AUSTIN — As with many concert packages, “The Rise of Rock” tour provided a chance for headliners Godsmack to do what headliners do: showcase their career-spanning catalog and add another notch to the legacy they’ve spent decades cultivating.
It also provided opening act Dorothy to do what most openers do: play to a new audience that is mostly discovering their music and utilize their short time on stage to maximize said crowd’s interest in hopefully becoming more permanent fans based on their live performance.
For Dorothy Martin and her band: mission accomplished.
For Godsmack frontman Sully Erna, this past Friday night’s gig at a steamy and completely uncovered Germania Insurance Amphitheater was much more.
It was a lesson in pure musical artistry. A demonstration in just how multi-talented and multi-instrumental he is. And a revealing picture of how wide-ranging he and original bassist Robbie Merrill, who have rocked together for 31 years, can make various segments of their live spectacles.
Godsmack isn’t touring necessarily in support of eighth album Lighting Up the Sky anymore given that it came out in 2023 and that the band dropped Live At the Mohegan Sun a mere 29 days before rocking Austin. In fact, Erna hosted a Q&A and livestream listening party for the live album on the Internet the night before.
And after 28 years’ worth of making albums and live DVDs, Erna and Merrill certainly shouldn’t have anything to prove musically. For the remainder of their careers, it should be strictly about continuing to entertain their fans the way they want to.
But after original bandmates Tony Rombola (guitars) and Shannon Larkin (drums) mutually parted from the band because they did not want to tour anymore, Erna had no choice but to refer to their (touring, at least, if not permanent) replacements as a “new era” of Godsmack.
So yes, fans are wondering if Godsmack’s “still got it.”
Enter drummer Wade Murff and guitarist Sam Koltun, the latter formerly of Faster Pussycat and, ironically: Dorothy’s band.
Erna even recently hinted that the latest studio album may no longer be Godsmack’s final one despite initially stating the band had enough material to carry its live shows from here to retirement — whenever that may be.
However, this new era seems to have provided a change of heart, perhaps even a new fire, within Erna and Merrill.
As far as Friday night was concerned, Godsmack delivered the goods as they have since 1998.
Playing more guitar than usual, Erna cranked out his lyrics with his unique voice on opener “When Legends Rise” and newer tracks “You & I” and “Surrender.” Naturally, the staples from the debut self-titled album were there too on “Keep Away,” “Voodoo” and “Whatever.”
Erna even shared an anecdote about how a beat-up and taped-together guitar he purchased at a pawn shop was “responsible for” writing the first album before firing up the nearly sold-out crowd to help them “rewind it back to 1998” leading into “Keep Away” that included a jam of Pantera’s “Walk.”
For “Whatever,” Erna pulled a page out of Five Finger Death Punch’s playbook by inviting 10 youths on stage. Ranging from a 5-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister to teenagers, the final child in line was a middle school-aged boy wearing a Spurs T-shirt on the eve of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals who tried to sneak in a selfie with Koltun as Erna was trying to get the kids lined up.
Erna cracked, “Hey, we’re trying to do a show here,” to which the boy responded with a “My bad” thump of his chest.
Godsmack’s set that went from 9:15-10:54 p.m. continued to feature a personal favorite section: the Batalla de los Tambores as Erna and Murff did their drum battle.
The frontman has always been entertaining in all aspects live, but to see him play drums and bongos when he’s not the band’s regular drummer is a sight to behold. The group’s customary riffs to “Back in Black,” “Walk This Way,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Enter Sandman” dotted the battle, and Erna punctuated it by going 4 for 4 on his stick tosses, even catching the final one above his head while standing. Murff, meanwhile, dropped two of his.
But who’s counting?
Murff rocked the kit throughout the set, and Koltun shredded through tracks that included “Straight Out of Line,” “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” and the always energetic “Cryin’ Like A Bitch.”
But just as fun as the kids’ segment was, the following part of the show proved to be the most serious and riveting.
The lights went down, and Erna took a seat for his fourth instrument of the night, performing 2018 hit “Under Your Scars” on a piano emblazoned with scarsfoundation.org on its side.
Halfway through the tune, Erna asked the audience to get in touch with suicide prevention and mental health awareness, saying in part, “I don’t need your money. I’m tired of losing people important to me” while naming Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Dimebag “Fucking” Darrell and Eddie “Fucking” Van Halen.
An emotional sing-along transpired in the dark as fans remembered musicians and their personal loved ones lost before Erna declared, “We don’t need this production. Austin, light it up!”
The four-song encore also included a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” before Godsmack brought up Austin native and MLB Network’s Kevin Millar, a World Series champion from the group’s beloved Boston Red Sox, during traditional finale “I Stand Alone.”
Although Godsmack left a few hits off the table such as crowd-pleaser “Speak,” “1000hp,” “Greed” and “The Enemy,” and though none of the artists used pyro at an amphitheater that’s been known to do so even during 100-degree August nights, Godsmack fulfilled the wishes of those who have been dedicated to them since the late ‘90s and who never tire of seeing them live.
So for anyone wondering if the lineup changes would cause the band to lose a step? No professional video footage was allowed, so you’ll just have to go see the band yourself — or take ATM’s word for it that nothing could be further from the truth.
Martin, meanwhile, jump started the Texas hot 7 p.m. show with a rockin’ 38-minute set that showcased her soaring vocals and the band’s musicianship, particularly on “The Devil I Know” and “Rest In Peace.”
Backed by energetic guitarist Nick Perri, drummer Jake Hayden and bassist Eliot Lorango, the frontwoman is touring in support of fourth album The Way, which dropped in 2024.
Martin told Apple Music the effort was influenced by her time in rehab over the Covid-19 period, during which she became a person of faith.
“It’s very much tied to my recovery journey — doing a 12-step program and believing in a higher power,” she said.
Martin, whose band played the Fiesta Oyster Bake in April at St. Mary’s University with Drowning Pool and headliners Candlebox, and Erna recently went public with their newfound relationship, so the musical pairing on tour more than made sense.
Love may have been in the air behind the scenes. But for one steamy night in Austin, it was all about the rise of Rock N’ Roll.
And laying the smack down, Texas style.
Godsmack setlist: When Legends Rise, You & I, Cryin’ Like A Bitch, Straight Out of Line, Awake, Surrender, Keep Away (with “Walk” jam session), Love-Hate-Sex-Pain, Voodoo, Batalla de los Tambores, Whatever. Encores: Under Your Scars, Come Together, Bulletproof, I Stand Alone
Note: Stone Temple Pilots was the middle band on “The Rise of Rock” tour and played a 57-minute set but did not grant ATM permission to cover it. No explanation was given.
