After a successful run in his primary band Godsmack this summer, vocalist and frontman Sully Erna brought his solo act to the Riviera Theatre for the 3rd time since June 14, 2011. Sully played to a near capacity crowd. This wasn’t an official “Avalon” show but a solo show that represented the entire career of Erna. He was accompanied by Chris Lester on acoustic and bass, David Stefanelli on drums/percussion and Tim Theriault on lead guitar.
Sully has brought both his solo show and the Avalon show to the WNY area a handful of times since 2008. This was a combination of both into one. Erna was in tip top shape as his voice sounded powerful when needed on tracks like “Running Blind” and “Avalon.” He has kept the same players for all of his solo runs and the cohesiveness between the four musicians really shows. The mid eastern song “Cast Out” is a great example of Erna being comfortable with his band to let others take the lead. He played the bongos while Stefanelli takes charge of the maracas on the song. Lester enjoyed a short solo and also played the 5 string bass on the Alice in Chains classic “No Excuses.”
The song “My Light” was about Erna’s daughter and images of her growing up streamed on video behind the band during this track. Erna also played the piano for “Broken Road” along with the encore “Dream On” and “Hey Jude.” As Erna addressed the audience, they began shouting out tracks and “1000HP” was one of the songs that came to the forefront.
Steffanelli did his best Shannon Larkin (Godsmack drummer) impersonation for a few seconds in which Erna remarked, “you’re not young enough or thin enough to pull that off.” This drew some laughter from the audience. The WNY area has a strong affinity with Erna and it’s evident the feeling is mutual. This shows everytime he comes to town. As long as Erna delivers a solid performance, he will continue to be welcomed back with open arms!
Setlist:
Avalon
Sinners Prayer
Running Blind (Godsmack cover) Hollow (Godsmack cover)
No Excuses (Alice in Chains cover)
Departed
Broken Road
Chris Lester solo
My Light
Fall into Black
Cast Out
Eyes of a Child
Touche (Godsmack cover)
Nothing Else Matters (Metallica cover)
Time (Pink Floyd cover)
Encore:
Until Then
Dream on (Aerosmith cover)/Hey Jude (The Beatles cover)
We would like to thank Jodi Emond from The Collective PR for the credentials to review the show.
