The Buffalo News Friday,June 25,1993 Over The Top:Fans Of the Goo Goo Dolls pass an audience member over their heads during the Buffalo bands performance with singer Lance Diamond Thursday evening in Lafayette Square. Thousands attended the free show. Review on C7. Dolls embrace Buffalo Place Rock group draws 10,000 to Lafayette Square show By Anthony Violanti News Critic The Goo Goo Dolls,Lance Diamond & an estimated 10,000 people gatherd at Buffalo Place Thursday evening & it was a rock 'n' roll love-in. The power of Goo Goo love was evident in the middle of the Dolls' ballad, "We Are The Normal," when a fight broke out in the mosh pit in front of the band. Johnny Goo stopped singing right in the middle of the song. "Hey, don't be fighting down there," he said. "This is supposed to be a love thang." "How could you guys fight, we just played the most sensitive part of the song," Robby Goo said. The people laughed, the fight stopped & the jampacked audience at Lafayette Sq. show went back to more mundane actions such as moshing, slam dancing & crowd surfing. The intensity of the crowd almost matched the furious performances on stage. Diamond, Buffalo's soul brother No. 1, played about an hour & a half to open the Thursday Night At Buffalo Place show. Then the Dolls, making their first local appearance in 3 months after a national tour,took the stage for a frenetic set of old & new songs.Near the end of the Dolls'set, Diamond jumped back on stage with them for a rousing encore that included a blistering version of Prince's "I'll Never Take The Place Of Your Man." He added a funky reggae touch to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Down On The Corner." It was the perfect evening of rock 'n' roll before the largest Buffalo Place crowd in years, according to spokesman for the organization. Everything seemed right. "We havent\'t been in Buffalo in 3 months & this is a great way to come home," Robby Goo said. "This is the biggest crowd we ever played for, & this is the biggest mosh pit in America." The moshing was fierce all night long. Young men & women were hurtling on top of each others' shoulders throughout the eveing. Shoes, hats, & pieces of clothing kept flying in all directions. "I can't believe this," Johnny Goo said. "I just played an acoustic ballad & you people are moshing. Wow!" It was that way for both acts. Diamond & his remarkable band, featuring Van Taylor on keyboards, got the nearby Rand Building shaking with a Motown medley that included "I'll Be There," "I Can't Help My Self" & "My Girl." For good measure he added such R & B classics as "Get Ready" & "Dock of the Bay." Diamond worked the huge crowd as if it were a small lounge. He jumped off stage & shook hands with fans. He pranced around, changed outfits & was in energetic form throughout the evening. The same could be said for the Goo Goo Dolls, who played material from their early albums, including a scorching version of the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away." The Goos also performed much of the material on their current album, "Superstar Car Wash." The crowd roared with delight when the band lit into such rockers as "Fallin' Down," "Already There," & Johnny's gut wrenching vocal on "On The Lie" At times the so und system was ragged & garbled but that was not enough to break the bond between the performers & their fans. "I just want to thank my family & friends for showing up here tonight." Robby laughed. "We've been all over the country the past few months & I want you to know we're all lucky to live in buffalo." It was another big crowd for the successful Thursday At Buffalo Place series. This has been the most successful year for the event, said Amy Russ, Baffalo Place's manager of marketing. "It's just been incredible since we started on june 3," Russ said. "The weather has been great,people are turning out & the bands have been good. We just hope it continues."