Sparks, NV (8/9/26) – What an explosive night of music! The sparks were quite literally flying as Shinedown
brought the “Dance, Kid, Dance: Act II” tour to the Nugget Event Center in Sparks, Nevada.
My ears are still ringing from the blistering performance. Now that I think about it, my
voice is still hoarse from all the singing and shouting. My face displays a lingering flush
from the heat of the day. Or perhaps it’s from the amazing amount of pyrotechnics.
With a max capacity of 8,500, the Nugget Event Center is an outdoor amphitheater that
offered a more intimate experience than many of the venues on their current tour that
seat 30-50% more attendees. Being much smaller in comparison, this particular show
did not have the multi-stage production. Being an outdoor venue there was also a strict
curfew in place. Neither of those took away from the amazing performance of the band
or the bombastic pyro display.
In this market, Shinedown had the alternative metal band From Ashes To New and the
progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria as support. From Ashes To New put on an
absolutely blistering set in the 100-degree heat. They had the entire crowd amped up
and singing along to every song.
During their 7-song set, From Ashes To New performed ‘Drag Me’, their first song to hit
Number One on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. They also worked in fan favorites
‘Crazy’ and ‘Through It All’. The band also hinted at a headline tour coming through very
soon, to thunderous applause.
From Ashes To New wowed the crowd, performing an amazing, yet abbreviated set. In
talking to some friends that were also in attendance, they gained quite a few fans who
had not heard them before.
From Ashes To New are:
Matt Brandyberry, Lance Dowdle, Mat Madiro, Danny Case, Jimmy Bennett
From Ashes To New Setlist:
New Disease
Nightmare
Heartache
Drag Me
Barely Breathing
Die for You
Panic
Coheed and Cambria took the stage next, keeping the sweat-soaked crowd on their
feet, dancing and singing along. They closed their 10-song set with their biggest hit to
date, ‘Welcome Home’. A song that’s chock full of super heavy guitar riffs, complete with
frontman Claudio Sanchez on an amazing double neck guitar.
Coheed and Cambria Setlist:
A Favor House Atlantic
Searching for Tomorrow
Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)
Shoulders
Blind Side Sonny
Delirium Trigger
Here to Mars
Here We Are Juggernaut
The Liars Club
Welcome Home
Shinedown kicked off their set with a bang, performing “Safe and Sound” from the
brand-new album ‘Eight’ that was released on May 29th . The hard hitting ‘Devour’ and
‘Diamond Eyes’ solidified the fact that the band were absolutely intent on burning up the
stage. Aside from a few poignant moments the band was full throttle the entire evening.
Speaking of poignant, one of the most emotionally touching moments was just before
“Three Six Five”, when Brent Smith said, “I wonder sometimes as human beings why
we have this interesting relationship with death. Why is that? Is it the fear of the
unknown? Or is it the question of what’s next? So I ask you, all of you here tonight, if
you’ve recently lost somebody in your life that meant the world to you, whether it was an
acquaintance, a friend, a family member, and they have passed away and they are no
longer on this earth, I want you to raise your hand.” As thousands of hands raised
towards the sky, including Brent’s own hand, he went on to say, “Now what do we do
when somebody passes away? To comfort our own we say, oh I’m so sorry for your
loss. It was too soon. I can’t believe they’re gone.” Brent went on to ask, “What if they’re
not gone? What if they’re everywhere? What if they’re here right now?”
Smith went on to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m gonna ask you to trust us at this
moment in time. I’m going to ask you to have something called faith. Not from a spiritual
or a biblical sense, but from a human standpoint. Because what I want you to do, I want
you to think about that person, and I want you to channel them, right here, right now.
But you’ve got to give yourself some grace, and you’ve gotta have faith, but I’m gonna
show you how we’re gonna do this. Everyone, I want you to close your eyes. I want you
to bow your head. I’ll do it with you.”
Talk about getting a case of the chill bumps! Y’all, I swear to you, there were full grown,
bearded, tatted up men with tears in their eyes. I suppose that’s more than simply
poignant. That’s incredibly powerful!
Another captivating moment was the entire crowd raising their lighter or phone’s
flashlight during ‘A Symptom of Being Human’. Though living completely separate lives,
each and every individual in the amphitheater banded together to sing in unison. It was
truly a spectacular sight to bear witness to.
Anyone that’s been to Shinedown show before knows that there’s bound to be some
sort of comedy. Zach Myers (guitar) did not disappoint. As he informed the crowd about
the local curfew, he noticed people watching the concert from the balconies of the
surrounding high-rise condos, making it a point to ask them, very jokingly, “is it because
of you we have to be done by 10 o’clock?” That drew raucous cheers, laughs, and
applause.
The only boos of the night came at the mention of the curfew. To which Zach said, “don’t
blame us, or the venue. Write a letter to your mayor” To which Brent stated, “we don’t
get political.” In true Zach Myers fashion, “write a letter to John Mayer and ask him not
to pull the plug on Shinedown.”
Aside from Zach’s antics, he also performed a brilliant cover of ‘Kryptonite’ (3 Doors
Down) in tribute to Brad Arnold who we lost on February 7th of this year. There were
8,000 voices coming together to honor the late singer. Zach Myers also addressed the
absence of bassist Eric Bass who temporarily stepped away from touring to seek help
for his mental health. A matter that the band and Shinedown fans fully support. Myers
also expressed deep gratitude to Josh Sturm (bass) and Zack Mack “for learning 45
songs in four days so that we didn’t have to cancel this tour”, drawing thunderous
applause from the crowd.
No Shinedown show would be complete without their cover of ‘Simple Man’ (Lynyrd
Skynyrd). To see and hear this performed live is absolutely amazing. It truly sounds
even better and more powerful. Brushing incredibly close to curfew, the band ended the
set with ‘Sound of Madness’ and ‘Second Chance’
Before the band left the stage, in an act of incredible class, Brent asked the crowd to
give up some applause for everyone that made the shows happen. He delivered his
own thank you to everyone from the local crews, security, police, venue staff,
stagehands to the truck drivers, DJ, and supporting bands.
Even if, when asked by Brent Smith to rate the crowd, Barry Kerch (drums) gave us a
whopping five out of ten, and Zach Meyers graciously gave us a six, I rate this
Shinedown performance a solid 10 out of 10.
The night was filled with high octane rock, incredible energy, Brent Smith’s incredibly
powerful vocals, spectacular crowd engagement, and deep emotional connection.
Shinedown delivers a high caliber performance every single time! It’s a show you
definitely don’t want to miss.
Shinedown is:
Brent Smith – Vocals, Zach Meyers – Guitars, Eric Bass – Bass, Barry Kerch – Drums
Josh Sturm – Bass (tour), Zack Mack – Keyboards/Guitar (tour)
Shinedown Setlist:
Safe and Sound
Devour
Diamond Eyes
How Did You Love
Three Six Five
Devil
Searchlight
Enemies
Call Me
I’ll Follow You
If You Only Knew
Planet Zero
Young Again
A Symptom of Being Human
Cut the Cord
Monsters
Kryptonite (3 Doors Down cover)
Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Sound of Madness
Second Chance
Do not altar photos
Copyright: Chris Couture Photography
