tour Monday on the final night of the 154th Canfield Fair. The well-attended concert was a big morale boost not only for the fair, but the entire Mahoning Valley, since local visits by big-name rock bands have been scarce in recent years.

Over too soon: The band, especially singer-guitarist Johnny Rzeznik, apparently could do no wrong here. After a fun, energetic, hit-laden show, concert goers were left to bemoan only its brevity, which with encore was about 75 minutes.

Compared with muggy Sunday, when country music act Alabama performed in the grandstands, Monday night was so chilly that hooded sweatshirts were preferred to concert attire.

Rzeznik had advised concert goers early in the show: "I want you guys to get real close together and stay warm." He also inspired them to dance, shout, stand on their chairs and hold out cellular telephones for people who could not make it to the concert. The band gave musical glimpses of its Buffalo punk-club roots with thrashing guitars and on-stage antics.

They sure enjoy looking like punk rockers. Singer-guitarist Rzeznik sported streaked bangs that nearly touched his upper lip, multiple hoop earrings in both ears and faded, frayed pants cut off below the knee. Long-haired bass player Robby Takac stood out with his pierced eyebrow and black leather pants. Green-haired Mike Malinin kept the beat.

Team players: As instrumentalists, the band operates on a team concept. There is no one outstanding player, but all the parts mesh well Takac sang several songs with a gravelly voice that is to be expected of a punk rocker. Still, it's Rzeznik's rough yet romantic voice that garners young female followers Rzeznik sounded huskier than usual while singing "Slide", one of the band's best-known songs. Every time he came to the line about getting married and running away, girls squealed. He tinkered with the melody and phrasing during "Black Balloon" but stuck closely to the original song in performing "Iris", from the "City of Angels" soundtrack.

Rzeznik made several references to the pull the band often feels from the punk and pop worlds. Smoking a cigarette while introducing his band mates, Rzeznik said he sometimes feels like "Pat Boone with tattoos." In introducing the ballad "Name", Rzeznik noted that it was the band's first song to be played on commercial radio. "I don't know if it was the beginning or our career or the end," he said, adding, "I don't care. I love this song."

It was clear Monday that people loved what they saw and heard of the Goo Goo Dolls. A crowd of about 100 people had formed near the stage by the time the band ended its regular set with "Iris". Then the stagefront number swelled by several hundred more, to the chagrin of not only those holding front row tickets, but also the security guards who were outnumbered and had to give ground to the growing crowd. After a few more songs, Rzeznik and Takac left no doubt that the show - indeed, the tour - was over by smashing their guitars into Malinin's drums.

More Goo Stuff