Justin Nuoffer 
CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS
GODSMACK
w/ Nothing More + Halestorm
9/27/24 – Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, WI
©Justin Nuoffer/NuofferMedia.com
Milwaukee, WI was an insanely busy city on this Friday night. The Brewers were playing and other venues around town were hosting events. The Deer District and Water Street areas were overflowing with people enjoying unseasonably warm weather. In front of Fiserv Forum, the home of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise, the lines and courtyard were busy and packed full of people. The venue holds up to 18,000 concertgoers and judging by the amount of people in the area it was going to be an extremely full building.
Fiserv Forum is an incredible facility with suites and 3 decks with individual seating. The stage is massive and has a sky high video board that reaches towards the rafters standing on the back of it. The buzz in the air gave one goosebumps and a quick glance around revealed barely any empty seats. The anticipation was high for this version of 102.9 The Hog’s Hogfest. The radio station managed to piece together this incredible line-up months ago and tickets for it went fast.
Opening Hogfest, Sleep Theory, a band that has turned into true road warriors and has been no strangers to Wisconsin this year. They were slated with a quick thirty-minute set and managed to deliver six tracks. Five of the songs were from their Paper Hearts album. Those who arrived early and lined the security barricade knew the words to their radio singles “Fallout,” which they opened with, and “Numb.” Their set was highly energetic and embraced the current trend of younger artists embracing the Nu-Metal history.
Incredibly Nothing More‘s high action and fast-paced rock was early on the billing. However, it changed nothing in the quality of their performance and it was business as usual for the four-some. High above them their logo with a character in the middle of their name loomed. Their new album Carnal was released back on June 28th of this year. In fact, the first four tracks they perform “Carnal”, “House on Sand”, “Angel Song”, and “If It Doesn’t Hurt” are all off of the new album. The fan engagement had a smile plastered on frontman Johnny Hawkins’ face, as he witnessed the crowd eat it up.
Hawkins’ voice is a weapon and his spastic actions are all a natural part of the show. Nothing More is bottled-up energy and pushes their ferocity to unmatched heights. Bassist Daniel Oliver whipped his bass around and laid down potent backing vocals. Drummer Ben Anderson and guitarist Mark Vollelunga handled the left side of the stage. Vollelunga laid down the punishing riffs that set Nothing More apart from the rest of the pack. They are a relentless attack.
Even though they focused on their fantastic new album they also ripped out classics like “Go To War”, “Let ’em Burn”, and “This Is The Time (Ballast)”. Their track “Jenny” is a heart-wrenching story and the anguish on Hawkins’ face while he sings is felt deeply. A story of his sister’s mental disease and the struggle with it is a notion that is felt by many. This incredible performance is one for the ages. The lyrical content is honest and that is the attraction.
Check out the complete gallery of Nothing More concert photos below:
As direct support, Halestorm walked out to a huge crowd roar. The stage was wide open with stairs running along the back that led up to Arejay Hale‘s drum riser and kit. Lzzy Hale came out on stage to a tremendous roar. She gave the metal horns and led an acapella intro of “Raise Your Horns” before guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith launched into the anthemic “I Miss The Misery”. Lzzy Hale’s voice is so powerful that despite all of the sound in the room you could still hear her clear past the microphone in front of her.
Even more impressive was the “Crazy On You” solo she unleashed before “Freak Like Me”. It felt like Lzzy sang to everyone in the room. She was down on her knees with arms raised giving her soul to the song. The artistry and heart was on full display. Continuing with their journey of hits from the the band’s early days, “Mayhem” felt a step faster than normal and the small mosh pit just behind the barricade noticed and became rowdy.
As Halestorm wound their set down, they provided some fun moments. Hottinger unloaded a very bluesy guitar solo during “Familiar Taste of Poison” that was smooth and had the crowd feeling the groove. As always though, Arejay Hale gave a wild drum solo that eventually turned into a drum circle with the rest of the band. The showmanship was at peak levels.
Once that started to die down Halestorm were prepared to finish their time with “Back From The Dead” and “The Steeple” from their Back From The Dead album. The two tracks both hit number one on the modern rock charts. The popularity of them was noticeable by the amount of fans filling the air with the lyrics. Whether it be ballads or straight-up rockers, Halestorm knows how to speak to the fans and leave them wanting more.
Check out the complete gallery of Halestorm concert photos below:
The colossal back screen lights up and a short film about the history of Godsmack ran and the nearly full arena became silent. The band’s history was being taken in. The stage below was wide open. Guitar cabs ran along the back of the stage with drummer Shannon Larkin’s kit sitting center stage. Fog filled the area and rolled out towards the security barrier. Godsmack wasted no time and kicked off the show with “Surrender”. Bassist Robbie Merrill stomped around the left side of the stage, making frequent stops to wave, clap, and give metal horns to the fans around him. His smile was contagious.
