Shinedown holds Simpsonville’s Attention

Brent Smith of Shinedown at CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville South Carolina

By: Michael Bragg (Photo Gallery & Review) of MJBragg Photography

Simpsonville, SC (6/23/19) – Currently out on their Attention Attention World Tour multi-platinum artist Shinedown made their second stop of the run in Simpsonville, SC. With guests openers Badflower, Dinosaur Pile-Up and Broken Hands sharing the bill fans filled in early to the CCNB Amphitheater. Evening storms may have caused a few delays with technical issues but the show managed to keep schedule.

Broken Hands

English rockers Broken Hands kicked off the night first. Playing a 30min set of songs from their upcoming album “Split In Two” to be released on August 9th the group introduced new fans to their raw rock sound.

Dinosaur Pile-Up

Dinosaur Pile-Up followed up next with a songs from their recent June 7th album release of “Celebrity Mansions.” Having a sound reminiscent of the early 90’s Seattle grunge scene the 3 piece band had a surprisingly full sound. “Back Foot” was a standout song with its rocking grooves and catchy chorus.

Badflower

Out promoting their new “Ok, I’m Sick” album released earlier this year in February the Los Angeles based rock band Badflower is providing direct support for the main act on the current leg of the tour. The band has recently gained much notoriety with their hit single “Ghost.” Standing center stage lead singer Josh Katz took a moment to take in the crowd before playing their first note. Joined by Joey Morrow (Guitar), Alex Espiritu (Bass) and Anthony Sonetti (Drums) the band wasted no time getting into their high energy performance. With songs like “White Noise,” “The Jester” and “Animal” the group quickly grabbed the attention of the crowd. Giving a fresh breath of originality into the rock scene Badflower does a great job of bringing raw emotion to their songs with use of powerful lyric content and musical dynamics matched by a stage show you can’t take your eyes off of. As the band entered into their last song Josh made mention that the group will soon be announcing their first headlining tour. News that was well received with many fans in the crowd seemingly eager to see more of the group.

Shinedown

As what sounded like a canon going off the white curtain dropped and Shinedown began their set. Having followed these guys from days when they played small clubs it’s pretty cool to see the success of the group now playing to a packed amphitheater. As the bands opening songs “Devil” and “Diamond Eyes” closed out frontman Brent Smith took time to say thanks for continued support as he and fellow band members Barry Kerch (Drums), Zach Myers (Guitar) and Eric Bass (Bass) shook hands with fans, event staff and photographers along the front of the stage.

Currently touring in support of their 6th studio album “Attention Attention,” giving it’s namesake to the tour, the group included several new songs through out the set such as “Monsters” and “Black Soul.” However, the show had a mixed array of songs spanning the groups 18yr career from “45” off their debut album “Leave A Whisper” to other notable hits “Cut The Cord” from the “Threat To Survival” album and “Bully” from “Amaryllis.”

One thing that has stayed consistent with Shinedown through the years is the way they interact with fans and make them feel like a part of the show. Encouraging strangers to acknowledge each other for the first time to splitting the crowd in a bar of 100 people to filled arenas and walking from stage to the back of the venue. With a different set up this evening featuring 4 separate platforms spread through out the amphitheatre the band joined the crowd mid set for a stripped down acoustic performance of 4 songs. Toning down the high energy show for a moment Shinedown featured songs like “Call Me” and “I Dare You” amongst some comical banter between members and fans.

Returning to the stage Brent spoke of the recent passing of Eric Bass father in law asking fans to join him in singing their popular cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic “Simple Man.” As the final notes of the song played out Smith ran side stage to give Eric’s wife a hug as the crowd chanted her name “Kelly.”

Brent also took time to introduce the song “Get Up” with a statement about how each person should value themselves and your on this Earth for a reason. He told how the whole new album was recorded here in the state of South Carolina as well at Eric’s personal studio in Charleston before closing the show with “Sound of Madness” and “Brilliant.”

Shinedown’s current run of tour dates extend to the end of June before joining with Papa Roach and Asking Alexandria later this year.

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Copyright – Michael Bragg/MJBragg Photography

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