Tinley Park, Il – Florida hard rock natives Shinedown arrived in the Chicago Western suburb of Tinley Park at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, and proceeded to crank up the temperature on an otherwise already hot and humid evening. As the white curtain containing the Shinedown logo covered the front of the stage, the opening track from the bands 2018 concept album ATTENTION ATTENTION, “The Entrance”, played in the background as the house lights dimmed and the stage lights from behind the curtain started flashing against it. As the curtain fell, the band opened their set with “Devil”, their first single released from ATTENTION ATTENTION. With firebombs, lasers and lights galore, the band wasn’t about to let a little heat and humidity stand in their way this evening, as they still attacked the stage with ferocity. By the time the band started into their latest single entitled “Monsters”, they were drenched with sweat, and for lack of a better term – they were just getting warmed up.
The band themselves are extremely cognizant of their audience at all times, and they go out of their way to show their appreciation and gratitude. As the band started playing the intro to “Enemies”, lead singer Brent Smith had everyone in the audience introduce themselves to the person next to them by shaking hands, high five or say hello, having the audience members make new friends. After introductions, a 1, 2, 3, countdown, Smith, playing the role of lead singer as well as ringmaster and Pied Piper, then had the entire audience jumping up and down as the song kicked off in full force. A special moment during the concert was when the band played “I’ll Follow You Down“. Brent Smith addressed the audience, “Everyone – this is the moment where you show us the magic.” Before singing the song, he asked that the stage and spotlights be turned down and that the audience take out their lighters and cellphones. By the time the song had ended, the entire arena was lit up a sea of lights, a sight to truly behold.
Strongly supported by opening acts Broken Hands from the UK, English trio Dinosaur Pile-Up, and Los Angeles rockers Badflower, Shinedown played a good mix of songs from throughout their 16-year, 6 album discography. While Smith and the band roamed front to back and side to side, they made sure that nobody felt ignored during the show. This included audience members further back from the front of the stage, as drummer Barry Kerch, bassist Eric Bass, singer Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers made their way from the main stage to and area between the back of the assigned seating, and the lawn, as each member then climbed into their own personal stage. Zach Myers was perched to the left, Barry Kerch settled into his drumkit “fishbowl” as Brent Smith called it, right in the center. Eric Bass then climbed atop his own perch on the right of the stage and Singer Brent Smith stood front and center of the lawn. The band played a semi-acoustic set that consisted of “Amaryllis”, “Misfits” and “Save Me”. The band then teased a small intro of Stairway to Heaven, as Brent Smith introduced the last semi-acoustic song that opened a lot of doors for them commercially, “Second Chance”.
After the band made their way back to the main stage, they wrapped up their evening with their cover of the Lynard Skynard classic, “Simple Man”, several of the band members who had previously been wearing long sleeves, suit vests, and ties, ditched their stage attire for sleeveless shirts and t-shirts as they wound down their set with “Sound of Madness” and “Brilliant”. Each song the band played was joined in by the audience singing, jumping up and down, and fists pumping in the air. Shinedown’s music isn’t just for hard rockers. It touches a vastly wide audience, as was evident this evening with those in attendance ranging between adolescent to not-so-adolescent in nature, who also came out to hear their radio-friendly hits. As the night finished off and the house lights came up, the explosions and firebombs on stage ceased, Shinedown left their audience hot, sweaty and satisfied.
BROKEN HANDS Gallery
Broken Hands Setlist
Split in Two
Light Up
You Can Feel It
Meteor
Friends House
Wrong Track
Broken Hands Online
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DINOSAUR PILE-UP Gallery
Dinosaur Pile-Up Setlist
Arizona Waiting
Round the Bend
Celebrity Mansions
11:11
Thrash Metal Cassette
Back Foot
Dinosaur Pile-Up Online
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BADFLOWER Gallery
Badflower Setlist
x ANA x
Drop Dead
White Noise
Die
Promise Me
The Jester
Herion
Animal
Ghost
Badflower Online
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SHINEDOWN Gallery
Shinedown Setlist
ATTENTION ATTENTION Intro
Devil
Diamond Eyes (Boom-lay Boom-Lay Boom)
Enemies
Monsters
Black Soul
I’ll Follow You
Unity
45
Bully
Solo Stage Semi-Acoustic Set
Amaryllis
Misfits
Save Me
Second Chance
Simple Man
Cut The Cord
Get Up
Sound of Madness
Brilliant
Shinedown Online
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Show Date: 7/14/2019
