PAM WHISENHUNT | Go Venue Magazine
Veteran rockers Shinedown and Papa Roach along with newcomers Spiritbox descended upon the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, September 4th 2023. This wasn’t the first time Shinedown brought Papa Roach along for the ride, it’s an ongoing relationship that’s apparently working out very well. Papa Roach and Shinedown toured together in 2019 on the Attention! Attention! World tour. I feel this pairing works well for many reasons; Both are veteran bands with more than 20 years under their belt, each are musical powerhouses in their genre and are both are fierce advocates for addressing mental health issues. Both bands are donating a portion of proceeds from this tour to The American Foundation for Suicide.
Shinedown picked up Spiritbox for the third leg of The Revolutions Live Tour. Spiritbox, a young, fresh progressive/metalcore band, brought a new group of fans to the show. They had the heaviest sound of the night by far, it’s unfortunate we couldn’t really see them. Their stage was very dark with heavy red and blue lights and an occasionally white beam crossing the stage. Papa Roach and Shinedown would not have that problem. They have some of the best lighting in the business.
Papa Roach entered the stage to “Between Angels and Insects” from their 2001 debut album Infest. Their set was stacked with their biggest hits “Kill the Noise”, “Getting Away with Murder” “…To Be Loved”, “She Loves Me Not”, “No Apologies”, “Born for Greatness”, “Help” and “Scars”. In the middle of the set, Jackoby Shaddix addressed the crowd, commenting on how grateful he was to be where his today, right now. He talked about struggles in the past and how the band has worked through some tough stuff. They played a short video about The American Foundation for Suicide to let people know there are resources if they are battling with mental health issues and reaffirming, they are not alone. Shaddix instructed the crowd, “If you have a light, take it out and hold it up high for this next song”. “For anyone that’s in the dark, I want you to always know you are not alone” and they proceeded to play an acoustic “Leave the Light On”. Papa Roach brought the house down with another Infest original “Lost Resort” to close out their portion.
Shinedown’s set started with a hype video on two large floor to ceiling panels. I loved the glimpse of backstage antics and personal life. The two panels slowly opened to four backlit bandmates, Brent Smith (Vocals), Zach Myers (Guitar), Eric Bass (Bass, piano and pretty much anything on stage) and Barry Kerch (Drums). The quartet walked to the front of the long catwalk to greet the crowd. They walked back to their instruments and kicked off the set with “Diamond Eyes” and a little pyro. Shinedown had a packed 19 song setlist. I don’t mean to downplay it, but it was a pretty standard Shinedown set. They played the classics “I’ll Follow You”, “Devil”, “Unity”, “45”, “Enemies”, “Sound of Madness”, “Second Chance” (to the introduction of Casey Casum’s American Top 40 intro) “Monsters” and the finale “Cut the Cord”. Newer songs from their latest album Planet Zero included “Planet Zero” “Dead Don’t Die, “A Symptom of Being Human” and “Daylight”.
Shinedown really is the whole package when it comes to a stage show, they have a wide-open stage to run around on, video panels playing throughout the set and tons of pyro in variations I don’t see often, including a sprinkler-like cascade falling from the ceiling. Only at a Shinedown concert will you see an illuminated piano floating down from the ceiling, not once or twice, but three times. It was a central location for Bass’s bandmates to stand on or hang out next to while he played. Also of note, Smith and Myer talked about the band’s connection to Kansas City, calling it their second home. The city has been with them since day one, playing at the Beaumont Club and touring locally in 2003. They also recorded a live DVD, album and the video for “Unity”.
As always, Shinedown cranked out the bangers, delivered a high energy, entertaining performance and made the crowd feel loved and a part of the Shinedown family. They continue to be the feelgood kings of rock and roll.
Shinedown
Papa Roach
Spiritbox
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