The Gift of Music

Coming off a fantastic weekend...a long weekend due to the Memorial Day observance. Let me begin this post by paying my respects to all of my fellow men and women in uniform. To all that have gone before me...To all that serve today...and just as importantly, To their families who tirelessly support them...THANK YOU!!! The United States' Armed Forces is the world's largest all-voluntary military in the world. We selflessly make sacrifices so that our families and our country can remain a peaceful, strong, and free nation! I have the utmost respect for all of you!

This Memorial Day weekend was fantastic! We finally had decent weather here in Wisconsin as its been cold and rainy for the last few weeks. Saturday I went out and had drinks with some friends. Kind of last minute, thrown-together plans, but turned out to be a really great night. Good drinks...great company!

For the next few months, Sully Erna, lead singer of Godsmack, is doing a special tour. For each city visited during this tour, Godsmack plays one night and then Sully Erna performs his solo album, Avalon, the second night. I saw Godsmack last year, so I only bought a ticket for Avalon. Turned out a couple of friends had an extra ticket to Godsmack, so I jumped on it of course. Godsmack played on Sunday, May 29. I found humor in the stage setup. Godsmack had most of the stage curtained off, leaving about the front 6 feet of the stage for the opening bands. I thought that was funny. The first band was Losing Scarlet. I saw them back on April 8 when they opened for Egypt Central and Cold. Oh, I guess I never wrote about that show...hmmm...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a quick down and dirty on the April 8, 2011 show with Cold and Egypt Central. Had free tickets to this show and decided to go at last minute, mainly to see Egypt Central, who I was a fan of. Five bands this night...Losing Scarlet, Oceans Divide, Kopek, Egypt Central, and Cold.

Losing Scarlet was decent. Odd grouping of musicians. Big burly, mohawked black guy on lead guitar. Big goth-looking female bass player, a small white guy with goatee on drums, and a pretty hot female lead singer.

Oceans Divide weren't anything special. Lead singer reminded me a little of Glenn Danzig. There were ok. Obviously I don't remember much about them.

Kopek was the surprise of the night. I really liked their set and look forward to seeing them again. Met the lead singer after the show (see pics).

Egypt Central was great as expected. Played a few songs from their new album, which released today (yeah, I bought it). Met the lead singer afterwards as well.

Cold was nothing special to me. They had been out of the music scene for about seven years before making a new album. To be honest, I wasn't really familiar with them and they didn't do anything for me.

Here are the pics from the Cold/Egypt Central/Kopek/Oceans Divide/Losing Scarlet show.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to Memorial Day...

So I saw Losing Scarlet back in April in a smaller setting. They were better then. The lead singer's voice echoed throughout the Eagles Ballroom and overpowered the band. The second band was No Conviction. They were terrible. Singer was a growler and you couldn't understand anything he was saying. No pictures of these two bands.

Headlining the evening was Godsmack. I love Godsmack! They rock! Saw them last year at Band Camp 2010 in Madison, WI. This show was a bit different. It was more of a normal Godsmack show. No drum battle. Just a straight up rock show, but they were awesome. Setlist included many of their hits like Awake, Bad Religion, Keep Away, and Voodoo. Also played several from their newest album such as Forever Shamed, War and Peace, Cryin' Like a Bitch, and one of my personal favorites, Love Hate Sex Pain. Check out my pics of Godsmack.

Monday was Sully Erna's solo show. He has a solo album out called Avalon. Let me tell you that I think this album is nothing short of AMAZING! Ever since I got it, I've listened to it nearly once a day. The musical instrumentation, lyrics, and vocals on this album surely showcase Sully Erna's outstanding musical talent. He was on stage with some world class musicians and the show was amazing and powerful! By far the best show I've seen this year...so far. So very glad that I went.  Here are pics from Avalon.

What could have been a quiet and solemn weekend turned out to be a great time and a gift of music I will soon not forget!