And so begins our night of music, pizza, and blood. The 2 ½ hour drive to New Hampshire with the threat of a looming snow storm was not ideal, and the strict photography rules of the venue prevented my photographer from being able to enjoy most of the show. But what the hell, this is rock & roll!

SOiL took the stage first and put on a very aggressive performance. AJ Cavalier was all over the stage, working the crowd. The music was loud and fast… very enjoyable. Toward the end of the set, Brent Smith from Shinedown came onstage to sing one of SOiL's song. The tour was winding down, and the guys were having some fun onstage.

Shinedown’s performance was awesome. I had almost forgotten just how many great songs this band has recorded. To hear “Simple Man” and “45” live was nothing short of spectacular.

Godsmack began their set with a video, which included a nice tribute to Dimebag Darrell. They then took the stage with heavy guitar, banging drums, growling vocals and the thunder of pyrotechnics. It’s hard to believe that they are now seasoned rock & roll veterans, because they’re retain so much of the energy and fervor as when they first arrived on the scene nine years ago.

My only complaint about Godsmack’s performance is that the stage setup was too big. Sully Erna made the most of it by exploring every corner of the vastness, but I think the size of the stage detracted from the interaction between the band members.

We closed the night with some pizza from some joint across the street from the venue (I give the pizza 3 out of 5 stars), followed by watching some poor guy cutting his hand open. He was trying to break his car window so that he could retrieve the keys he had locked inside. Now that’s a hardcore fan… he bleeds for rock & roll.

| 12.07.2006 | Review by J. Pierson |