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One could argue that I live in the greatest state in the country–Alaska! We have the surreal beauty that people flock to from all over the world. Tourist arrive in search of adventure and to get a glimpse of brown bears, moose, puffins and magnificent glaciers.

People come here primarily by boat (cruise ships), RV’s, trucks, vans, and even explore the vast expanse by train.

But living in the Great White North we have our limitations.  One is concerts. The thought of a big name band coming to Alaska is rare. To many rock acts this still is the Last Frontier.

I can understand. The logistics must be atrocious. We are off the beaten path in terms of tour dates. Most bands will have a show on one day and travel the next day or two to the next and so on. With that a convoy of trucks are always at least one city ahead of the band so they can set up the stage show in the next town.

In the year that I have lived here a few bands/artists have made their way North, most of them during the Alaska State Fair held around Labor Day. Last year the rock group Shinedown was at the fair along with .38 Special, Collective Soul, Darryl Worley, Boyz II Men and even ‘The Gambler’ Kenny Rogers.

While all of these bands have their hits and their stamp on their collective fan base none of them are the mega groups that the fans of this state are yearning to see.

That is until this September.

One September 6th, GODSMACK rolls into town for a show at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

Thats right folks that hard hitting, guitar crunching, voodoo worshiping boys from Boston make their way North to rock this place to the ground.

I have been a Godsmack fan since their first release All Wound Up debuted in 1997 with Sully Erna at the helm. In 1998 the band signed with Universal and re-released the LP as a self-titled CD with a handful of new tracks and re-worked some of the others from Wound Up.

In 2000 I took my wife, Michele, to see Godsmack that Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. It was her first rock concert. If you are a fan of live music you know about Red Rocks. It is probably the best place on the planet to see a live show!

Godsmack’s fan base built slowly but surely until they were invited to join the Ozzfest tour with hit singles like “Whatever”, and “Keep Away”.

Also in 2000 the band released Awake and they earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental performance for the song “Vampires.”

In 2003 Faceless was released and in 2006 IV was released with Erna behind the board. The band stayed true to their roots with their unique guitar and drum driven sound and were a mainstay on rock radio.

In 2010 the bands fifth full-length offering, The Oracle was released for which the band is touring behind.

If you are a fan of Alice in Chains, Mudvayne, Puddle of Mudd, Trapt and even Everlast and Korn you will like Godsmack.

Hurry tickets are still available (as of July 21st). You can pick them up at TicketMaster, The Sullivan Arena and even participating Fred Meyers stores.

If you are going to be up to Alaska on vacation during the Labor Day Weekend what’s an extra hundred bucks to see a show like this? It sure beats sitting on a packed tour bus with grandma listening to the driver point out the local tourist haunts.

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