Located at 144 Washington St, Stacks is the bold and enticing sandwich-focused restaurant that provides casual eaters and foodies alike a satisfying  blend of craft and comfort that is likely to please. Stacks restaurant is downtown Haverhill’s newest addition to the cities ever-growing culinary landscape, and offers a menu that takes the sandwich and elevates it to a flavorful architectural experience. The Stacks menu consists of appetizers, craft sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and salads. The main stars of the Stacks menu are its sandwiches, with 14 varied and diverse options that span the globe with their range of worldy ingredients.

 The adventure doesn’t stop there – Stacks also specializes in gourmet milkshakes that are a combination of whimsical concepts and indulgent ingredients that can be ordered either with or without alcohol in them. The aptly named “Boozy Shake Menu” features 12 main shakes, one monthly special shake, and an option for a “basic” shake, which can be done 11 ways. Stacks also offers brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with breakfast style sandwiches being the primary focus.

Stacks is the product of two brothers, Chef Paul and Chef Anthony Tomacchio. The two co-run this new Haverhill hot spot and show their culinary perspective through their alluring and comforting craft sandwich and milkshake menu. Opened in November of 2021, Stacks brings a refreshing perspective to the culinary viewpoint that downtown Haverhill has to offer. With it’s share of Mexican, Chinese, Greek, and American cuisines, the food scene of downtown Haverhill has been begging for a place to open that can hold its own as an establishment that understands good cooking and good flavor and is able to use those things to create something that is inherently accessible yet still different. Stacks in downtown Haverhill manages to do just that. It is their focus on something than can and tends to be average at best – the sandwich – being done in a spectacular way that gives Stacks diners something they can recognize fundamentally that is enhanced and propelled into exciting territory through the treatment and intelligent usage of exciting ingredients.

 This is evident through the Bulgogi Cheesesteak sandwich, which takes the American Philly Cheesesteak classic and revamps it by putting a Korean spin on it through Korean inspired ingredients. Sandwiched between a great ciabatta sub roll, the spicy, thinly sliced shave steak that is bulgogi adds a baseline heat to the sandwich, paying homage and giving respect to the fiery tendency that a lot of Korean food has. Chef Paul and Chef Antony go even further to kick up the notch with this sandwich by adding of the fermented flavor bomb kimchi to the pile. Of course there is cheese, and plenty of it – the staple ingredient of a classic cheese steak had to remain.  American cheese ties this taste bud tantalizer together in a well thought out and satisfying spin on an iconic American sandwich.

The sandwiches truly are the heart and essence of the Stacks experience. Diners can be transported to Vietnam with the classic Bahn Mi sandwich, which Stacks serves on ciabatta rather than the traditional french baguette most bahn mi sandwiches are made with. Still, Stacks keeps the familiarity where they need to – ensuring that their bahn mi comes with the pickled carrots that make up a typical bahn mi – adding their Stacks spin on it by adding pickled cucumber, slaw, and the delicious umami of the sweet and sultry hoisin sauce to top it all off. Stacks is considerate of the vegetarian diner, who can order this sandwich with blackened tofu instead of the pork carnitas that it comes with.

Stacks offers two smash burgers as part of their craft sandwich section, with one option for a more traditional American style burger – with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a potato roll – and one option for a more sophisticated and daring smash burger that comes with peach mayo, goat cheese, and a unique sangria mayo. The craft sandwich section brings diners on a trip to Louisiana, where Stacks diners can experience the Stacks take on the traditional, iconic po’boy sandwich that has  become a staple to the Cajun area and culture of the Bayou in America. Two pieces of ciabatta are the vessel for the fried Cajun shrimp that is nestled within a heaping portion of slaw, tomato, American cheese, and Cajun aioli.

Vegans even have a place at the table in the craft sandwich section! Stacks provides a satisfying and vegetarian and animal-byproduct free sandwich called the Vegan, which consists of mixed greens, hummus, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and balsamic glaze on a ciabatta sub roll. This is a refreshing option for vegans and vegetarians and meat eaters alike who may be looking for a vegetarian option that doesn’t rely on the overdone, often dry black bean veggie burger seen on so many restaurant menus. Stacks sandwiches range from $13 dollars to $17 dollars.

