Shinedown bring the Sound of Madness to the Midwest
The 2nd night of this powerhouse tour in Madison, WI featured P.O.D., Three Days Grace, and Shinedown.
Opening the show was P.O.D., who are riding a wave of success from their last album, Murdered Love. Always bringing a high energy to their live shows and singer, Sonny Sandoval throwing himself across the stage gave the crowd a reason to let lose. They performed over a 30 minute set that featured 8 songs; it was just the right amount to get the show ready.
Up next was Three Days Grace - a band that could easily headline the show but with the recent departure of singer Adam Gontier, who has been replaced with My Darkest Days singer, Matt Walst, has a lot to prove. Opening the set with Chalk Outline, off the new album, Transit of Venus, allowed Matt to work himself into the crowds embrace. With a huge catalog of arena worthy songs and a loyal fan base, Matt proved his place.
While Matt’s voice is not as gravely and a higher octave then Adam’s, his energy and passion to please the crowd is shown through and gets a A+ for his effort. Matt’s brother, bassist Brad Walst, seemed possessed on stage as he stalked with eyes rolled in the back of his head as he slammed on his Bass. Barry Stock on guitar was in fine form as he threw up his guitar in the air and a burst of flames shot from behind him. Neil Sandserson proved his skills on drums when he played a drum solo along with Dani Rosenoer on piano.
With a ton of energy 3DG played over an hour and included songs, Just Like You, Pain, The Good Life, Never too Late. As they ended the show, they brought out Shawn Hamm, former Neverset singer to rap/sing Break Stuff and ended the night with Riot. I think time will determine fans response to the new 3DG as well as time for Matt’s vocals to set in and to the 3DG style. But if Madison’s show is any indication, the future looks bright.
As the stage was being changed over, a huge Shinedown Banner hung in front of the stage. As the curtain fell, it revealed a large stage with a two side riser and extended past drummer Barry Kerch, who happened to be the only member on stage as they played Enemies. Singer Brent Smith, Guitarist Zach Myers, and Bassist Eric Bass were on a small stage at the other end of the stage, giving the back crowd an exclusive performance. They came back to the main stage to play Devour, Unity, The Crow & The Butterfly.
The set list was geared more towards new fans, as it only included 3 songs off the first 2 albums, which seem to fit perfect for this Arena tour. Before I’ll Follow You, there was a video of Brent speaking the lyrics before Eric hit the opening piano keys and the band played. Eric and Zach seemed to be all over the place as they ran from one of the stage to the next with boundless energy to match the pyro and fireworks going off on stage. Barry’s effortless drumming on Amaryllis showcased why he is always considered for top drummer awards as he pounded away on his drum kit.
The set ended with the sing-along, 45 that left the crowd begging for more as they came back for a 4 song encore.
Starting with Sound of Madness, Second Chance, and for Simple Man, Brent and Zach went to the back stage once again and wowed the crowd. There is no doubt that Brent’s vocals are at their strongest as he finished 45; that left goosebumps.
As Bully started, a video of Amanda Todd telling her story, who was bullied to the point she took her life.
Bully has been a landmark single for Shinedown and allowed topics of this nature to come to the forefront of society.
As the night ended too soon for many fans, leaving a warm feeling in everyone as they walked out in the bitter cold of Madison, WI.
The 2nd leg of the tour has started and will be going till May.
The photos & review is dedicated to a good friend & loyal Shinedown fan Shawn Cooper, who passed away last year from Cancer. I know upstairs he was on the rail enjoying and taking pictures.