At this point in their careers, they care about having fun for themselves and the fans. Nothing was more apparent. Then Sully Erna walked up to the microphone and only confirmed it further with a loud yell, “Welcome to the party!” And a party it was. They ripped through “You and I” and “When Legends Rise”, then Godsmack flipped a switch.
The unadulterated ferociousness of the New England foursome was unleashed. With “1000hp” and the MMA theme song “Cryin’ Like A Bitch” a mosh pit formed. The energy erupted and the sheer power was being vented at an elevated level. In fact, the entire middle of the setlist was one heavy banger after another. For how appreciative and accepting Godsmack are they weren’t afraid to kick people in the teeth with their onslaught of gold-standard rock songs.
Tony Rombola, who is usually very stoic in his stage presence, even cracked a few grimaces and smirks. He shredded through the material with ease and glanced over his sholders to check on what the others were doing often. The man was clearly focused on the material. It worked. Their sound was impeccable. Godsmack held a choke hold on the raging general admission floor. Crowd surfers moved with frequency as Godsmack continued their heavier direction blasting “Speak”, “Straight Out of Line”, and the US rock chart number 1 “Awake”. Long time fans were gifted these notable songs and couldn’t have been happier.
Once they settled down and took a moment to breathe, the slow build into the platinum single “Voodoo” began. The song’s popularity is no joke and it remains a radio smash to this day. The participation from the fandom created nothing more than a moment of unity with whomever you stood next to. As the voices died down, Sully Erna approached the microphone sitting mid stage and spoke earnestly, “And we are here celebrating our 26th year on the road. In Milwaukee, you guys have always been one of the first audiences we played for, so we just want to say thank you guys for 26 years of loyalty, support, and love. I say we just keep this mother fucking train rollin’ right now and send this shit back to 1998. Let’s go Milwaukee!” The intro to “Keep Away” rings out and screen flips on the Godsmack album cover behind the band. Below, drummer Shannon Larkin slaps his kit with an authoritative force. His performance is clean and energetic. The song is a favorite of those that found the album back in 1998 and the feeling was different than any other song performed.
Out of the encore break, Erna sits at a grand piano that was wheeled out. The piano has the website location for the Scars Foundation. The foundation works with people from all walks of life and in all sorts of critical situations. The site is scarsfoundation.org and is boldly stamped in white on the side. The song was an extremely soft and touching moment that gave lightheartedness to the reality we as people face.
“I just want to take one more second here to remember some of the people we lost in our lives but to remember some of the greatest artists who graced us with their presence once and left us with the most incredible music and became the soundtrack to all of our lives. People like Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Amy Winehouse, Eddie Van Fucking Halen. I mean the list goes on and on guys.” Erna’s moment was impactful. He asked the crowd to sing along so they could hear us below them. The arena’s voices filled the space and were as one. Images of legendary artists with their birth and death dates rotate through one after another. It was all heart. Godsmack continued the epic song to conclusion and a thorough applause, but the solo by Rombola was a continuous string of melody and a feeling.
With time for two more songs, the Massachusetts rockers pulled out the platinum single “Bulletproof” from the album When Legends Rise. The music videos intro was used to guide Godsmack into the fan favorite. Erna, out front with just a microphone, walked every inch of the stage’s front end. Following every command given to them, the crowd waved their hands from side to side. When Merrill’s final bass line rung out, the cannons blasted an uncanny amount of confetti over the general admission floor. It filled the air and flosted to all reaches of the state of the art sports mecca. With his arms spread out in praise and thankfulness Erna announced, “One more fucking song”. The guitar feedback levels and the intro riff to “I Stand Alone” pushed through and got the adrenaline pumping once again. No matter how loud or heavy the sound became it was drowned out by the singing from the audience. Arms waved, metal horns were prominent, women were on shoulders. It felt good. It felt like the place you were meant to be in that moment. Then the closing came and with hand waves and the tossing out of items from the stage the lights went up and that was it.
It was hard to believe it was over. Earlier this year we covered the smaller and more intimate “Good Vibez Tour” in Madison, WI. The contrast between the two types of shows were incredible. Godsmack just knows how to perform and they truly do appreciate their fans. More importantly they appreciate life and all of our differences. Nothing is more apparent and this event at Fiserv Forum once again solidified that notion. With Sully Erna confirming they will never be recording new music as a band, I would expect future shows as special as these.
As the crowd exited into the hallways, the merch stands were bustling again and the building still had life to it. The courtyard was once again filled with patrons who had smiles plastered across their faces. Hogfest was an absolute success. Each band had delivered marvelous performances. It truly was a night to remember. Godsmack should never be missed and The Hog 102.9 deserves credit for providing such a fantastic line up.
Check out the complete gallery of Godsmack concert photos below:
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