As if the sandwiches weren’t adventurous enough, Stacks brings the fun to another level with their epic milkshakes. All constructed around a mason jar, the milkshake at Stacks is ice cream based, with some kind of flavored rim on the jar, a type of sauce or drizzle, and a giant chunk of some kind of dessert delicacy topping it all off. A diner who is in love with cheesecake is in luck – the Creamsicle Cheesecake milkshake (no, that isn’t a typo – this magnificent creation truly exists…) is a mouthwatering and gut shattering vision of creamsicle flavored ice cream with an orange marmalade drizzle and a vanilla frosted rim rolled in graham cracker crumbs. As if it couldn’t get any more out of this world, Stacks guilds the lily by adding a slice – yes, a whole slice – of beautifully luscious cheesecake right on top of the mason jar – finishing it off with another drizzle of orange marmalade and a dollop of whipped cream.

 The creativity and imagination within the line of Stacks’ milkshakes is endless and an effort that should be applauded. The ability of Chef Paul and Chef Anthony to pick out culinary gems from the sweet tooth archives of American history and to work them into something that is new and exciting is definitely what makes the Stacks experience not just satisfying but utterly unique. Other shakes like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bread Pudding zone in on nostalgic American classic flavors from the cereal realm and pair them with a hard to resist bread pudding that tops the vanilla ice cream based shake. The fun continues with the Strawberry Lemonade milkshake that consists of strawberry lemonade ice cream, a strawberry sauce drizzle, and a vanilla cupcake with strawberry and lemon sauce topping it all off. Again, the cupcake isn’t served on the side with the milkshake – it is literally right on top of your milkshake, inviting you to plunge in for a bite of cake soaked in milkshake.

Stacks gives diners multifaceted milkshakes that go beyond the typical just-one-flavor-of-ice-cream-with-milk-formula that is the common standard in America when it comes to a milkshake or frappe. Stacks uses unique ice cream flavors with other flavorful inclusions, such as syrups, coated rims, and whipped cream, alongside an actual chunk of dessert that they include on the shake to make it a well rounded, well thought out, all-bases-covered sensory (and just plain fun) culinary experience. Stacks’ mad milkshakes can be ordered for $15, with the addition of “booze” to any of the deluxe milkshakes for another $4 dollars.

If you are looking for a place to eat in downtown Haverhill that ditches the pretense of the culinary scene while still maintaining technique and mindful flavor combinations through the medium of comforting and satisfying things like sandwiches and milkshakes – then Stacks is the place for you. Chef Paul and Chef Anthony have created a cohesive menu of exciting, well-done sandwiches that are made with high quality ingredients and a culinary expertise behind them in order for the diner to have the chance to experience things that may be familiar in some way but lead you away from what you may expect about those familiar things.

Stacks’ aresenal of tasty and comforting food takes the framework of American classics and has tweaked and improved them through a clearly present knowledge and understanding of food at the basis of it all. Stacks is the result of two chefs who clearly have the culinary skill that only a seasoned chef can acquire through school, work experience, or a combination of both – and have injected it into their casual food in order to make it something you won’t forget. Stacks sets itself apart from the competition while keeping their feet on the ground.

Korn is set to hit the road with Evanescence this summer for a 17 date tour that starts on Aug. 16 and ends on Sept. 16. The two bands, both alternative rock titans in their own right, last toured together for the Family Values Tour of 2007. Much time has passed since then, with each of the bands continuing to make music and grow and evolve on their own. Korn has recently released a new album entitled Requiem earlier this year and are embarking on this summer tour in support of the album. Evanescence released their latest album, The Bitter Truth, in March of 2021 and are still working to promote that album.

Both bands had members within their direct band or their touring ensemble test positive for COVID-19 in 2021, which caused each band to postpone their individual tours at their respective times. Evanescence’s winter tour of 2021 suffered cancellations towards the end of December when their touring staff had members test positive for COVID-19, resulting in 5 December dates having to be rescheduled for January of 2022. Korn’s lead singer Jonathan Davis tested positive for COVID-19 in August of 2021, forcing the band to postpone a show until Sept. of that year.

Jonathan Davis and his band Korn got their start in 1993 in California, bringing the now well known genre of “nu-metal” to the forefront of mainstream rock with their breakout hit album Korn that was released in 1994. The album catapulted Korn into rock stardom and set the tone for a new genre of alternative music that hadn’t been defined before. Since then, the band has released 14 studio albums and done well to cement their place in rock music’s innovative niche of alternative metal. Their unique blend of heavy bass centered music with intense rhythmic drums, paired with Davis’ unique, sometimes rapper-esque vocals set Korn apart from the get go.

