Halestorm
It was early evening on a Tuesday and I headed out with one of our photographers to the Cal Coast Open Air Theater over at SDSU to see Godsmack. I had never been to this venue and was excited, as I am someone who loves checking out new places to see a show. This amphitheater which holds 4,500 plus stadium seats had a great sound, and is still small enough that the view from any seat is pretty decent.
Luckily, we made it in time for the last couple of songs from the first band, Monster Truck.
Halestorm
They are a Canadian rock band and the first thing that occurred to me was how they were the perfect band to warm up for Godsmack. You know, it just doesn’t make any sense when you go to see Slayer, and some band sounding eerily similar to Barry Manilow is opening. These guys rocked out! To me, their sound was sort of a heavier classic 80’s rock, which I personally love! They even looked the part with the clothes and the long hair and a bit of head banging. I dug both songs I heard. One of the songs was was called “For the Sun.” This is the song that made me want to hear more of them. It is slower, but pounding hard rock with some good ole fashioned 80’s style guitar riffs, and had a Robin Tower sound that was very enjoyable. The bands third and newest album is called True Rockers which dropped September of 2018.
The next band up was a rebellious brother/sister rock band out of Pennsylvania called Halestorm. Their songs all have a little defiant attitude to them, in a very personally empowering way. Made me want to stand and raise my fist to the air in solidarity! The band is fronted by vocalist Lzzy (yes the I is missing on purpose) Hale, who has a powerful rich voice, a little raspy, but with incredible range. Think Pink and Pat Benatar. She even sort of embodies the latter in her look. She has a Joan Jett attitude and is the epitome of rock and roll. This woman is a firecracker on stage, owning it with a sexy confidence that is hard to take your eyes off of. That is, until you see her brother Arejay work his magic from his properly elevated vantage point at his drum kit. This guy is up high for a reason! He commands the stage and demands your attention. And he gets it. I don’t believe I’ve seen as dynamic a drummer in a long time. He is quite literally a show in and of himself! His sticks are continually spinning with enthusiasm, his face constantly smiling and lit up, and many times through the show he stood up and pointed his sticks at the crowd, sometimes saying something to pump us up while raising his arms for us to make some noise, sometimes just because he is that enthusiastic!
Halestorm
The first single from the album is a Grammy nominated tune called Uncomfortable. The song also hit number one on the Billboards Mainstream Rock Songs chart. This is the bands fourth single to appear as a number one hit there. It is a fast paced hard hitting song, which seemed to be about just being yourself and doing what you want even if it makes others uncomfortable. It is an in your face anthem, to anyone and everyone who expects society to conform and fall in line under the pressure of social constructs. This to me equates to honoring yourself and owning your individualism, and for that reason made me love it all that much more!
The band is touring their 4th album Vicious, which was released July, 2018.
As the stadium continued to fill, you could feel the energy rising as we all waited in anticipation for Godsmack. I first heard Godsmack back in the late 90’s with the release of their self-titled debut album. The song Voodoo was my first introduction to them. My kids were about 4 and 7 and would request the “snake song” as they named it, regularly. And as they churned out the hits, one after the other, I was a fan. I have never had a chance to see them before, and was very excited to get to see them live!
The first thing you hear when the lights go down is Queen’s “We Will Rock You” being played. As that subsides, the sound of drums start to fill your earholes. Next, out of the darkness comes a huge rolling and spinning platform. As I squint trying to make it out, I realize as bright sparkling lights begin to flash, its Shannon Larkin just wailing away on his kit. The rest of the band pours on to stage, and they break into “When Legends Rise” the first track on their 2018 album by the same name. This song is catchy, got a fast beat, and a great energetic first song to get us all going. The songs that followed were a nice blend of their old stuff mixed with new. I was very pleasantly surprised that the band’s front man, Sully Erna , enjoys a bit of conversation. One of my favorite things is when entertainers interact with their fans. He spoke to us as if he were old friends having a beer. Very casual, felt very personal, and on top of that he is a funny guy! The absolute highlight of the show was midway when all the band members left the stage except the drummer. He commenced to treat us to a rad drum solo, and just when I thought it couldn’t get better, out rolls another platform with Sully aboard. Now something I didn’t know about this singer until I did a little research is that his first musical instrument was picked up at 3 years of age, and that instrument was the drums. He starts out on the Congas, accompanying Larkin as they jam a way in seemingly perfect unison. But it is when he transitions and joins on his kit that all hell breaks loose! They both play facing us in flawless synchronicity, then are rotated to face each other, again a mirror image of one another. It was just beautiful to watch. I had goosebumps and a very large smile!
The nights show really blew me away, with all three bands being lots of fun and engaging to watch, as well as listen to!
Godsmack
HALESTORM SETLIST:
- Do Not Disturb
- Love Bites (So Do I)
- I Get Off
- Familiar Taste of Poison / Amen
- Drum Solo
- Black Vultures
- Freak Like Me
- Uncomfortable
- Chemicals
- Here’s to Us
- I Miss the Misery
GODSMACK SETLIST:
- When Legends Rise
- Say My Name
- Cryin’ Like a Bitch!!
- Voodoo
- Unforgettable
- Awake
- Something Different
- Take It to the Edge
- Keep Away
- Batalla De Los Tambores
- Whatever
Godsmack
Encore:
- Under Your Scars
- Bulletproof
- Highway to Hell (AC/DC cover)
- I Stand Alone
By: Vanessa Pfeifer / BackStage360
Images: Chris Gray
References:
https://www.ilovemonstertruck.com/
https://www.halestormrocks.com/
Godsmack