Sully Erna at Riviera Theatre

On December 4, 2014, Riveria Theatre was treated to a spectacular and moving performance by vocalist/songwriter, Sully Erna, best known for his role as Godsmack’s frontman. Sully played to a nearly sold out crowd and was accompanied by lead guitarist Tim Therault, bassist Chris Lester and drummer David Stefanelli.
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Erna delivered a powerful performance with tracks such as, “Departed” and a rendition of “No Excuses” by Alice In Chains. And later in the set, Sully discussed his personal views on music. He talked about how the best music comes from the worst pain and dedicated his song, “Hollow” an original Godsmack song, to all the great musicians who had died at a young age or were considered legends. His memorial included homages to John Lennon, Dimebag Darrell, Jim Morrison, Sid Vicious, Randy Rhodes, Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain, and of course, Layne Staley.

Afterwards, Sully played his song, “My Light” which was a tribute to his daughter. A large backdrop screen streamed images of her growing up. Then, after that riveting and emotional display of love and affection, he dedicated a song called “Until Then” to the soldiers who have fought and are still fighting for our country. By this time, the Riveria was giving off a somber vibe, and a man several seats down from me took off his hat and put it over his heart. You could see the tears in his eyes as he sang along with Sully.

Later on, Sully discussed his views on music again for about ten minutes. He commented that music is nothing but sound waves played in different orders and how the simple plucks of a chord can trigger the deepest of emotions within the listener.

The show ended with Sully singing “Dream On” and getting the audience involved. Most of the crowd rushed to the stage to help him close out the night. All in all, he put on an amazing performance and will always be welcome back to Buffalo with open arms.

 

 

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