Evanescence broke onto the music scene in 2003 with their surprise hit of debut album Fallen, which came seemingly out of nowhere, going on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The dramatic, dark, ethereal, and moving music of Evanescence was fueled off of lead singer Amy Lee’s soaring, operatic vocals that could in an instant turn into a haunting and angelic whisper – as she sang about loss and survival, over the foundations of metal chugging guitar riffs, classical piano, theatrical orchestral arrangements, and choir vocalizations. The band has since released 4 more studio albums and has cemented themselves as well in the landscape of modern rock pioneers.

 Korn and Evanescence toured briefly together in 2007 for the Family Values Tour, which is a brainchild of Korn and had many co-headliners. It was a tradition of Korn’s to headline with a handful of other powerful and well known rock acts sharing the bill with them. In 2007, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Hellyeah, Atreyu, Trivium, and Neurosonic completed the bill. Since then, Korn and Evanescence have not shared the stage. However, Davis and Lee are no strangers to each other – in fact, the two collaborated on MTV’s Unplugged, when Korn played an entire set in 2006. It was for the bands hit song Freak On A Leash that Davis called Lee onto the stage in order for the two of them to duet. The live version that aired on Unplugged went on to become a cult classic for Korn and Evanescence fans alike.

Lee also took to covering Korn’s hit song Thoughtless many times throughout Evanescence’s first early worldwide tours in 2003 and 2004. Lee was always a self-professed fan of Korn, saying onstage in their 2004 live DVD Anywhere But Home that Korn was a band “they loved very much”, before she started in on the piano as she began her version of the introduction to Thoughtless. Since then, the two bands have somewhat been related in the sense that it is known by the fan base of either band that one is appreciated by the other. Both Korn and Evanescence fans can appreciate the other band’s music, and the fans know that Davis and Lee respect each other and are friends. So for them to be going on tour together again is a huge deal, for alternative music fans who fall within the Korn/Evanescence niche and presumably for Davis and Lee, and the members of each of their bands, who are all friends and will get to reunite when they hit the road for this sure to satisfy summer tour of 2022.

Korn and Evanescence start their tour Aug. 16 in Denver, Colo., touch down in Mansfield, Mass., on Aug. 26, and wrap it up Sept. 16 in Ridgefield, Wash. Tickets for the Mansfield, Mass., show are still on sale through www.livenation.com or www.ticketmaster.com

Grammy winning alt-rock band Evanescence brought the audience to life with their long awaited Jan. 20 show at the DCU Center in Worcester last month. The concert, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 18, 2021, had been rescheduled after members of the band’s touring circle had tested positive for COVID-19. Evanescence’s lead singer, Amy Lee, took to her social media on Dec. 13 to issue a statement letting fans know the last five dates of the tour would have to be rescheduled for the start of 2022.

“We’ve done everything we could to try and make it work but with multiple positive Covid tests in our touring party it just wouldn’t be right to continue the show schedule as is,” Lee said on her Instagram account. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to you incredible fans for making this dream a reality, and making it mean so much more that we ever imagined it could. Thank you for your understanding. We love you!”

Evanescence released their first album of new music since 2011, “The Bitter Truth”, in March of 2021, so it was only natural for a tour to follow in order to promote the album. Releasing a new album and touring during a pandemic were naturally challenges for the band, but Lee and her band made it work and were given the go ahead to tour, live, to promote “The Bitter Truth” during fall 2021. Aside from the five rescheduled shows, the band started the tour in Nov. 2021 with no problems. Evanescence resumed the tour to make up the five rescheduled shows in Cincinnati on the Jan, 14^th , stopping in Worcester on the 20^th, and ending in Newark on the 21^st.

Evanescence, who exploded onto the rock music scene with their 2003 surprise hit album “Fallen”, have since followed that release with multiple number one albums (their sophomore album “The Open Door” and their third self-titled release “Evanescence” both debuted on the Billboard charts at no. 1), and a dedicated tour regiment over the years that has cemented their legacy as one of rock music finest contributors over the years. This legacy was apparent as the DCU Center slowly filled with masses of

Sitting among the crowd as the 7,000 seat stadium slowly filled up, the palpable energy one is used to experiencing before a concert was seemingly absent. However full the arena seemed to be, something just felt different. Perhaps the masses of people, although finally given their chance to experience the joys of live music again mid-pandemic, were still slightly weary and listless from the roller coaster ride that has been COVID-19.

