Someone alert the circus folk that they should change their tag line from “The Greatest Show On Earth” to something else because the greatest show on earth isn’t found in three rings anymore. The Greatest Show On Earth is made up of three bands, rock bands that is. Now, I may be a little biased because I love rock music with a fever of a demon with the flu, but I think if you’re reading this then you probably do as well and you can jump on the bandwagon with me. Now that you’re in the bandwagon, settle in for a nice little ride because we’re going to talk about these three bands and what they brought to Dallas on August 12, 2018 at Dos Equis Pavilion. Ready? I thought so…
After waiting kinda patiently most of the summer for GODSMACK, SHINEDOWN, and LIKE A STORM to arrive in Dallas, my anticipation yesterday leading up to showtime could probably be measured if there was a teeny Richter Scale that could measure a human’s pulse like an earthquake. I would also bet that my Richter Scale measurement would be comparable to the largest recorded earthquake of 9.0 back in 1960 because most of Sunday was comprised of me bouncing around the loft, drumming my fingers, biting my nails, and watching the clock until it was time to head out to STARPLEX ( or DOS EQUIS PAVILION as this outdoor venue is called now).
Having recently witnessed GODSMACK slay the Bud Light Main Stage at ROCKLAHOMA 2018 from the soundbooth, I was stoked to get three songs in the pit. Although the stage towered over me a skyscraper, it was still rad to have the opportunity to snap pics and see the foursome up close. When Legends Rise has spun in The Bird’s Nest almost daily since it dropped and I truly was totally excited to be able to see a full on tour show from GODSMACK! Who can’t stop playing Bulletproof or Unforgettable? Right?
STARPLEX er…I mean DOS EQUIS PAVILION did a fantastic job of hosting this almost sold out show. I’m sure the numbers were like 3 tickets away from selling out. The lawn was dotted with people who stood the whole time. Jammed into the pit, fans pressed closer to be closer and every seat under the pavilion had an ass in it…well near it because these people didn’t sit down either! I haven’t heard cheers like that in a while, it was rad to see this mass of rock fans ready for the show!
The other contributing factor to my anticipation rising was seeing the New Zealand band LIKE A STORM and their didgeridoo-doodling, kick ass rock live. With their sixth Top 40 single The Devil Inside off the recent release Catacombs in the US, the band finally is latching on to the current of the fickle-trickle of the mainstream of rock. Don’t be fooled, just because you may not have heard of them pre-tour with GODSMACK, they’ve been around for the last decade or so sharing the stage with little ol’ names like OZZY, PUDDLE OF MUDD, SICK PUPPIES, and STAIND to name a few. Since their last night on the tour was in Dallas, I was totally giddy to see them open the show! I completely got down and didgerie with their tweaked version of playing the didgeridoo. The few times CHRIS BROOKS played the Aboriginal artifact was pretty cool too. Here’s a fun filled fact for the rock fan about LIKE A STORM that I didn’t know: CHRIS, MATT, and KENT BROOKS are, in fact brothers, which is kinda cool TBH. I know they’re not the only siblings in rock, but I tell y’all that because it is kinda heartwarming that the brothers have managed to stick together and do what they love to do, ya know? I really look forward to the return of LIKE A STORM to the states on either their own tour or one that they can play a bit longer for us because they are really freakin’ good!
Ok, on to SHINEDOWN and here’s where I explain why live music is important and necessary to attend as often as a person can. As this was my first SHINEDOWN show, I can’t tell you what I expected to see but with all of their songs that have seriously impacted me or that have helped me process some nutty life experiences (The Crow and The Butterfly, Burning Bright, .45, & If You Only Knew to name just a few), and I love their new record ATTENTION! ATTENTION! which also has some killer tracks to identify with. BRENT is a GD poet in so many respects and has a true talent in winding words around notes and measures that truly touch people. This record has stirred up exactly what its title says for the band from JaxFl. Since 2001 these superstars have had 12 #1 singles on the Billboard Rock Charts and according to the Google machine, they’re third behind Van Halen and Three Days Grace for the most #1 singles (who knew?). Not to mention the aforementioned, Attention! Attention! has overtaken Billboard with the #1 Album spot for Top Rock, Hard Rock and Alternative lists. That is mega!
In no way can I exaggerate, over-sell, or blow out the happenings during SHINEDOWN’s set. Seriously. Let me just say that if the band’s job was to rev up the crowd for GODSMACK to take the stage, they overachieved this goal. Lovelies, I have seen some killer shows in my time but I think this band has super-human powers that lend me to think the Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers and Eric Bass get plugged into the wall after leaving the stage or something. I mean, it seems like having that much unstoppable fierce force has to come from a supplemental power source. It’s unreal, quite honestly. Brent jogged to the back of the covered seating area, unbeknownst to the audience, Brent appeared at the back of that area, as fire shot from the stage and the band pounded out god-only-knows-what-song-because-I-was-ogling-the-singer, all the while the audience broke out screams that I swear was almost as loud as the music!
I gotta mention the freakin’ pyro and heavy artillery-like bombastic effects during the first part of their set though! I swear to the Gods of Rock I almost peed after the first explosion in the first 9 seconds of the curtain dropping. JE-bus!! It was insane how much freakin’ cannon fodder cracked the air in those first three songs. I’m certain that fans in the front row that happened to catch my reactions because everytime those freakin’ blasts rang out, I jumped like I was being tazed and the setting was dialed into something higher than STUN. Crimony!! Even leaving the pit after three songs, and for a good 15 minutes after, anytime there was a loud noise I twitched and jumped. And quite possibly, I lost a little bit more of my hearing that is dwindling anyway from loud AF music…but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat!
