Shinedown Unleashed An Inferno In Minnesota

Shinedown are blazing through North America on the ‘Dance, Kid, Dance Tour.’ A packed Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota was waiting for the quartet to return to the state and Shinedown did not disappoint. In direct support was Bush and Morgan Wade.

 

 

Shinedown invaded the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the ‘Dance, Kid, Dance Tour.’ This run is raging across North America and will hit thirty-four different cities before it concludes in in late August. The spring tour featured Beartooth as direct support with Bush finishing out the tour. Morgan Wade also is performing on the tour. 

 

 

Morgan Wade took to the stage first. I immediately loved the Kiss shirt she was wearing. I had not heard of her or any of the music she has put out.  She is a native of Floyd, Virginia and is listed as an American country singer. She has four albums out with the latest coming in 2024 called ‘Obsessed.’ She had a short thirty minute set that included seven songs, which included, a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Despite being labeled as a country artist, there was no doubt, that she has crossed over into pop and and even rock. Her performance was really strong as she has the ability to sing her songs like a storyteller would. There is something very down to earth with her and despite being in an area, it was a very intimate feeling. The closing tribute to Black Sabbath by playing a part of “Iron Man” was very cool. 

 

 

Bush was next and hit the stage with “Scars.” A song of the newly released album called ‘I Beat Loneliness.’ The man standing at center stage needed no introduction. Gavin Rossdale, vocalist and guitarist, took control of the stage and grabbed the attention of the crowd. Let’s flashback to the mid-nineties  when the album ‘Sixteen Stone’ took the the United States by storm. With numerous top ten hits the band was a mainstay on MTV and radio. Despite all the success I had yet to see Bush live and I was excited to finally see this band and hear some of those monster hits they have in their catalog. The adrenaline was injected into the areas as soon as they went into “Machinehead.” That song sounded as big today as it did decades ago and certainly was a highlight for me. I had heard the third song they played, it is another off the new album, called “The Land of Milk and Honey” and had enjoyed hearing the single when it dropped and it sounded even better live. A cool moment came during the song “Flowers on a Grave” when Rossdale walked through the crowd giving fans a cool moment to see him up close. The band overall sounded brilliant. That grunge sound thumped through arena the entire set. When “Glycerin” hit, it was Rossdale and his guitar, playing the song with everybody in the crowd joining in and the closer “Comedown” capped a great performance. 

 

 

 

When you go to a Shinedown concert, you can expect a fantastic show. But also, expect the unexpected, you never quite know what they are going to unleash. Don’t think anyone expected to watch a figure dressed in black dancing to Peter Gabriel’s song “Sledgehammer” and add to it, that figure has a TV for a head. Shortly after another figure comes on stage and has a remote control and starts to change channels on the TV that is on the backdrop. As the channel changed and different snippets of shows came up, it showed the evolution of television. You saw ‘I Love Lucy,’ ‘The Monkees’ to the birth of MTV, ‘Sanford and Son,’ ‘The Jeffersons’ and all the way to current shows like  ‘Stranger Things.’ And then complete darkness., until in red, you see “Shinedown Presents” and then “The Dance, Kid, Dance Tour” is lit up on the backdrop and the fans went crazy.

 

 

The band cranked into the title track of the upcoming new album “Dance, Kid, Dance,’ then “Devour” and “Cut the Cord.” I have never seen so much pyro and fire thrown out over those three songs in my life. The stage looked like an inferno and as flames shot up from the floor and from the top of the stage.  The stage was extended way out with different platforms that ramps that lead back to the main stage. Vocalist Brent Smith in the center, guitarist Zach Myers to his left and bassist Eric Bass to his right. Drummer Barry Kerch seemed about a mile away from the rest of the band as he was stationed on the main stage. 

 

 

 

That intensity, that this band is known for, is exactly what makes Shinedown special. They understand that a show this size, isn’t just about the music, its about the intangibles that separate artists and bands. Anybody playing this size venue has the songs to make it happen. They have climbed the ladder and have a tremendous fan base that can fill an arena. For me, its all about the show and what you give fans that have paid expensive prices to see them. Shinedown never lets fans down. They give it everything they have, sound amazing, and offer up various staging and pyro that makes every tour so unique. The reality is, you don’t even need to like Shinedown to enjoy the show they put on. I was at best, a casual fan, until I started seeing them live, I developed a wholeI new appreciation for them and  it made me want to go back through the albums and rediscover the band all over again. 

 

 

 

What can I say about the show and that hasn’t been said before. The band was fantastic, played fifteen songs while moving around the various sections of the stage. They work so hard to bring every fan into the show and making them part of it. There is a deep appreciation that band has for its fans and the feeling is given right back to them. Some of my favorites of the night was “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom),” “Enemies,” “Devil,” “Planet Zero” and the new song “Three Six Five” which will be on the upcoming new album. It was simply another great show from a band that knows how to do it and every time they come back to Minnesota I will be there.