SAINT ASONIA/BLACK STONE CHERRY – THE WEBSTER THEATER
By Joe Perusse
Black Stone Cherry, Saint Asonia, Any Given Sin – Webster Theater, Hartford CT
Saturday, three outstanding acts shared the stage at the Webster Theater for an evening of great music.
Any Given Sin led off the evening, coming out on fire with “Insidious” to get the crowd going from the start. Lead singer Victor Ritchie said hi to Hartford a couple times and introduced Chris Dean, filling in on guitar for Mike Conner, for his solo during the opener. “Another Life” followed and the rereleased “Dynamite”, now in the top 20 was next along with an explanation of why the band was a 3 piece this evening.
Bass player Rich Stevenson broke some fingers earlier in the tour and although that didn’t stop him from performing, Covid did, and he was back at the hotel resting.”War Within”, the title track off of the new album got a warm reception with the devil horns to the sky from the crowd. “Still Sinking”, “The Way I Say Goodbye” and “House on Fire”, which included band intros closed out the short but energetic set. Mike Showalter on drums fills out the lineup.
Saint Asonia was up second and it seemed to me this was who a majority of the crowd was there for this night. “Above it All’ started the set and “Better Place” had the crowd singing along with Adam Gontier (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar). He stated to be ready for old ones, new ones and everything in between and the crowd roared as “The Hunted” and “Chew Me Up” followed. “Wolf” off the new EP Introvert had the crowd moving along and the first mosh pit of the evening appeared.
Gontier commented he thinks the first time he played the Webster was back in 2007 with Three Days Grace and that segued into “Never Too Late” and “I Hate Everything About You” covers from his time with the band. Another cover from a former band Apocalyptica’s “I Don’t Care” was next. Back to his present gig. “So What, another new song, and “Say Goodbye” had the crowd with their hands in the air.
“Blinding Lights” The Weekend cover was followed by “Riot” another Three Days Grace cover which had the biggest crowd reaction all evening. “Devastate “ and “Let Me Live My Life” rounded out a super set and had the crowd at a fever pitch. Rounding out the band was touring guitarist Tavis Stanley, Cale Gontier (Bass) and Cody Watkins (Drums).
Black Stone Cherry rounded out the night. While I would say about 30% of the crowd left after Saint Asonia, the ones that remained were mighty. The mosh pit, with the new found space, opened up to take up most of one half the floor. It kicked off when “Me and Mary Jane” started and didn’t let up until “Lonely Train” closed the show. “Burnin’” was up second and I noticed Ben Walls (Rhythm Guitar) and Steve Jewell (Bass) were constantly switching sides of the stage throughout. They kept this up the whole set which I liked as you got to see both up close no matter what side of the stage you were watching from.
“Again” and “Nervous” followed and the Chris Robertson (Vocals/Lead Guitar) talked about 2006 being the first time they played the Webster and Wells commented on being hit with trash thrown on stage at that show. This led nicely into “White Trash Millionaire”. The crowd was clapping along to “Blind Man” and “Like I Roll”. Robertson asked for some help singing “Give Me One Reason” a Tracy Chapman cover and the crowd put in a good effort.
“When The Pain Comes” was released a couple weeks ago and the band asked for some assistance calling requests in for it to be played on the radio. There was an all band jam including John Fred Young (Drums) and Jeffery Boggs (Bongos) for “Can’t You See/In My Blood/ Whitehouse Road”. “Blame It on the Boom Boom” and previously mentioned “Lonely Train” sent the crowd out into the Hartford night rocking.
This was a late addition to my concert schedule and so glad I could make it happen. Not only was the music great but I caught guitar picks from both Any Given Sin and Saint Asonia. The guys were really getting some distance tonight as I was at the rail in front of the soundboard. You never know where they fly, especially in smaller venues. Check out live music when you can and if you get a chance to see any of these bands when they come around again, it is highly recommended.
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