Shinedown
The Espy 24.2.2010

Setlist:

Sound of Madness
Devour
Save Me
If You Only Knew
Burning Bright
Cyanide Sweet Tooth
Breaking Inside
45 / Interlude (Dock of the Bay)
Sin With a Grin
Crow and the Butterfly
Heroes
What A Shame
Zach solo
LAW Medley (Left Out / Fly)

Encore:

Simple Man
Second Chance

Shinedown’s second only headline concert in Australia is in front of a packed Espy crowd on a great night in Melbourne, and all I can say is that these guys are an exceptional live band if you get the chance to see them. The sound is almost perfect tonight and sonically as a live act Shinedown exceeds all expectations.

Starting with the heavy hitters ‘Sound of Madness’ and ‘Devour’ from the new CD sets things up nicely. There’s so much energy on stage and from the off you get the feeling these guys are going to put on something special. By the time we get to ‘Cyanide Sweet Tooth’ which is probably my favourite from their catalogue (all searing 80’s hard rock tinged guitar and soaring chorus) I already feel I’ve had my money’s worth.

There’s a good mix in the crowd tonight too which is good to see from young kids to grizzly old rock and roll Granddads and you get the feeling that those who have made it will be telling everyone they know tomorrow. Shinedown are still a bit of an underground band here in Australia abut you feel that they won’t be for long if only people check them out at the current Soundwave touring festival where tonight’s set is reduced to a powerful package of songs.

There’s plenty of chat from the stage and it’s not your usual banter either, not only do you get the feeling that Shinedown is a bunch of genuinely nice guys you also sense that there is a bit more complexity to them than most. The introduction to ‘What a Shame’ is particularly touching, dedicated to all those who have lost someone they know to cancer.

Brent Smith is a true front man as well as an exceptional singer and he really knows how to get a crowd engaged with the band, he has us jumping, shaking hands with each other and feeling the love to counter the fact that ‘there is more hate in the World than we know what to do with’.

‘45’ has a great a Capella ending and we are constantly rocking it up then easing it down and the tempo changes just about allow the crowd a breath.

Elsewhere in the set there are plenty of other highlights, the ‘Dock of the Bay’ interlude just underlines that Brent Smith has an incredible voice, but in reality there is not a weak link in the band and it shows time and time again. Hell they even throw some great shapes up there. Skynyrd's 'Simple Man' is majestic as an encore and really adds to an already fine song.

At the end of the show it’s also rather nice to find out that the band are doing a free signing session and even though we can’t stay for that we hear some good stories from some very grateful fans about how genuine and cool the band were with their time. I think we will be seeing these guys back over here soon and next time you really should be there.  These guys are the real deal, and a great night was had by all. Best show of 2010 so far and that's up against some pretty heavy competition.

Mark