Godsmack Live! | Greensboro Coliseum
Godsmack
Godsmack originated in Lawrence Massachusetts which was literally a 23-minute drive from where I grew up. I remember when Godsmack came out with an EP and the local radio station WAAF played their songs in heavy rotation. Newberry Comics (a local music shop and comic book shop) sold their E.P. My friends loved the band and the next thing we know they are on a huge tour around the world. The band has since sold somewhere around 20,000,000 million records and just released their new album called When Legends Rise which was released in April of this year. Their title track “Bulletproof” shows a more mature recording style with deep bass and just a meatier sound. I like that they have not really changed from what Godsmack fans have loved about their style for years, but you can hear the growth of their music.
Godsmacks tour stop in Greensboro NC had them as the headliner for the concert. Asking Axendria and Shinedown opened and I do have to say it should have been Shinedown that was the headliner. Godsmack sounded great and Sully Ernas vocals sounded kick ass but lead guitarist Tony Rombola seemed bored and uninterested in even being there. It did bring down the atmosphere and energy in the venue that was left behind from Shinedowns incredible performance. I am not sure if Tony was having a bad night which can happen when you are on tour. Either way I lost interest in photographing him due to the lack of interest he had in even being there. It almost felt as if he just phoned it in and was just going through the motions. Drummer James Shannon Larkin on the other hand was a ball of energy and excitement. He played hard and his interaction with Sully saved their stage presence from being a total disaster. Bassist Robbie Merrill did his best to keep the energy going. He did move around the stage and do his best to engage the crowd, but he also looked tired and drained. The show was not bad it was just not as impressive or as exciting as I was hoping it to be. The band played some of their biggest hits which the crowd did sing back to them. The band also had huge explosions with bursts of flames shooting off behind them to give a powerful and emotional response to each major chorus riff.
Overall the band sounded great, but their stage presence was lack luster and uninteresting even though Sully tried his best to keep the energy up. Their new album is very good though and I really like it. Check out below some videos, pictures and where you can pick up your copy of their new album!
Pictures are copyrighted by Chris Sturk
