Concert Review
Sully Erna
Riviera Theatre
North Tonawanda, NY
November 16, 2016
Review and Photos: Jenipher
Sully Erna stopped in North Tonawanda, NY while out on tour for his second solo release, “Hometown Life”. Most notably known as the voice behind Godsmack, Erna is a master storyteller. The Riviera Theatre audience was treated to not only a wonderful acoustic performance, but yet a peek into the personal life of Erna. Between tunes, he joked with the crowd, in his thick Boston accent, teasing he would be taking requests. During his cover of Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell” there was a video screen showcasing a number of inspirational musicians that have passed on. After the song, he commented how it was sad that it needed to be updated to add in Lemmy Kilmister.
On tour with Sully, was bassist Chris Lester and lead guitarist Tim Therault. They played a couple of songs off his latest release, but pretty much kept to crowd favorites. This was not his first time at the Riv. He got Therault to play snips of random classics shouted out and in fact had the audience sing Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (pt.2)” after boasting that Tim was a “walking encyclopedia of classic rock”. Erna, was in great spirit it seemed, and in fact, did a light hearted impression of one fan that kept getting up from her seat and waving at him as she walked past the stage. He went off on a funny, yet quick, tangent about aliens, that somehow led to songs just being therapeutic and vibrations, ending the discussion with “thats what you get when you say you want to look inside my brain”.
He promised the fans that Godsmack was still alive and well. He went on to hint at a new release sometime in early 2018, along with a possible 20-yr anniversary of “Godsmack” tour.
All joking aside, the talent behind the man is something that can not be denied. Sully Erna is a great performer, an amazing writer and musician. His solo efforts and tours only serve to prove that fact. A Sully Erna performance is nothing like a Godsmack concert.
AVALON
SINNER’S PRAYER
YOUR OWN DRUM
EYES OF A CHILD
DON’T COMFORT ME
FALLING TO BLACK
NUTSHELL {Alice In Chains Cover}
BLUE SKIES
BROKEN ROAD
FATHER OF TIME
MY LIGHT
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS {Metallica Cover}
DIFFERENT KIND OF TEARS
RUNNING BLIND
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL pt.2 {Pink Floyd Cover}
TOUCHE
UNTIL THEN
DREAM ON/HEY JUDE {Aerosmith/Beatles Covers}
