Godsmack

  Godsmack

Date:

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Venue:

Brady Theater

Location:

Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Notes:

Godsmack loses the electric guitars for a night – with mixed results
The heavy metal colossus Godsmack deals in live shows laden with depressive lyrics bolstered by commanding lead guitar work, brooding bass lines and drums that go wap, wham, bash.

Oh, and how can anyone forget its firebombing pyrotechnics?

That band, it must be said, didn't show up Thursday night at the Brady Theater.

Instead, Godsmack unplugged its fierce beast of a sound in favor of a full-on acoustic show.

Unplugging was the height of fashion back in the '90s, when MTV stripped down the likes of Nirvana, and Godsmack's forefather, Alice in Chains, on its popular unplugged series.

Back then it was like nothing anyone had ever seen. It was dangerous almost for a heavy band to disrobe its signature sound, but it also made for captivating television.

Alas, a slew of lesser acts peeled away their electric instruments and replaced them with over-the-top string arrangements and piled more musicians on stage than it takes to subdue a gorilla on crank.

Soon, unplugging was overcooked and bland.

Top rock acts still cordon off portions of shows to break out the acoustics for a few songs, but Godsmack devoting a whole performance to the gods of acoustic guitar is a bold choice. Although it has a special quality to it, some might say it's an attempt to prove Godsmack doesn't need a monstrous, electrified sound to mesmerize an audience. In that case, Godsmack didn't quite fulfill the mission until the last few songs of the night.

Before the band emerged on stage, an ethereal voice sang soaring Middle-Eastern melodies over the speakers positioned on a stage flanked by dog-like gargoyles. That darkened stage was adorned with burning candles and draped by strings of tiny white lights. Centered on the back wall was a sun emitting serpentine rays.

Lead singer Sully Erna, clad all in black except for a yellowish cowboy hat, perched himself on a wooden stool and held his mike with both hands as if it might squirm away if he didn't.

It's been said one shouldn't wear a hat indoors and that applies to rock stars, too. With that hat drawn low over his face, and the high-positioned mike, Erna's face was virtually masked. With those obstacles, it was hard to discern whether Erna was deep into his music, riled up or perhaps even smiling.

Although the crowd stood throughout the performance, the morose, dramatic music lent itself to getting comfortable in one's seat and admiring the band's, well, softer side.

During a good portion of the show, the band's songs seemed to blend together, hardly ever differentiating themselves from the model of Erna's Layne Staley-esque vocals that, at times, breathed haunting notes into the crowd; impressive acoustic guitar solos, and drummer Shannon Larkin's coloring of each tune.

One of the show's pitfalls was actually a good idea.

The band sent a man into the crowd with a mike for two Q&A sessions.

The few questions didn't sit well with Erna, especially when he was asked about religion.

One gent asked how Erna's religion -- he's a devout Wiccan -- inspired Godsmack's music. Erna replied that his religion doesn't inspire his music, but "all the miserable, (expletive) pain" derived from ex-girlfriends does.

Another questioner asked about his band members' religious affiliations. Erna replied, "Are we in the Bible belt here? . . . Well, it looks like we got a bunch of rebel Christians in this mother (expletive) tonight . . ."

Toward the end of the show, the band and the audience seemed reinvigorated after most of the band left the stage during a cheer-worthy bass solo, complete with a snippet of the Pink Panther theme. When the rest of the band returned to the stage for an instrumental version of "Keep Away," the white lights salsaed to the mighty beats, which included Erna, a former drummer, vigorously slapping his set of small bongos.

I came away with a newfound respect for Larkin, seeing as he was like a male version of the multiarmed Indian goddess Kali while he drubbed his kit into submission.

Suddenly, the show was at the height of its energy.

Erna, now sans the hat, was clearly juiced by the tune and went as far as high-fiving Larkin.

It was rather disappointing that only a regular version of "Keep Away" was left before the encore.

After the band pleaded for an encore via chanting the band's name like it had magical properties, the band finally returned and played a towering version of "Touche," Then Godsmack closed out the night like one would hope a band brought up in Boston would.

It paid homage to Alice in Chains with a cover of "No Excuses," and then it did a bluesy, rollicking roadhouse ditty about a reefer-headed woman with Erna sizzling on harmonica.

That's when Godsmack pulled out what many probably yearned to hear all night -- an electric six-string plugged back in.

Matt Gleason 581-8473

[email protected]

Acoustic Rock, Alternative Metal, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Nu Metal, Post-Grunge, Rap Metal, Rap Rock, Rock, and Alternative.

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