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West Valley City • In the lead-up to Friday night's show at the Maverik Center, Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch said of the spectacle to come, "We're blowing everything out. There's pyro, explosions, lights galore. … We spend all our money on production, so it's a lot of fun!"
He wasn't lying.
It was a visual feast to be sure, though that only served to augment an animated, crisp-sounding performance from the band. Lead singer Brent Smith was chatty and charming, guitarist Zach Myers and bassist Eric Bass were animated throughout and bolstered the performance with their backing vocals and occasional turns on keyboards, and Kerch provided a ferocious, rhythmic beat all night.
The only quibble anyone could've had with the show is that, due to co-headlining with Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown's set was a relatively short hour and 20 minutes, meaning plenty of hit songs were omitted from the set, such as "Heroes," "45," "I Dare You," and most glaringly, "Devour," to say nothing of the myriad anthemic songs from the new album, "Threat to Survival," that didn't get played but would be perfectly at home in a longer set, such as "It All Adds Up," "Dangerous," "Oblivion," "Black Cadillac" and "Misfits."
Opening Song • "Cut the Cord," the lead single from the new album, set the tone for evening at "fast and loud," as the crowd happily fist-pumped to Smith's howling vocals.
Crowd Favorite • The quasi-ballad "Second Chance" from the 2008 album "The Sound of Madness" remains as popular today as ever, and the crowd not only got the cell phone videos going en masse, but sang along enthusiastically to every word. Their cover of Skynyrd's "Simple Man," featuring just Smith on vocals and Myers on an amplified acoustic six-string, also proved popular.
Highlight • Another new track, "How Did You Love," a mid-tempo, ear-worm anthem espousing the notion that in the end, who and how we loved is all that matters in life, may have been initially unfamiliar to some in the audience, but quickly won them over and seems destined to be a staple of future setlists.
In The Crowd • Several times throughout the evening, Smith made mention of 7,000 people in attendance, though he may have underestimated the figure, as the Maverik Center appeared to be near three-quarters capacity.
Best Banter • Right before launching into "Simple Man," Smith teased that Myers was ditching them afterwards to join another artist in the Salt Lake valley that night: "He's not gonna be with us after the show 'cause he's gonna be hanging out with Garth Brooks," he joked to the audience. After the crowd booed quite lustily, Smith turned to Myers and asked, "You gonna play 'em some Garth Brooks?" And when Myers strummed a few countrified notes, prompting yet more booing, Smith quickly intervened, telling him, "Mr. Myers, play 'em the song they want."
Twitter: @esotericwalden —
Setlist
1. Cut the Cord
2. Fly From The Inside
3. If You Only Knew
4. Unity
5. The Crow & The Butterfly
6. Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
7. Follow You Down
8. Enemies
9. State of My Head
10. Bully
11. How Did You Love
12. Second Chance
13. Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
14. Sound Of Madness