The Grand Opening of MGM Music Hall at Fenway with Godsmack – August 27, 2022

It’s not every day that a new music venue of substantial size opens in Boston, yet here we are, with our second in a year. MGM Music Hall at Fenway is a gorgeous new venue, built on the backside of Fenway Park. With a capacity of about 5,000 guests, this will give the city a great option for bands that may play the Leader Bank Pavilion in the summer to come around in the colder months. There’s a great lineup of bands that will be playing here over the next few months, many of which we plan to be at, but there’s nobody better to open the venue than Boston’s own hard rock titans, Godsmack.

Otherwise

Vegas rock band Otherwise are back with a new single, “Full Disclosure,” off of a TBA album. Their short set got the crowd fired up for the night, with songs like “Coming for the Throne,” and their set closer, “Soldiers,” being real highlights. Brothers Adrian and Ryan Patrick put on a great show, that left the audience wanting more. Hopefully when their new album comes out, we’ll see them return to the area on a headlining show!

Godsmack

A black curtain with Godsmack’s logo dropped, only to reveal a white curtain. A video with Mix Master Mike hyping up the crowd, playing bits of various arena rock anthems (like “We Will Rock You,” “Tom Sawyer,” and “Dream On”), and the excitement in the crowd grew. The final curtain falls, and Godsmack kicks into “1,000 HP,” followed by “Keep Away.” You’d never know the band hasn’t played a show in three months, as they were as tight and ferocious as ever.

Godsmack must have something quietly brewing behind the scenes with as quiet as they’ve been lately. We last caught them back in May, and between then and now, they’ve only played two other shows! They’re about to head out on a European tour, which is their first full-blown tour since before the pandemic. Despite them not being on a tour, it was great that they would christen the new music hall in their hometown! Landsdowne Street holds big memories for Godsmack, as in their early days, they often played across the street at Bill’s Bar, a fact Sully made sure to mention during the show.

The band’s 14 song set drew from a little bit of all eras of their career, with their early hits like “Whatever” and “Voodoo,” and recent hits like “When Legends Rise” and “Under Your Scars.” I was excited to see the return of “Batalla de los Tambores,” the dueling drum solo featuring drummer Shannon Larkin and frontman Sully Erna, which is always a favorite in their live show.

I can’t think of a better band to have kicked things off at MGM Music Hall, and the sold out crowd clearly agreed! Godsmack brought down the house, and set the standard for the type of shows Boston expects to see!