Godsmack Concert Review AZ Bike Week Scottsdale AZ 4-06-24
Concert Review and Photos By Roc Boyum
Perennial rockers Godsmack headlined the last night of a crazy full week of concerts at the AZ Bike Week held at Westworld in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 6, 2024.
Godsmack headlined the final night of concerts at the annual Bike Week festival held in Scottsdale, AZ. This venue setting is a wide open outdoor vibe known as “Rockyard“. This makeshift venue is essentially a large open area with a temporary large stage and a chain link fence that defines the perimeter of this Standing Room Only venue. The event organizers did provide some bleachers at the very back of the “venue” – but those seats filled up fast with those who had no interest in standing for a long time. For the people who had tickets, and wanted to get up close to the stage, they had to get there well in advance of Godsmack’s arrival or find themselves at the back by the bleachers.
Around the middle of the set by alternative metal band Sinshrift, who were the last on stage before Godsmack, the venue was getting really packed. Those who were already there were finding themselves in a major crunch with their viewing position becoming shoulder to shoulder and stuck in a spot without any hope of moving about. By the end of the Sinshrift set, the venue was filled to capacity and those people who couldn’t get in, were starting to stack up outside the fenced area.
Before Godsmack got started, the photographers were not allowed into the “photographing area” which for this year, was shooting from within the crowd in the “Front Row Experience” area. Unfortunately, we were also told that since we had “professional” camera gear, we would have to leave the venue after the third song and return our gear to our cars.
We entered the venue through a security team that consisted of a team of security personnel, three layers deep. Securing our positions within the packed to capacity crowd, we could feel the intensity as the audience’s anticipation for Godsmack’s arrival was mounting with every moment. Finally, the lights went out, and the Godsmack back screen video and music collage began. Upon the end of the video, the band entered the stage to a loud resounding cheer from the audience.
After a short, hello to greet the crowd, the band blasted into their first song, “I stand Alone” from the 2002 LP Faceless.
Singer Sully Erna was energized from the start and was on a mission to pump up this AZ audience.
He asked the Bike Week audience several times to raise their hands in the air which in turn fired up the crowd more and more with each request. The next two songs were “Straight Out of Line” (also from their Faceless LP) and “Surrender” from their 2023 release, Lighting Up the Sky.
By the third song, Sully brought the audience up to the intense and powerful energy level of the band.
The first three songs didn’t have their usual use of pyrotechnic effects which had me wondering, was this a venue issue, or was this something that they would add later on in the show, or was this simply how they’re doing this leg of the tour?
In any case, Godsmack had this Scottsdale Bike Week audience firing on all cylinders, by the end of the third song.So it looks like, pyro or not, Godsmack can get their audiences fully engaged, all on their own.
I highly recommend catching these guys live if you can. This leg of their tour will end on May 5th in Oxon Hill, MD. so get out there and get into it now!
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