Concert Review: Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA

Mark Kurtzner
1 hour ago
4 min read

On August 12th Avenged Sevenfold along with their good friends Good Charlotte played the Xfinity Center in Mansield MA. This 17-city co-headline tour started in Ridgedale, MO, on July 25th and ends in LA on August 30th.

The outdoor amphitheater holds 20,000 and was built in 1986. It's a busy venue pulling guests from the Boston area. Tonight's show was almost sold out. The center is a nice place for a show; every spot offers a great view of the stage. Plenty of food and drink opportunities and large areas to rest up in between bands.

This was a 4-act show, unfortunately, heavy traffic caused me to miss the opener Jayden Hammer. I heard she did well. Then Statica (AKA Avenged Sevenfold) played a set behind the stage from their four track 2026 EP that uses more futuristic sounds than traditional metal. I'm pretty sure this was the 1st time I've seen a band open up for themselves. Sure, many musicians sometimes play in two different bands or like Les Claypool 3 different bands in the same evening.

The packed crowd was ready for Good Charlotte to take the stage. Formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995, they are known as a punk/pop American rock band who've released 8 full-length albums over their career. They released their 1st album, Good Charlotte, in 2000. They are another band whose core members are full-time members (Personally I think it's great when a band can stick together). Twin brothers Joel (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals) formed the band along with bassist Paul Thomas. Later in 1998 they added a second guitarist, Billy Martin. They've had three drummers, with Dean Butterworth being the longest (2005 - 2025). For this tour they brought in touring members Stacy Jones on drums and Matthew Koma on guitars / keyboards & backing vocals.

Wow the crowd was definitely excited and ready for Good Charlotte to take the stage, the venue was packed and the crowd was loud! They really enjoy using fire flashes and used them often. As a photographer in the pit you could really feel the heat from those pyro blasts! They rolled through their 18-song set, which was full of hits and energy, they were very enjoyable, and the crowd loved them. Joel praised the crowd so often, and they were clearly thrilled to be onstage - that was great to see. They had a great time, as did I. I definitely would recommend seeing this band if you've never seen them before!

After a great opening set from Good Charlotte, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) took the stage. Avenged Sevenfold formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1999, releasing their 1st album in 2001. In total they have 8 full-length albums, multiple hits and a large following. As a band, they've mostly stayed together with two founding members: Matthew Sanders (AKA M Shadows) on vocals and Zachary Baker (AKA Zacky Vengeance) on rhythm and lead guitar. Lead guitarist Brian Haner JR (AKA Synyster Gates) joined in 2001, and bassist Jonathan Seward (AKA Johnny Christ) joined in 2002. The drummer position has been the most turbulent spot, with Brooks Wackerman joining in 2015. I've always liked their style of music; it's a broad mix of different musical genres—honestly, it's nice that a band can be this diverse plus they have a unique sound that also makes them stand out from many other bands. Their current fans are a very dedicated group; I think that happens when a band survives for over 20 years. This show was my first time seeing them, I just hadn't gotten a chance before. I don't think that they've played in my area of upstate NY all too often, hence why I traveled to Mansfield for this show.

A7X really treats their fans well, they opened with a QR code for the fans to link up their phones to help create a flashing light show during the opening recording intro of Nightcall. Then they went right into one of their bigger hits, "Nightmare." They sounded great—loud but super clear—with a large video screen serving as the background. The big songs kept coming, featuring dueling guitar solos while M Shadows commanded the entire stage. The crowd was so engaged; most were singing every song. A large pit also served up a bunch of crowd surfers and a circle pit. All in all, it was a really enjoyable show, I'm super glad I made a point to apply for media access.

They have a few more US dates remaining before heading off to their fall dates outside the US. If you have an opportunity to catch this tour definitely do so - I'm really glad I made the 3 hour drive!

On September 5th A7X plays one of the largest shows—Rock in Rio in Brazil—and then head out on a far west tour starting September 26th in Malaysia, continuing to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and concluding with four dates in various parts of Australia.