It was a beautiful spring night for a SOLD-OUT rock show in Madison. The venue
was the classic Orpheum Theater which seats 1700 and was built in 1927. Located
in downtown Madison, the theater also has a beautiful view of Wisconsin’s
capital.
The Orpheum is definitely smaller than the usual venue for a Godsmack show,
whose full-on rock spectacular shows normally take place in arenas or
amphitheaters.
Godsmack is a chart-topping, Grammy nominated hard rock band from Lawrence,
MA who formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer/rhythm guitarist
Sully Erna, lead guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer
Shannon Larkin. Godsmack has released 8 studio albums over the course of their
career. Although the band has said their final album will be “Lighting Up the Sky”
released in 2023, they will continue to tour. Once the Vibez tour is over
Godsmack will roll into summer with music festivals and a July tour with Nothing
More and Flat Black.
The Vibez tour has been billed as an intimate experience of acoustic/electric
performances and untold stories from Godsmack with special guest Bastian Da
Cruz. The band’s typical tour is everything you would expect from a hard rock
band including a lot of pyrotechnics, and an epic drum battle between Larkin and
Erna who is a talented drummer in his own right. On the Vibez tour you will see
candles and memorabilia such as the gargoyles from previous tours. There will
also be incense burning to set the mood. The songs will be a mix of acoustic,
piano and electric songs along with some vibey covers. It is literally a whole
different vibe from other Godsmack shows.
The evening kicked off with Bastian Da Cruz, a solo artist from Denmark. He
serenaded the audience for 30 minutes with his beautiful voice. Check out his
song “Move On” on youtube and Spotify.
Next up was a preview of the movie “I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story” which
tells the story of Erna’s life and early struggles that ultimately led to the creation
of Godsmack. It is a great watch for any fan of the band or Sully.
Finally, the time had come. The crowd, who had been lined up around the block,
was excited and ready for Godsmack. The set started out with a vibey cover of
“Time” by Pink Floyd. There was no pyro but lots of video that set the mood and
the vibe throughout the show.
The show continued with some classic Godsmack songs including– “Love-Hate-
Sex-Pain”, “Voodoo”, “Turning to Stone” to really get the crowd moving. For the
classic “Spiral” there was no epic drum battle between Larkin and Erna but we got
a little of Sully on drums, which is always a treat. Tony Rombola also showed off
his guitar skills on “One Rainy Day”. Led Zeppelin fans in the crowd were then
treated to a 10-minute version of “No Quarter” complete with trippy tie-dye
colors straight out of the 70’s as the video backdrop.
As an introduction to “Nothing Else Matter” a Metallica cover, Sully then talked
about how music is the soundtrack to our lives and how music can evoke
memories both good and bad. When music, which is really just sonic vibrations, is
played in a certain way it can touch us in a way that few other things can. Music is
magical and miraculous and has a way of bringing us together.
Sully also performed a heartfelt piano version of “Truth” and really showed his
scars. The song was inspired by true events in Erna’s life that led to a breakup of
his long-term relationship during the making of “Lighting Up the Sky”. As Erna
noted, Godsmack isn’t known for their ballads, but this is a powerful songs that is
relatable to many.
Ending the set were “Growing Old” and “Lighting up the Sky” which are both off
the final Godsmack album.
After a short break the encore began.
The first song was “Under Your Scars” which is one of my personal favorites
because of the meaning and how it led to something bigger. According to Erna,
“We all have these imperfections, these wounds that we carry (whether they are physical or
emotional) that cut so deep they can cripple us. These feelings leave us vulnerable, or
embarrassed, or even unworthy at times. And our human nature - when they’re exposed - is to
shut down, rather than embrace them and realize that not only can we overcome them, but we
can also become an inspiration to inspire others to have a voice and find their inner strength to
show their scars off loudly and proudly to the world. Our ‘Scars’ are nothing more than our battle wounds from life and they helped mold you into who you are today.” The tune also inspired the band to launch The Scars Foundation, a non-profit organization that
provides resources for issues like severe depression, addiction, bullying, PTSD,
and suicide prevention.
The last few songs included a few young fans from the audience, which is always
fun. Jefferson held up a sign that said “Drummer for Hire” and Sully took him up
on it. Larkin turned over his spot so that Jefferson could show off his talents on
“Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Jefferson was quite talented and I am sure will
remember this night forever.
The fun didn’t stop for “Long Train Runnin” by The Doobie Brothers. Being from
Boston, Sully spotted a young fan in the crowd with a Red Sox baseball cap and
invited him up to play tambourine. It was a great way to end the show.
It may not have been your typical Godsmack show, but it was 2 hours of good
vibes, fantastic music and many untold stories. Check out one of these shows
while you can. You may not see anything like it for a while. The full-on rock shows
are back in July.
**As a photographer, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the badass female
content creators on this tour. Paris Visone, former Godsmack photographer, as
Video Director creates some awesome visuals on this tour. Francesca Ludekar,
tour photographer, has also captured some amazing moments.