Boston natives, Godsmack, return to Massachusetts for the long-awaited WAAF Big Gig after a two-year pandemic delay and boy was it worth the wait.
Starting the evening was Lilith Czar (formerly known as Juliet Simms). Lilith and her band command attention with a strong presence on stage with her powerful vocals and their captivating performance. The stage and mic stand were decked out in flowers with vines of green. Lilith sauntered onto the stage to thunderous applause from the crowd. Her strong and seductive voice captured the attention of the crowd from the moment that she started performing her first song, “Feed My Chaos,” from her new album, Created From Filth and Dust.
Her set included a Stevie Nicks cover, “Edge of Seventeen,” which she performed perfectly. She also performed “100 Little Deaths” and “Lola” from her new album. Czar also performed “King.” She dedicated this song to all the ladies in the house; a song about living in a man’s world. Some fans in the crowd threw roses up onto the stage, which she thanked them for. She closed out the set with “Anarchy.” The crowd screamed and cheered.
Next up is metal rockers, Wage War. Wage War has been on the music scene for over a decade. The stage started out in darkness with red lights flashing and churning on the stage as the band members took to the stage. Lead singer, Briton Bond, rushed out and immediately the head-banging set started. Fans in the audience wasted no time getting multiple mosh pits started. Their set included a majority of tunes from their 2021 album, Maniac. But they also played fan favorites, “Low,” “Gravity,” and “Alive.” Wage War is everything that a metal band should be with high energy, fast metal along with dramatic flashing lights and head-banging throughout the show. They ended their set by thanking their WAAF for having them and performing their 2014 song, “Stitch.” This had fans moshing, head-banging, and crowd surfing. Next up is the popular Black Veil Brides. The stage was dark as the band entered with the drummer, Christian Coma, standing on the kit as the band had their fists pumping in the air to the rhythm of the bass drum being slammed. As the first song, “Faithless,” from their 2014 self-titled album started, lead singer, Andy Biersack took center stage. The crowd had their hands in the air as the fans were singing along with the band. BVB has an energetic show with an amazing presence on stage. They kept the crowd on their feet shouting and head-banging. Their set included songs from many albums across their discography, including “Scarlet Cross,” “Shadows Rise,” and “Crimson Skies” from their 2021 album, The Phantom Tomorrow. At any given moment during their set, there were multiple mosh pits going at once. During the song “Shadows Die,” guitarist, Ashley Purdy, swaps out his guitar for a violin adding an apt haunting sound to the song and the fans ate up every second of it. They finished up the set with their 2012 hit, “In The End.” The full arena was fully primed for Godsmack.Finally, the moment that everyone has been anticipating for two long years had arrived. The crowd was roaring with anticipation. The black Godsmack tarp dropped, sparks fell from the ceiling, and they started rocking with their 2002 hit “I Stand Alone.” Their fans were singing along from the start with fist-pumping forward rhythmically as one.
The performance included multiple pyrotechnics, including torches and fireworks. Sully Erna told the crowd how much of “an honor it is to be back here in my favorite venue.” Included in their set were many of the hit songs from across their 24-year career, including “When Legends Rise,” “Unforgettable,” “Awake,” and “Bulletproof.” Sully also told the crowd to bring this back to a 1984 rock show. He asked the men to get their ladies up on their shoulders so he could see their faces. The band then started playing “Something Different.” Throughout the entirety of the song, the women stayed up on shoulders. It was truly like a 1984 rock concert.
The night came to an end with Sully saying, “I don’t want to do a Godsmack song. I want to do a big party song, something big and epic that reminds me of my childhood.” Godsmack ended the evening with a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” It was an amazing night of music that the concert-goers will not forget.
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