Godsmack Fall Tour Featuring Nothing More and Flat Black – St. Charles, MO – 10.20.24

First time at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri, the smaller room but same big arena atmosphere was ready to celebrate the career of long-standing rock band Godsmack. With hits ranging across their entire catalog, there was something for any type of fan in the room, no matter when they joined along the ride.

First up on the lineup was Flat Black, who was most known for their guitarist Jason Hook as he was previously in Five Finger Death Punch. Recently formed during the pandemic, they’ve been tackling festivals and arenas across the world with their anthems and hooks, and this set was no different. Synchronized hair flips and real fan-to-artist connections made by vocalist Wrex Horton kept the audience reeled in as Hook’s signature tones and solos shined through the music. The show may have been an all-seated show, but their performance had a good percentage of the audience out on their feet.

Next up was Nothing More, who have continued to push through the noise in this industry to make themselves known. Coming off their new release ‘CARNAL’, the four-piece band has brand new energy to show off to the audience, both in the form of new songs as well as new beginnings for the members as this album was meant to be a healing era. Starting with the first song off the album “HOUSE ON SAND”, explosive choruses and bouncy riffs set the bar high for the rest of the set, but they managed to keep the energy high the whole time. Jumping back and forth between new and old songs, it felt like a classic pumped up Nothing More setlist. Something that caught my attention was guitarist Mark Vollelunga getting his own vocal spot covering the guest vocals in “STUCK”, which really surprised me since he’s been hiding this type of energy this entire time, and I need more of it. Ending on their meteoric hit “This Is The Time”, everybody minus the drummer came down to the barricade to surprise the fans with intimate up close moments, having them hold drums up that the members would hit.

With those two sets to perfectly set up the headliner of the night, the crowd was ready to travel through time with Godsmack and with themselves, as I’m sure hearing songs across the band’s entire career would send them back to memories of when they heard these songs for the first time. Beginning with “Surrender” and “You and I” from their newest release ‘Lighting Up The Sky’, the majority of the set was working their way in order from newest to oldest albums, playing something from each era. They utilized their big stage by having minimal production set up and giving the feeling of just watching four guys playing music and nothing else was needed. Playing through the hits such as “When Legends Rise”, “Straight Out of Line”, “Awake”, and “Voodoo”, the crowd was singing back to the band nonstop and giving back the energy they were receiving. A video wall covering most of the background displaying either visuals or accompanying music videos kept the fans immersed in the performance as well. It felt like I was listening to a greatest hits CD right in front of me as I was watching them perform all of these huge songs, and ending it all with “I Stand Alone” really finished the night off strong.

Flat Black

Nothing More

Godsmack