LIVE REVIEW
Supporting Alter Bridge at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena 20/12/19
9/10
If I had to sum-up Shinedown’s live show in one word it’d be THEATRICAL. The US post-grunge, hard rockers brought fans out in force to support Alter Bridge at the Cardiff Motorpoint arena on 20 December 2019 with a 50/50 even split of band tees amongst an excitable and lively crowd. Although the event listed on the tickets was labelled as Alter Bridge live in Cardiff, Shinedown’s sheer scale of their stage show could’ve convinced any onlooker that it was their headline concert instead. Especially going by the loud, wild and consistent crowd participation throughout their entire set in comparison to a fairly boring, uninspired crowd of AB fans, who mainly watched a seated Myles Kennedy sing through his band’s collection of hits.
Official tour poster 2019
One scanned look across the long queues saw a positive mix between older rockers and a new generation of fans. It’s great to see that although there may be age differences between individuals, fashion is never compromised by that. Old and young, long hair, short hair, coloured hair or no hair, everyone looked a part of something great. The rock audience typically consists of dark clothing, denim and leather jackets with patches and badges a-plenty, tattoos, piercings, chains and a whole lot of jewellery.
Before the run of November and December 2019 Alter bridge dates, Shinedown had released a widely successful new album titled, Attention Attention (May 2018). So it was no surprise to see the simplistic, yet poignant yellow exclamation mark from their latest album artwork strategically placed around their set to be seen from far and wide across the entire hall of the arena. At 8 pm the band burst onto the stage in a wall of fire, the curtain dropped and the 2018 track Devil kicked in. As well as all the screaming after the build-up and anticipation from the intro tape, some of the audience members (mainly females) were immediately upon the shoulders of others trying to snap the perfect picture, horns in the air and singing along. The aforementioned was brilliantly deafening.
Shinedown’s album Attention Attention was released May 2018
Stylistically, the band made sure that in promotion of their newest record they’d wear matching outfits featuring yellow and black military-style costumes (stand to ‘attention’ as they say in military terms). Singer, Brent Smith, wore black eyeliner which contrasted well with his yellow and black attire, a ringmaster-eske formal blazer, a simple, yellow bold stripe down the stitching of his trousers and a yellow tie. His outfit was borderline Butlins but with a perfect and great intent. The lighting show also matched the members with vibrant and moving golden-yellow tones which flickered quickly to the faster tracks that Shinedown played.
During Enemies, Brent ended up in the audience with a single, white spotlight picking him out from the thousands of fans that surrounded him. Upon his return to the stage he spoke to the crowd: ‘this ain’t no funeral, this is a fucking rock show of 2019. Let’s get on it, take a deep breath’ (he paused) ‘now JUMP!’ The entirety of the standing area flew in the air, literally shaking the ground whilst the guitars, drums, and bass lit the spirit of the audience on fire. The band-to-audience participation didn’t stop there and throughout their entire set, Shinedown was unbelievably talented at consistently engaging with the crowd. Other nice touches included; getting every person to take a second look at one another, bump fists or shake hands, simply to promote enjoying the show together to spread positive energy, which is an ethos they stand for.
Shinedown live on stage during the Attention Attention Tour
As to be expected, there were mosh pits a-plenty but it was nice to see the audience interact just as well emotionally for the softer tracks such as Second Chance. The arena darkened and without prompt, phone torches and lighters lit up the arena in hundreds of twinkling lights, it was quite mesmerizing and the band reacted well to that kind of support. Especially Brent, who wrote the song about his struggles with addiction.
Shinedown prepare for an excitingly busy year in 2020
Shinedown performed plenty of their hits from albums such as The Sound of Madness, as well as a satisfying amount of newer tracks. A venue of that size can often and drastically affect the intimacy between a live act and their audience but this band knew exactly how to be energetic, engaging and memorable enough to put on a fantastic rock show leaving the crowd screaming for more.
Written by Alex Alicia Media
Shinedown – Monsters (Official Music Video)
Shinedown – Enemies (Official Music Video)
Image Credits:
Featured Image – Courtesy of Altrevolt.com (Jason Bullinger for Alternative Revolt)
Tour Poster – Google Images
Album Artwork – Courtesy of Shinedown Official
Attention Attention Tour Image – Courtesy of Loudwire (Photography watermark featured on the image)
Shinedown Promo Band Image – Courtesy of Ticketmaster
Music Videos – Courtesy of Shinedown Official / YouTube
