Review and Photos by: Jordan Nathanson

     Early this month, the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts, hosted an intimate music concert with Bastian da Cruz and Godsmack. This was completely different than other shows that I have attended since this was in the Walt Disney Theater where Broadway shows have come through and performed on the stage. The atmosphere was, to me strange, but it did give the sense of intimacy that Godsmack was looking for. Opening for them was Bastian da Cruz, a solo artist from Denmark. He had an amazing voice that was filled with emotion and had wonderful rage. His voice, along with emotional lyrics and beautiful melodies from his acoustic guitar, caught the audience in a chokehold of emotions. Though his style of music was different than Godsmack, Bastian was a great artist to be touring with them. His presence filled the entire theater with his stage presence. He mentioned that he has tried to release an album but was denied by record labels because he did not have enough followers on social media.

     After Bastian’s amazing performance, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation for Godsmack to make their way to the stage. As if this was a normal theatrical show, the lights flickered to get everyone back in their seats for the main event. I do not know what I was expecting in from them in this theater, but I was not expecting a full show. This show was performed as though it was outside in an amphitheater. The show opened with an advertainment for Sully’s biography I Stand Alone that is now on different streaming services. Once that video ended, the band started to play and that’s when everyone left their seats. Everyone in the audience was singing and dancing. It was an if they had all the space in the world and was not limited bring in theater seats. This show also included acoustic elements to give the intimate show that they wanted to provide. Their music not only screams “dad – rock” but also has a psychedelic feel to some of their songs. Their projections even created the psychedelic feel as they played through their set. During the set, Sully took a moment to connect with the attendees and asked them how and why do people connect with music. He did not just mean the lyrics because he knows we can connect to words but he made the attendees think about how we connect with “just vibrations and frequencies”. This conversation was a nice segway in to the rest of their set which was full of emotion and heart when they played.

     This show was in celebration of Godsmack being together for 25 years. This show may have been different than other but this show is one that really showed the band in a new light. This show was absolutely beautiful and I am thankful that I got to be there for this monumental moment.