Shinedown at The House Of Blues, Showboat Casino in Atlantic City, NJ
Review by: Debby Alaimo
Photos by:Bonnie Lawerance
Venue: House Of Blues Atlantic City
More Show Photos: HERE
Meet The Band:
Lead singer: Brent Smith
Lead Guitar: Zach Myers
Drums: Barry Kerch
Bass Guitar: Eric Bass
This past Saturday, Shinedown returned to familiar territory, The House of Blues at Showboat Casino in City, NJ. Although the band has been around for over a decade and they have four albums under their belt, I have only come to know them in recent years. This was my first time seeing the guys perform live and I had no idea exactly what to expect. All I can say is after this weekend, they certainly gained another fan as I was truly blown away by their performance. I had no idea what I was missing. Please allow me to take you on a brief journey through what I experienced that night.
The crowd is anxiously awaiting Shinedown to take the stage. The lights go down, the excitement starts to build, the fans start screaming, the band members take their places, and then BOOM!! The lights go up and the crowd goes wild as lead guitarist Zach Myers strums his first chord. The guys all come out looking very sharp with suits and ties. They begin their set by opening with the super strong song “Enemies”. This gets everyone pumped and ready to rock. Frontman Brent Smith makes his way across the stage and you can just feel his energy right through you. He is a powerhouse. Immediately after they finish the first song, Brent engages the crowd making everyone feel very welcome. He acknowledges those fans who are coming to see them for the first time, asks the crowd to take a look at the people around them, and requests for everyone to shake each others hands. You could just tell it was going to be an incredible night.
They continued on by playing a terrific variety of songs from of each of their albums such as the heavier tune “Devour”, the title track from the latest album “Amaryllis”, and “Unity”, as well as “The Crow And The Butterfly”, “Save Me”, “Sound Of Madness” and of course the fan favorites “I’ll Follow You” and “Second Chance”. The audience seemed to be very much involved with every song by clapping and rocking along, holding up lighted cell phones during “45”, pumping fists during “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)” and even taking over the singing along to the line “It’s 4:03 and I can’t sleep” during their big hit “If You Only Knew”. They even did amazing covers of both Lynard Skynard’s “Simple Man” and Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay”. They closed out the night with “Bully” and completely tore down the house.
Earlier in the evening Brent made two quotes that would not be forgotten by anyone in attendance that night:
First, “This is was what a REAL rock show looks like” and second,”Rock and Roll is not a genre- It’s a way of life”. I can tell you first hand how right he is and can tell that everyone who was there would certainly agree. The entire band played an incredible show. Overall it was an amazing experience and I highly recommend seeing these guys next time they come to your town.
Set List
Enemies
Devour
Unity
The Crow & The Butterfly
Save Me
I’ll Follow You
Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
If You Only Knew
Amaryllis
45
Encore:
Sound of Madness
Second Chance
Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Bully