Austin, Texas
by Andrew Calvio
Godsmack’s Best of Times World Tour rolled through Austin and started the Labor Day weekend early at Germania Amphitheater. The band, along with tour mates Staind, are celebrating 25 years since their first major release in 1998. Supporting acts were Mix Master Mike, of Beastie Boys fame and Flat Black, a newly formed band from Jason Hook, formerly of Five Finger Death Punch.
Flat Black came out strong in the blazing Texas sun. Currently touring without an album, their hammering guitar rhythms and punching bass riffs are sure to make this band do good things. Following them onstage was Mix Master Mike. His set felt a little out of place although all respect was given to the Beastie Boys DJ and the iconic band from NYC that were ahead of their time.
The raspy growl of Aaron Lewis and Staind took the stage as the sun set. Their set was full of classic hits that made them a household name in the late 90s. Highlights included Lewis’ solo acoustic performance of ‘Epiphany’ followed by ‘Right Here’. Age has definitely slowed this band down as the frontman mostly stood still behind the mic stand. The band sounded good and finished strong with ‘Mudshovel’.
Godsmack put an exclamation mark on the night with an in-your-face hard rockin’ set. Starting with the title track of their seventh studio album ‘When Legends Rise’ they set the tone for the rest of the night. The use of pyrotechnics set the crowd into a frenzy as the fire punctuated the heavy guitars and drum beats. Pausing briefly between songs, frontman Sully Erna gave a shout out to the Texas fanbase saying that he loved making stops in the Lone Star State.
Godsmack played through their biggest hits including ‘Awake’ and ‘Voodoo’ before bringing out a mobile stage that had an extra drum set. Without hesitation Erna jumped behind the kit and went round and round with drummer Shannon Larkin as they battled through ‘Batalla De Los Tambores’. As the night drew to a close, the singer pointed out a young girl in the crowd and asked her to come to the stage saying that she was the future of rock. The band played through ‘Whatever’ as the young fan Isabella stood on stage soaking it in and living out a dream. They finished out on a high note with the ‘Scorpion King’ anthem ‘I Stand Alone’ as everyone sang and danced along.
Check out all our concert photos from the show on Austin 101 Magazine.
