Worcester Gets GodSmacked

On March 2, 2001 at the Worcester Centrum Centre a real rock show took place. The line up was Systematic, Cold, Staind, and Godsmack. The whole concert was being filmed for a DVD of Godsmack due to be released in the summer of 2001.

The first band up was Systematic, a group that is not very well known, however they made an impression on me. Systematic hails from the San Francisco Bay area. Their type of music has been compared to Machine Head and Slayer. The debut album of Systematic, Somewhere in Between, is set to hit stores May 22, 2001. The first single is "Beginning of the End." The band will be touring with Ozzfest this summer, so if you have a chance to see them I recommend it. The groups web site is http://www.sytematic1.com.

Cold currently has two songs from their sophomore release out, "Just Got Wicked" and "No One." Cold is from Jacksonville, Florida. They are a band discovered by Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. Their live performance was somewhat disappointing. I do enjoy their album. The singing from Cold was the main problem, the vocals just weren't loud enough. It could have been a system problem or the singer. The singer, Scooter, did not interact with the fans that much which was also a problem. Even though this show for them was a disappointment, I will still remain a fan and hope they develop their live show some more. Their site is http://www.coldonline.com.

Staind took the stage next. They are a local band hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts. Most might know them from the currently popular song "Outside" by the lead singer of Staind, Aaron Lewis. Staind released their first album Dysfunction in 1999. Singles from this album are "Mudshovel" and "Home." Outside can be found on the Family Values Tours Album. They are also a band discovered by Fred Durst. Unfortunately Staind did not play one of my personal favorites "Home." Their line up included "Mudshovel," their first single, and "Outside." The band also debuted a couple of new songs set to be on their new album, Break the Cycle. The first single of this album is "It's Been Awhile." This was my 4th time seeing Staind and they've never let me down. I can't wait until the release of the new record. Their website is http://www.staind.com.

Godsmack is also a hometown band. They are known for having an image dealing with witchcraft and magic. Some might be familiar with them from the MTV series "Fear" where "Awake" and "Voodoo" are regular parts of the soundtrack. This tour is for their sophomore release, Awake. Awake debuted on October 31, 2000. It debuted in the top five with first week sales of more than 256,000 copies. This follows their triple platinum self-titled debut. Godsmack has been on Ozzfest, MTV's Return of the Rock Tour, Limp Bizkit's Anger Management Tour, and many others. The band credits a lot of their success to a local radio station that had faith in them. WAAF in Boston was with the band from the beginning. DJs Rocko and Birdsey were the ones that gave this unsigned band airplay. Godsmack then went on to play WAAF's Locobazooka, where the footage for the video "Whatever" was shot. This event is a great place to find up and coming bands, and some already famous such as Disturbed, P.O.D, and Kid Rock. They have come along way from an Alice'n Chains cover band.

Before Godsmack took the stage, a cartoon of the band was being shown. The cartoon poked fun at each of the members and some of their crew; it was hilarious. The stage setup was the front of a castle and gargoyle statues, very dark and mystical. The band started with "Awake," the current single out. Most songs came from the new album including "Bad Magick," "Greed," and "Sick of Life." At various times the lead singer, Sully Erna, displayed his range of musical talent by playing the guitar and drums. The last of the songs were from their first self-titled album. Some of the songs included were "Bad Religion," "Keep Away," and "Voodoo." The final song was "Whatever" which had the whole building rocking. This was my 2nd time at a Godsmack show and they do not disappoint. Their site is http://www.godsmack.com.

Overall the concert was excellent. It is rare to have such a great live show as this. If you have the chance to see these bands, do it.