Review: Sully Erna and Avalon

[Rob]

It's funny how some songs grab your ear, isn't it? For instance, I don't much care for rap music but this rap & rock combo song...

YouTube - Linkin Park - "In The End"

-Mac

That's the great thing about music. I don't care for country music that much, and I really hate rap and hip-hop, but, I do actually have a few country music CDs in my collection (I'll refrain from saying who they are ), and there are a couple songs that Eminem and other rappers have come out with that have actually been pretty good.

Example: friends picked me up tonight and brought me over to their place to have dinner. We were all sitting around the table talking and laughing with music playing in the background. Suddenly I heard this song...a song I hadn't heard in a while and I remembered how much I loved it when it first came out. I started toe-tapping and finger tapping....swaying my head back and forth:

YouTube - Kanye West - Gold Digger ft. Jamie Foxx

Years ago, if you would have asked me if I liked music like this, I would have told you that you were crazy. lol

Music really ties in with your mood, your environment, and what's going on in your life at any given moment. That's probably why my musical collection spans so many different genres.

[Rob]

My favorite by Loreena McKennitt, bar none, is this traditional Irish song...

YouTube - Loreena McKennitt - Bonny Portmore HD (Live in Granada)

-Mac

I have always LOVED Bonny Portmore.

I recently watched an episode of Highlander that I had recorded months ago where MacLeod goes back to Scotland. The episode ends with Bonny Portmore playing in the background while they're showing aerial views of the Scottish Highlands.

[Mac]

The Highlander (movies and tv series) are very popular in the Mac household. We have the tv series on VHS rather than DVD. I'll have to fix that one of these days.

-Mac

[Mac]

I forwarded the Avalon link to a buddy of mine who is a drummer yesterday. Today, I got an email saying he's on his way to buy the CD and thanking me for turning him on to Sully Erna... so I'm passing on the thanks!

-Mac

YouTube - Sully Erna - The Making of Avalon [720p]

[Rob]

I forwarded the Avalon link to a buddy of mine who is a drummer yesterday. Today, I got an email saying he's on his way to buy the CD and thanking me for turning him on to Sully Erna... so I'm passing on the thanks!

-Mac

YouTube - Sully Erna - The Making of Avalon [720p]

Very cool! Thanks for posting that link to the making of Avalon Mac. Forgot about that one.

Tickets for the show in Concord, NH, which is only 10-15 minutes from me go on sale this coming Friday. Since I won't be driving for another couple of months, I'm hoping I can entice a couple local friends to go so they can pick me up. LOL

[Mac]

The rest of the songs on the album are as good as Sinner's Prayer... especially the title song.

-Mac

[Rob]

The rest of the songs on the album are as good as Sinner's Prayer... especially the title song.

-Mac

Yep. The whole album is awesome. I bought tickets this past Saturday to see him on May 13th in Concord, NH, about 15 minutes north of me. It is the first show of the Avalon tour. Can't wait.

[Rob]

Last night, I went to the opening show for Sully Erna's Avalon tour, which kicked off at the Capital Center for the Performing Arts in Concord, NH.

It was AWESOME!

The show started out with a short video showing how sounds and notes become music and how music is a gift to us that asks for nothing in return. As the video comes to an end, the band begins playing "Avalon", the title track off the album.

The entire album is awesome, but to see it performed live is even better. They embellished a couple of the songs, and just when you thought the album version was perfect...the live version was even better.

When you listen to the album, you hear it, and you can feel it...to some degree. To hear the songs performed live, such as The Rise, you REALLY feel it. You feel the drums. You feel the vibration and the pulse and it almost becomes intoxicating.

The one song that really grabbed me was "Cast Out (Spirit Ceremony)".

Remember the movie, "Matrix - Reloaded"; the second movie in the Matrix trilogy? In one of the scenes, Morpheus and Neo return back to Zion after spending a long period of time away on the front lines. That evening, the entire Zion population gathers below as Morpheus is standing high up on a hill speaking to them about strength and fighting back. He ends his speech by telling them to let the machines above hear the people of Zion roar. The drums begin pounding, and the entire population begins dancing to the beat of the drums.

THIS was "Cast Out (Spirit Ceremony)" last night (minus all the people dancing!) All I wanted to do was jump up on stage and start dancing with Lisa Guyer who really enjoyed herself on stage. If people got out of their seats last night, and started dancing in the aisle as Lisa was dancing on stage, that would have been like input overload in the Matrix. I would have had to jump out of my seat and join them - with broken ankle and crutches as well. This was just one of the songs, you didn't want to hear come to an end.

After the Avalon set list, Sully came out and spoke to the audience about the gift of music and how valuable it is to us. He played Godsmack's "Serenity" on an acoustic guitar as a gift to everyone that came to the show.

If there was ever a song, I thought you couldn't dance to, "Serenity" is it. However, one...."guest", was able to jump out of her seat, and dance to it in the aisle in front of me. I'm not sure if she was feeling the power of the music in a way none of us were able to, or she was feeling something else. Either way - you go girl....just don't annoy the other guests in the audience trying to get them to get up and dance to a song that you really can't dance to.

The band wrapped up the show with one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs - "The Chain", followed by the Beatles' - "Hey Jude".

Sully got the entire Capital Center up on their feet, clapping to the beat singing: "Da da da da da, da da da da, Hey Jude". As everyone was singing, he exclaimed: "do you feel that? That is the power of music. That's what I want you to go home with tonight!" And the show, came to an end.

In most cases, going to a live concert is always a great experience. However, when you go to a concert, and see the band not just play their music, but actually get into playing their music, THAT is truly a valuable experience.

That's what I expected to see last night, and I was not disappointed.

If you get the opportunity to see one of the shows on this tour, you won't be disappointed either. It is an incredible experience that makes the Avalon album, better in ways that you thought, it couldn't get any better.

[XLR8]

I'm sitting here drinking coffee and surfing the web... and listening to Avalon.
Thanks for the review Rob.
Good CD.

[russlg]

Rob,
I live in NH (Hillsborough) and haven't had the oppotunity to see Godsmack live. My neighbor, Dave Stephanelli was one of Sully's touring percussionist's on the Avalon tour. I have seen the DVD on Palladia, it is great stuff... Speaking of great drummers, ever get into Dream Theater? they are one of my faves and their drummer is insane...

[Rob]

Rob,
I live in NH (Hillsborough) and haven't had the oppotunity to see Godsmack live. My neighbor, Dave Stephanelli was one of Sully's touring percussionist's on the Avalon tour. I have seen the DVD on Palladia, it is great stuff... Speaking of great drummers, ever get into Dream Theater? they are one of my faves and their drummer is insane...

Hi russlg,

I'm actually going to see them tomorrow night at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. It will be my fourth time seeing them since 1999.

Yes, I used to be into Dream Theater years ago and I agree; awesome drummer!!

-Rob

[russlg]

Hi russlg,

I'm actually going to see them tomorrow night at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. It will be my fourth time seeing them since 1999.

Yes, I used to be into Dream Theater years ago and I agree; awesome drummer!!

-Rob

I believe Halestorm is on that bill too, If you've never seen them, Lizzy Hale has an incredible voice... Blew us away when we saw Shinedown at the Casino a couple years ago..

[Rob]

I believe Halestorm is on that bill too, If you've never seen them, Lizzy Hale has an incredible voice... Blew us away when we saw Shinedown at the Casino a couple years ago..

Yep, Haelstorm and Staind. Love Staind, but not too familiar with Haelstorm's music. Looking forward to seeing them.