Concert Review: An Acoustic Evening with Godsmack

In between touring as the opening act for Metallica, Godsmack has been playing some acoustic shows in a more intimate setting. Sunday December 5th at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY was one of those nights. I went in not really knowing what to expect, many of you who know me, may know me as a lapsed Godsmack fan. I loved the first album, but quickly lost interest for some reason. I always enjoyed the singles that came out, but nothing really brought them back into my focus. Recently I had the opportunity to review their recent DVD, Changes, and that was what got me interested in them again. Combine that with the wonderful acoustic EP, The Other Side, and you could say I was becoming a fan again.

I arrived at the venue at approximately 7:00 PM, went to the ticket booth and retrieved my ticket, but no photo pass. Fortunately I remembered to bring a printout of the confirmation I had received. Security escorted me inside and located a member of the Godsmack crew who was able to furnish me with the pass. I then made my way to my seat in the ninth row and waited for the show to begin. While I was waiting I was struck by how great the stage looked, draped with strings of lights, lit candles around, a couch, and topped with the sun logo hanging above the drum kit.

One more thing before we get to the show itself, I am very bad with song titles, and considering how lacking my familiarity is with many of their songs, I will not be able to tell all of the songs from the set list. If anyone has a copy of the set list that they would like to share with me, let me know and I will add it to the review.

The show opened with a mellow track featuring Sully and Tony, before the rest of the band came out to join them. They played a lot of songs including Serenity, Voodoo, and Running Blind. I have always enjoyed hearing rock acts pull the plugs out and go acoustic, and these guys are one of the best at it, based on this show alone. It can be a big risk for a band as loud as Godsmack makes it look easy, somehow retaining that hard edge while simultaneously showing the skill at slowing down and playing a much mellower style.

For this show there was no barricade and no army or security in front of the crowd helping to encourage a more laid back atmosphere. Despite being in a relatively large venue, they still were able to create an intimate environment and keep everyone involved in the show. In between a few songs, Sully stopped to explain the inspirations for the songs such as Serenity and Voodoo. This was a nice touch, allowing the fans a glimpse into what inspires their songwriting and the various avenues it can come from. Another very cool thing, that I have not witnessed at any other shows I have attended, fans were invited to ask them questions. They had a crew member in the audience with a microphone to make the fans be heard. Of course Sully imposed some rules to follow prior to asking any questions: 1. Don't ask about the band's name, it is an old and boring story, they will not answer it 2. No questions about voodoo or witchcraft, this was neither the time nor the place and 3. Don't ask a stupid question, you will get a stupid answer. There were two segments of this during the set, we didn't get anything too deep, but it was fun and allowed that band/audience bond to strengthen, it was a great addition.

As for the performances, it was amazing how good they sounded in a venue that has such bad acoustics for music as the Civic Center does. I have been to a number of shows here and the sound always seems to get trapped on stage cutting down the openness of the soundstage that you can get in a better equipped for music venue. The playing, and ability of the sound crew were able to create a pleasing mix that was loud enough to carry out to the audience without feeling overpowering.

This was my first time witnessing Godsmack live and in person, and they are all incredible musicians, better than I gave them credit for during my years as a lapsed fan. Sully's voice soared through the various styles, the mellow stuff through the harder rocking segments, he was always right there. He also demonstrated his ability on the drums, playing a few songs on the bongo kit that was onstage, going back and forth with Shannon and Robbie in a sort of drum-off. He also came across as a likable guy in between songs when he interacted with us. Tony, what can I say, he is an excellent guitar player. Smooth and heavy tones emanated from his guitar, before coming out with an electric during the blues finale. Robbie, wow, his solo segment was amazing, injecting humor and technical skill, infused with a bit of the funk to give use a great groove sequence that segued into the battle with Sully on the bongos. This brings us to Shannon, as I witnessed on the Changes DVD he is an amazing drummer with a great visual style to his drumming, here it was toned down considerably, yet still had a high energy and unique style. He still had a short chance to cut loose in a short solo segment which really got the crowd going.

They played for almost 75 minutes closing out with a rendition of one of my favorite tracks, Keep Away, before exiting the stage. The lights dimmed and the "Godsmack" chants started to grow. Shortly after that, Sully returned to the stage to introduce John, the singer for a group called Dropbox, and reintroduce Lee, the guitar player. Lee had been onstage for most of the set, sitting in on guitar and backup vocals helping to fill out the acoustic sound. He was pretty good too. John and Lee went on to play one of their own songs, which was pretty good, he had a good rock singing voice and the song was strong, which the crowd greatly approved of.

After Dropbox played their song, Godsmack returned to the stage to play a couple of more tracks, but before getting to that, there was a little fun yet to be had. Sully complained about the heat and proceeded to remove his shirt, revealing a New England Patriots jersey, which the crowd reacted to quite negatively being New York. He laughed and conceded that maybe it was the wrong shirt to be wearing, he then went on to put on a Red Sox jersey, the crowd went berserk, booing the Red Sox, starting Yankee chants and such. I thought it was hilarious sticking it to the New York fans, we then returned to the final songs of the evening, closing with Aerosmith's blues track Reefer Head Woman. It was a raucous close to a great set.

This is easily one of the best performances by any band I have witnessed this year. Great songs, great display of talent, fun crowd interaction. I had a great time and am very glad I was able to make it to the show, it is not one I will soon forget.

To see a selection of the better photos, about 40, from the evening, click here.