Godsmack @ Texas Trust CU Theatre

Godsmack
Texas Trust CU Theatre
Grand Prairie, Texas
Photos and article by Artur Brakhman

The weather this Wednesday night wasn’t insanely hot, just perfect for a metal show. Once inside the venue, I figured things out pretty quickly and got to the stage just in time for the audience to be let in. The doors to the actual sitting area opened up just a few minutes before the concert start time.

First on stage were Flat Black, a band that was formed last year by former Five Finger Death Punch guitarist – Jason Hook. The band members are: Jason Hook (guitar), Wrex Horton (vocals), Nick Diltz (bass) and Rob Pierce (drums). The band kicked off the show with “It’s OK to Be Angry”, a song from the debut album “Dark Side of the Brain”, which was released in July of this year.  The whole setlist consisted of about half of the tracks from the same album. Even though the venue was still getting filled up and the audience was still finding their seats, a lot of the people who were settled in enjoyed the material presented by the band. Some people in the audience seemed to know band members, as they were waving at the stage and singing along with the band. I personally enjoyed seeing this band on stage and listening to their setlist. I am actually listening to their debut album as I am writing this review. I highly recommend checking out Flat Black and hope they prosper and get recognized on the same level as any of the famous metal bands. 

Setlist:
It’s OK to Be Angry
Justice Will Be Done
Sideways
A Bit of Lightning
Villain
It’s Your Lack of Respect
Tidal Wave

Next on stage were Dorothy, a blues-rock band that was formed in LA about a decade ago. The current line up is Dorothy Martin (lead vocals), Sam “Bam” Koltun (guitar), Eliot Lorango (bass) and Jake Hayden (drums).  By the time the band hit the stage, the venue practically filled up.  Clearly there were  fans of the band that were impatiently waiting for the set to start.  The first song was “Down to the Bottom”, a single that was released in 2017. Everyone got off their seats from the first notes and started raising their arms to the beat, some people started dancing to this song.  The next song on the list was “Hurricane” from the band’s album “Gifts from the Holy Ghost” which the crowd also loved. A couple songs later the band played their latest single “MUD” which was released in the summer of this year. The whole venue was headbanging to this hard hitter. Then followed a few songs from the band’s debut album and “Rest in Peace”, a bluesy rock song that the crowd also enjoyed. I would definitely see this band live again, hopefully with my wife, in the near future so that I could dance with her, like some couples I’ve seen at this show.

Setlist:
Down to the Bottom
Hurricane
What’s Coming to Me
Whiskey Fever
MUD
Medicine Man
After Midnight
Rest in Peace
Dark Nights 

The headliner of the night was Godsmack, the band that I’ve been a fan of since their first release 26 years ago. Over the years I bought all the band’s albums and followed them closely, always checking when they’ll hit the stage near me. There was a dry spell for about a decade, the band completely skipped the area where I lived at the time. Finally last year I got to see them again, at Dos Equis Pavilion and loved every minute of it.

Before the band got on stage, there was an intro, snippets of an interview, played on a huge screen, highlighting the moments of the band’s inception. The crowd loved it, people were whistling , screaming impatiently waiting for the band to hit the stage. Soon after, the band kicked off their set with “Surrender” from their latest album “Lighting up the Sky”.  The whole place instantly went crazy, fists, devil horns flying in the air and everyone was headbanging around me. The band continued their high energy set with “You and I”, “When Legends Rise”, “1000hp” and “Cryin’ Like a Bitch” slowly rolling the clock back through their catalog, going back all the way to the band’s first album. They slowed things down with “Voodoo” during which I saw a few hundred cell phone flashlights lighting up the venue. Then came the world famous drum battle, saying it was awesome doesn’t begin to describe it. People all around me were either air drumming or headbanging and yelling for the duration of the whole battle. It was incredible.  After the drum battle Sully Erna noticed a kid with a sign in the crowd. The sign read: “We Drove 6 hours. I’m ditching school to hear my favorite song:  When Legends Rise”. Sully asked the security guards to help the kid get up on stage. Everyone at the venue was cheering in support when Sully was asking the boy a bunch of questions. Then Sully noticed a  girl in the crowd as well, she was about the same age as the boy and with the help of security guards she also ended up on stage, the crowd cheers got even louder. Sully asked the girl a few questions and then asked the kids to rate the crowd’s screams. First round was a dud, but the second round was awesome and the kids rated the crowd with a thumbs up! 

The next song that the band played was “Whatever” from the very first release during which Sully asked the crowd to yell “go away”, with every time the crowd getting louder. After the song the whole place was filled with confetti and huge balloons that the crowd was tossing all over the place. Then the stage lights were dimmed all the way and a beautiful black piano was rolled onto the stage. Sully sat by the piano and talked about The Scars Foundation which was established by the band after losing a few fellow artists and friends to suicide. He mentioned Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell among others. The whole place was very quiet for the duration of the speech, only Sully’s voice was heard. After the speech, Sully started playing “Under Your Scars” and the rest of the band joined after. Some people around me were hugging each other, others had tears on their faces, it was very emotional because the lyrics resonated with everyone.  The band finished off the night with “Bulletproof”and “I Stand Alone” and thanked everyone for being faithful fans of the band for the last 26 incredible years.

It was a spectacular night, full of crazy energy, dancing, tears, headbanging, fists raising and all sorts of emotions. I love shows like this and can’t wait for either band to come around so that I can go see them again. 

Setlist:
Surrender
You and I
When Legends Rise
1000hp
Cryin’ Like a Bitch
Speak
Straight Out of Line
Awake
Keep Away
Voodoo
Drum battle 
Whatever
Encore: 
Under Your Scars
Bulletproof
I Stand Alone

Remaining Tour Dates:
OCT 7 Highland, CA
OCT 10 Reno, NV
OCT 12 SAT Portland, OR
OCT 13 Kent, WA
OCT 16 Loveland, CO
OCT 17 Colorado Springs, CO
OCT 19 Park City, KS
OCT 20 Saint Charles, MO
OCT 22 Pikeville, KY
OCT 23 Wheeling, WV
OCT 25 Allentown, PA
OCT 26 Uncasville, CT