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GODSMACK & STP
Delivers The Rise of Rock Tour
September 25th, 2026 Review by Jimmy Alvarez
September 17th, 2026 will be a night I remember for a while. It’s been a minute since I got to see Sully Erna and the cats from Godsmack wreck a stage.
It’s been an even longer minute since I saw Stone Temple Pilots on any stage. Needless to say, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but whatever is would be – it would be.
As I rolled in, the near capacity crowd was filled with the type of fans you would expect, 40-something year olds up to 70-something year olds.
Then I started to notice something I did not expect, 20-something year olds and teenagers. Then it dawned on me – the opener, Dorothy!
Dorothy Martin is a fairly new face to the scene, but not too new. I caught her once before, and she definitely is a force with many, many years of sonic domination in her future. As the lights dimmed, she took the stage with command.
The teens sitting next to me lost their minds. She opened with “Down to the Bottom,” and followed with an electrifying set of her “Flawless” catalog.
My takeaway from her performance was she had pipes, wow, that girl could belt out a song. She certainly would “Raise Hell,” as everyone got “Whisky Fever,” “After Midnight,” before she ended her short set with “Rest in Peace,” and “Medicine Man.”
I give the road crew much credit because it took no time to get the stage ready for STP. As mentioned, it’s been a very long minute since I saw them last – Scott Weiland was behind the mic, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As the light dimmed, Eric Kretz got behind the drum kit, out came the DeLeo brothers, Robert on bass and Dean on lead guitar followed by lead singer, Jeff Gutt.
The crowd cheered and got to its feet, Gutt walked up to the front of the stage and belted out an all-familiar verse… “I am smelling like the rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed!” Holy shit, the crowd exploded – it went absolutely nuts as STP was back with “Dead and Bloated” with a segue into “Wicked Garden.”
The band sounded as live as ever, and Gutt definitely had the vocal chops for the gig. As the song ended, he thanked everyone for coming out, Dorothy for opening and Godsmack for having them on the tour. He then introduced the band and then himself. He said, “and I’m Jeff Gutt.” But he said it phonetically … “goot.” He then said, “So das goot!” That made everyone laugh, and Gutt even laughed at what he said.
Then, the hit parade took off, “Vasoline,” “Big Bang Baby,” “Big Empty,” and “Plush” sounded simply amazing.
The DeLeo brothers were in fine form and it felt like it was the ‘90s again – they sound that good. “Plush” and “Interstate Love Song” made even the teens sitting next to me scream!
What happened next was classy and brought a sense of community to the entire arena. Gutt paid homage to Scott Weiland and said he wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for him and thanked him. The crowd felt the sincerity and applauded as “Crackerman” took over Honda Center.
Truth be told, the vocals were spot on, but the onstage wasn’t Weiland, and I think that was the point. Gutt wasnlt trying to mimic Weiland, he was being himself, and that was “goot!”
We could have been there all night, STP was on fire, they sounded great and Gutt was classy as he was the right guy to lead this band behind the mic. STP was loud, electric and very memorable.
They closed the night with two crowd favorites, “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” and a final blast, “Sex Type Thing.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, what I got was a very-very good surprise.
Again, hats off to the road crew because almost immediately the Godsmack curtain came down and they started working on the stage. Once it dropped the lights dimmed, it was a simple stripped-down set with an epic light show.
As soon as the Massachusetts rockers took the stage, everyone came to their feet.
Erna stood front and center and launched us into his own form of bedlam with “Surrender,” “You and I,” “1000php,” and “Cryin’ Like a Bitch!”
Sporting his standard black ensemble, his bandmates were on fire, Robbie Merrill was slappin’ the bass and Sam Koltun was shredding on lead guitar. They launched into more chaos with “Awake,” and “When Legends Rise.”
Erna then introduced the band – and then it was back to the mayhem. “Keep Away,” “Come Together” and “Speak” were booming, you could feel the percussion throughout your body.
Other notable moments included their delivery of “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain,” and then the moment that nearly brought the house down…. Those words: “I’m not the one who’s so far away when I feel the snake bite enter my veins.” A creepier opening to a song has never existed. The crowd went off to “Voodoo.”
You would think that was it, right? No, there was more – “Batalla de los Tambores,” featured melodies from songs we all know, “Back in Black,” “Walk this Way,” “Enter Sandman,” “Moby Dick” and “Tom Sawyer.” The crowd just ate that up. Then, Erna and the gang blew the roof off with their megahit “Whatever.”
That was as loud, booming and bone-crushing a delivery of any song I have heard in some time.
It was a perfect end to a perfect night of really loud music!
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Green-Eyed Blonde Photography
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SID 260928 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