Look, I can’t tell you enough that seeing SHINEDOWN in concert moved them up in rank to maybe Top 3 but for sure Top 5. BRENT’s voice is monstrous live and backed by the rest of the band, their show is on another plane than so many bands I’ve seen over the decades I’ve been attending shows. Combining the lights, lasers, pyro, kabangs, and with some of the most candid and honest lyrics set to those notes that stick to your ribs, it’s simply one helluva good show.
As GODSMACK took the stage, the PTSD-like anxiety of more blasts of guns and pyro caused my real PTSD jitters to flair up and waiting for their curtain to drop made my right eye squint just thinking about having to hold myself together for the kabangs during the first 3 songs. And I’m going to admit it, I’ve only Fan-Girled out to one other artist, to the point I had to cut the interview short I was doing because I was literally in awe. Well, the same feeling happened…right before the big ass sheet started falling down to reveal GODSMACK…I got a little giggly in the knees, my stomach flipped and I too joined in with crowd and screamed like a 14 girl for a couple of seconds and then caught my breath, put on my big girl pants and did what I came to do!
Honing in on SHANNON at first, I almost passed out. With two lengthy interviews with him under my belt, I feel like I know the SHANNON that sits behind the kit on stage. This happens when my chats with artists grab those chords and plug into the similar things in life and the music they’ve created, it’s a connection within the music that feels like a friendship, ya know? With talks about both GODSMACK and THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE blues project and where he’s been and where he’s going with both, and the connection he brings to the music he plays, it’s pretty easy to think of him as a “music buddy”. Not to mention the backhistory of his career being passed down from some of my friends that knew him and the people from those days. But, knowing a basketful of information on this incredible drummer is nothing compared to watching him play.
Even having to stand on my tippy toes in the pit to be able to see him play from skins up, I watched thru my lens in amazement as SHANNON flung his arms around, erratically that somehow produced a beat for the songs they played. He’s smooth as silk sheets and all OVER that Yamaha. I was under some kind of spell like a cat is with a laser by the shiny hardware and cymbals that looked like they’re straight off an alien spacecraft, made of polished metal that if tested would have origins from some GS09 planet from the next galaxy over. That kit is so damn sexy! Arguably the greatest drummers of the last 20 years and maybe one of the best technical drummers I’ve heard and have now seen, SHANNON grounds the music of GODSMACK with his insane mastery of these instruments. Of course, the entire pavilion almost blew a gasket during his solo; Dallas loves some SHANNON LARKIN, that is evident!
TONY ROMBOLA is amazing to watch because he’s so calm and smooth it’s hard to fathom the riffs that contributed to the infiltration of rock metal into the mainstream were coming from this maestro. TONY’s uber talented on that guitar and when joined by SULLY playing too, there’s something killer about their combination of tones and chords. (PS if you wanna hear just how good TONY is if you’re questioning this opinion, go listen to him on his other project called THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE. OMG he’s amazing!)
ROBBIE MERRILL is insatiable on the bass. He runs around the stage just happy as a meadowlark! His bass runs fuse into the percussion and the lows are thunderously low. He keeps it all real and just when I think this isn’t real, I’d look up at ROBBIE and he’d be smiling at someone in the audience or giving them a drumstick from SHANNON.
So, it goes without saying that those first three songs whizzed by at light-speed and as soon as their set started, it was over. I felt like I was watching myself walk out from the pit after being rocked like a kid in a swing as all of the nervous energy, excitement of the whole night, and thrill of photographing these three bands left my body. I was ready to watch as a fan and the remainder of their set was just ballz heavy and charged like a superconductors atoms banging in a metal tube.
I’ve always liked how GODSMACK’s music comes from the beats of a pulse, or way cadence follows how an emotion from a song sounds from SULLY’s perspective. On the new record, When Legends Rise, it is also pretty sick to hear these same beats emitted from a collaborative effort from other notables in rock; ERIK RON and JOHN FELDMANN.
SULLY takes over the stage and has a tracker beam that locks in the attention of the audience that doesn’t let go until fans are halfway home. It’s that connection with fans that boosts what’s happening right in the faces of thousands of people. Performing with spot on pitch and power, SULLY creates an experience for GODSMACK fans that is unparalleled. He’s confident, humble, grateful, expressive, and full of the joy that music brings anyone that is a true fan.
There is definitely a new rebirth in the entire GODSMACK aura. After two decades of being one of the world’s most noted rock band, When Legends Rise and their show in Dallas proves that the mythological creature, the Phoenix, does in fact, rise from the ashes. It rises with GODSMACK’s music playing in the background though. Well, I’m pretty positive it does, anyway. I know my Phoenix did…or does.
Catch the band on the remainder of dates and festival appearances by checking in on GODSMACK’s socials. If you don’t have a copy of when Legends Rise, it’s a must for rock fans to pick this epic album up ASAP!
Oh, and if anyone has video evidence of the shocking reactions from me or the other photographers during SHINEDOWN’s set, post it here. I’m sure it’s pretty entertaining, to say the least!
Til Next Time – MRML – Cherri
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Cherri Bird
