Shinedown has been on a steady rise for the past 16 years, growing from a support act in the club scene to a worldwide headliner. As their latest single, “Monsters”, became their 14th #1 rock single, the band hit the summer road with the biggest production of their stellar career. Vocalist Brent Smith and drummer Barry Kerch have been on this journey together for close to 2 decades, and once guitarist Zach Myers and bassist/keyboardist Eric Bass joined for the making of “The Sound of Madness”, their performances have skyrocketed.
On Sunday, July 21, 2019, Shinedown brought their Attention Attention tour to Fivepoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. The opening bands were Broken Hands, Dinosaur Pile-up, and one of the hottest new bands around, Badflower. Zach Myers even graced the stage for one Badflower song.
Shinedown has always delivered sonically and emotionally with their audience, but this tour takes things to a new level. Specifically, the higher level seating. At Fivepoint Amphitheatre, the “lawn” seats are actually stadium-style metal bleachers. Halfway through the set, the boys disappeared from the main stage and suddently emerged on 4 small stages that were set up in the crowd, amongst the ecstatic fans. They played 4 songs from this intimate location, interacting with the crowd and each other in between songs.
As Shinedown made their way back to the main stage, a recording of Linkin Park’s “Numb” played with a photo of Chester Bennington, who committed suicide on July 20, 2017, which is also Chris Cornell’s birthday. Zach and Brent then performed a dramatic version of “Black Hole Sun” as a tribute to Cornell, followed by a full band electric version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”. Then it was back to the Shinedown catalog, featuring lasers, fire, and creative video. This was yet another inspiring, hopeful show from one of the best bands you will ever experience.
Olivia Wilde Makes Directorial Debut in Fresh Comedy Booksmart