Godsmack, I Prevail, NOTHING MORE, Fozzy, The Warning, Grey Daze

Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

May 6, 2023

Review and Gallery by : Hannah Kelly

My day at UFest 2023 started with Grey Daze, a band local to Phoenix that got their start in the early 90s and broke up before the 2000s. The original line up included Chester Bennington of Linkin Park fame. Before Chester’s untimely passing in 2017, the band had planned to reunite, play shows and rerecord their old music. In 2018, Grey Daze came back together and began to rerecord the old music and in 2020 released Amends, which featured Chester’s original vocals.

This show is their first show since 1998 and they made it evident that they’re doing everything they can to celebrate Chester’s legacy. They played an 8 song set, starting with The Phoenix version of “Saturation” and ending with The Amends version of “Sickness”. Their current vocalist Cris Hodges, truly killed it and that made this a fantastic comeback show that did an amazing job of honoring Chester.

After Grey Daze, The Warning took the stage. They are a 3 piece band of sisters hailing from Monterrey, Mexico. They played a stand out set, starting with their song “Z”. For a such a young band, I was impressed by their stage presence. The lead singer, Daniela, has incredible vocals for being only 23 years old. They had the entire amphitheatre jumping and headbanging the entire time. Flying through their set, they played a total of seven songs. The set mostly consisted of songs off their 2022 album, Error. They also played a song called “More” that was at the unreleased, but has become their latest single as on May 12, 2023. The sisters rounded out their set with their cover of “Enter Sandman,” which is the cover that kickstarted their success eight years ago. All in all, I was extremely impressed by the trio and will watching closely to see what they accomplish next.

Following The Warning was Fozzy, a heavy metal band hailing from Atlanta, Georgia and headed by professional wrestler known professionally as Chris Jericho. The name Fozzy sounded so familiar to me when I heard it, but I couldn’t quite place where I knew it from. As soon as they started their set, I knew Chris was a seasoned performer. They played a seven songs set that really highlighted Jericho’s vocal prowess. He wore a shiny jacket that was adorned with sparkling gem, charms, and studs. The whole thing definitely felt like if WWE had a baby with glam rock. The band powered their way through the set, Jericho having tons of fun with the crowd throughout, even blasting the pit with a fog machine hose several times throughout the set.

The fourth set of the day was NOTHING MORE, a band I’ve heard of quite a few times but never actually taken the time to listen to. They originate from San Antonio, Texas. To me, they were like a combination of metal and EDM but also very DIY at the same time. I was truly blown away by the vocals of lead singer Jonny Hawkins. If you’ve never seen them live, Hawkins will tap his throat while he sings to create different sounds and tones. He also has a pretty impressive range in his singing voice, perfectly hitting some really insane high notes. The band played a ten song set that consisted of a good mix of their six studio albums. I would classify the band as unique for multiple reasons, but the part of their set that blew me away the most was when Hawkins mounted a device called The Scorpion Tail, which is a large piece of scrap metal welded together by the band that Hawkins rides and uses to add digital and electronic effects to the songs. I was more than impressed and walked away a new fan of their music and live show.

The second to last set of the night was I Prevail, a band from Detroit, Michigan. This is band that I’ve seen quite a few times over the past seven years and am always happy to see. They started their set heavy with the song “Bow Down” off their 2019 album Trauma. With the start of their set also came the first circle pit of the day and the band was eating it up. As the set continued, they encouraged more circle pits and moshing. After “Bow Down” they continued on with the heavy songs and played “Body Bag’ from their 2022 album titled True Power. The band kept the energy up, playing through a mix of songs off of Trauma and True Power. They slowed it down for one song, “Deep End,” which was released on True Power. They finished out their set two more songs from Trauma and True Power as well as “Scars” which is from their first studio album, Lifelines, which was released in 2016. I came into this already a fan of I Prevail and I look forward to the next time I get to see them live.

Godsmack closed out the night with their highly anticipated set. They opened their set with “Soul on Fire” which was complete with plenty of pyrotechnics that brought the heat to everyone in the front row. The kept the energy up and went into “When Legends Rise,” from an album of the same name released in 2018. They continued through the 15 song set, visiting multiple eras of their lengthy career. The band did had a great mix of older songs from their previous discography as well as a variety of songs from their 2023 release Lighting Up The Sky. For a band that been around for almost 30 years, they did a great job of appeasing fans who have been around since the beginning and also newer fans that are somehow just now discovering the band. The band is made up of four men in the 50s, but don’t get it twisted, these guys know how to rock. They kept the crowd rocking with them the entire time. They closed out their set with “I Stand Alone” which is arguably their most well-known song, originally released on their 2003 record Faceless. As someone who grew up listening to Godsmack but who never had the chance to see them live, I really enjoyed the experience and can’t wait until I have the pleasure of seeing them again.