Opening the show was female fronted Lilith Czar. The audience came out of their stupor for the relatively unknown band’s short but commendable set. The music was a mix of rock and pop, with songs about on-the-road cliches of loneliness and debauchary that so many rock acts with undeveloped points of view or any real life experience tend to contrive into what they think is moving and inspired music. The four piece band could play their instruments well and sounded tight and cohesive; it just wasn’t memorable.

After a brief intermission, the lights went down once more to welcome co-headliners Halestorm. The crowd’s went wild as Lzzy Hale, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, took the stage with her three other bandmates. Playing a decent sized set list, Halestorm started their show on fire and ended it in the same vein. Hale, with her aggressively dynamic vocals and  technically impressive guitar playing, brought the crowd through the band’s catelogue, which lends itself to the energetic bar rock that has given the bands mainstream success with their singles “I Am The Fire” and “I Miss The Misery”.

The moments of rock where softened by Hales moments at the piano, allowing the band to play to their respective fans through a diverse set list that showcased their techncal chops as well as Hale’s ability to strip it all down at the piano. Vocally, whether she is screaming and playing the guitar or singing from her diaphram at the piano, Hale can definitely sing and proved that live on stage.

 After another brief intermission, as the stage was rearranged and prepared for headliners Evanescence, the lights went down and the crowd erupted in a collective roar. The massive floor to ceiling triangular projection screen, center stage, flashed with images, as lead singer Lee began to sing the ethereal “Artifact / The Turn”. Offstage, Lee’s powerhouse, angelic vocals built up over the mounting electronic synthesizers before the amplifiers hanging from the arena’s ceiling exploded with the sound of crushing, grinding distorted guitars as “Broken Pieces Shine”, a new song from “The Bitter Truth”, ensued. Lee walked out on stage and didn’t stop for the next hour and a half.

The band, while focusing on mostly new songs, made sure to satisfy fans with a well rounded set list. Lee made sure to include gems from their sophomore album that never got a ton of live play, such as “Lose Control”. Epic songs like “The Change” from their third album were performed to an impeccable degree. Of course, the band made sure to include all of their hits, playing “Going Under” four songs in, “Lithium” half way through the set, “Call Me When You’re Sober” two thirds of the way through, and the massive hit “Bring Me to Life” at the very end of their seventeen song set. The love, energy, and appreciation from the crowd shook the arena the moment this song began, and it was with 100% conviction that one could say the seemingly zombie like, COVID scarred crowed had truly been brought to life, by the shared love for the music that was evidently very important to all who were there.

Evanescence cleared the stage to catch their breath, letting the crowd revel in the glory of what they had just experienced, before returning to the stage to perform two more songs for their encore. Lee took time to address the stadium of fans, thanking them for their solidarity over the years. It was after she finished speaking that Lee looked away from the crowd, down to the piano, ready to start playing, when you could see a flash of true sadness and gratitude take over her face – her appreciation and love for the fans was genuine and palpable, and it was refreshing to see a true expression of love from an artist to her fans that wasn’t contrived, but rather truly heartfelt.

“My Immortal” which is the band’s second biggest hit, closed the show, and was played to more cheers and cries of love to Lee. The piano came up from the floor, where it was set center stage, and Lee took to the keys for her solo performance of this well known song. It was a moment of nostalgia, as this song has come to represent the enormity of impact Evanescence’s music has had on people.

All in all, Evanescence put on one of the strongest shows New England has seen from them in recent years. Lee delivered her new material from “The Bitter Truth” with excellent execution. It was the diverse set list that Lee performed that satisfied die-hard fans, checking all the boxes by playing hits and the more unexpected songs from the bands catalog. Lee, vocally, was nearly flawless. The older Evanescence songs that she has been singing live for almost twenty years seem so effortless to her – she has found out how to sing them live and has them down pat.

 The arena was full of her angelic voice, which can be soft and heavenly when it needs to be and then charged with an innate power that allows her to project to the heavens. Her piano playing, which took place either at a keyboard or at the pop-up piano, was impressive and beautiful to see live, as she displayed her classically trained abilities that are so prominent in the music of Evanescence.

 The arena of the DCU Center was the sight of a true privilege of live music the night pf Jan. 20, as it was blasted full of the ethereal, powerful, mysterious, haunting, and beautiful music that is and can only be Evanescence. Live music still can be transformative, and Lee and her band proved that with this wonderful concert that allowed all of its attendees to forget about the state of the world for a few hours and to get lost in the gift that is music.