Shinedown released their latest album ATTENTION ATTENTION on May 4th, and by this they also took us into a new era for the band with a visual presentation in shape of yellow and black colors, big, big exclamation marks, uniforms and another set of strong tracks throughout the record.
The rock band jumped into the new era and right down on some absolutely great stages on their newly finished European tour taking them both to some special intimate club shows and massive festival performances. I joined in as they stopped by the well sold out, maximum filled, and indeed sweaty, joyful venue Pumpehuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier on this summer.
I was welcomed into the heat with a blast of great classic rocks songs playing in a volume that truly honors the quality music over the venue’s quite alright stereo system and it was just a question of seconds before spread out singalongs started out around me, way ahead of the live music to begin.
When the crowd had found the way up in front of the stage and some lights occasionally lit up the audiences there you could spot out a majority of Shinedown celebration shirts, besides pieces of the new merch line that had just been purchased and put right on while walking into the concert hall, not forgetting to mention that a few other people seemed to have given an extra thought to wear yellow shirts to fit with the latest album theme color. In the first row you could also view a Danish national flag with the handwritten appreciation”THANK YOU !” hanging over the barriers towards the stage.
Lead vocalist Brent Smith, bass player Eric Bass and drummer Barry Kerch entered the stage alongside the guitarist Josh Sturm that had joined the team for a short time. Their main guitarist Zach Myers had taken a well-deserved break from the tour for the birth of his child, and so the band had looked out for another guitarist to bring along for the shows around the time, including this night in Copenhagen. While Zach’s stage persona and guitar skills were missed there, it was a fine pleasure to be introduced to Josh Sturm and watch him perform with the band. He fit right into the team with a great amount of high kick jumps and the ace riffs that is needed for Shinedown’s sound.
Dressed in their ATTENTION ATTENTION themed uniforms each band member presented the songs with a charismatic strength consisting of high jumps, tough hits on the drums, plenty of fierce poses and grimaces, and up-close walks up over the barrier and into the crowd, besides some good talks and other positively spirited signs of enjoyment to perform. Something I also tried to capture in the bunch of energetic photos you can see below.
The set list was well-mixed with tracks from latest album ATTENTION ATTENTION, 2015 album Threat To Survival, 2012 album Amaryllis, 2008 album The Sound Of Madness, and back to 2003 Deluxe version album Leave A Whisper with the single Simple Man played captivating beautifully by Brent Smith and Eric Bass on acoustic guitar supported by a goose bumps provoking strong singalong from the loyal crowd. Perfectly proving the impact that the band leaves with the listeners, the great connection they got with the audience, and again the fact that live music brings us something else you can only experience there together, in the moment. The setlist also contained the new track Brilliant that was given an exciting live premiere. It worked absolutely well live after a short rocky start and restart that live music sometimes bring. By the way – Amen to the smaller imperfections live music can bring like this, to remind us that we are listening to music in action and not a tape at concerts.
I may have told Brent that the concert in Copenhagen was smashing after the show had ended, and while at it let him know that a more positive downside was that the band should play more songs from the list of great tunes they got though, of which he let me know that the band will be back soon.. That is something gig-goers over here can look forward to, and in the meanwhile I recommend the rest of you to go watch the band perform out there.
Shinedown is currently back in the US, reunited with Zach Myers on guitar, and on an extensive tour across the states with Godsmack, besides a few more festivals appearances and their own headline shows. You can keep updated on where to catch them live through their website www.shinedown.com.
| By: Jules Faurschou | Exclusively for @Music, Why Not! | All Rights Reserved |
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