Godsmack stands alone in smack talk

Sully Erna isn't afraid to stand alone.

Witness a clip of Godsmack's show last week in Yakima, Wash., that's posted on YouTube. The band's in the middle of what must be a sparser section of the set — Erna's sitting on stool with an acoustic slung over his shoulder — when suddenly some fans in the first few rows start talking smack, chanting "Seahawks! Seahawks! Seahawks!" In case it's unclear what these taunts are tethered to, another brave soul flings an F-bomb in the frontman's direction, disparaging his hometown team, the New England Patriots.

Undaunted, Erna gives it right back to the brazen crowd. Not letting the hecklers have their way, he tells them their team is a fluke, noting which of the two organizations currently has a better record. Strumming his guitar the entire time, he then offers up an impromptu melody, singing a few stanzas of a simple refrain, something about how the Seattle Seahawks stink, with some added invectives for good measure, of course. Delivering his remarks with a sizable smirk, the singer makes it clear it's all in good fun. "Settle down, you freaks," he tells the crowd. "I'm just kidding."

Quite a character, that Erna. It's not at all surprising that his outspoken personality transfers well to the big screen. Already slated to appear in "Street Level," a film written and directed by David Labrava of "Sons of Anarchy" fame, Erna has picked another acting gig in a movie called "Black Files," which is scheduled to start shooting after the first of the year. When he finishes filming that, there's some talk of him possibly playing some solo shows in Europe, before reconvening with his bandmates to start fleshing out the ideas they came up with on the road, with hopes of releasing a new record.

Before all that happens, though, Godsmack appears to have one last show on the books for this tour, and lucky for us, it's right here in Las Vegas. Given that this is the last live gig for a while, Erna and company will be live wires. While it's highly unlikely they'll encounter the same sort of shenanigans they endured up in Seahawks country, the Godsmack guys probably want to head into their upcoming hiatus on a high note, which means you can expect a night to remember at The Pearl.

— Read more from Dave Herrera at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at dherrera@reviewjournal.com.