Shinedown wrapped Portland in an enormous rock ‘n’ roll hug on Tuesday. From Ashes to New and Three Days Grace came along and helped put on an incredible performance.
From Ashes to New took the stage first and kicked off with their latest single “Nightmare”. Lead singer Danny Case marched around the stage wearing his haptic vest which translates sounds into vibrations that he can feel during their performance. By the time From Ashes to New closed out their seven song opening set, the venue was nearly filled and we were all feeling the vibrations.
Three Days Grace entered the arena from the back of the venue parading through the crowd until they reached the stage and opened their set with “So Called Life”. Their set list contained a couple of their newer songs, but mostly consisted of their biggest songs like “Animal I Have Become” and “I Hate Everything About You”. They closed out their set with “Riot” which might be the best last song for a main support band’s set list.
When Shinedown took the stage, it wasn’t the thunder of drums or the shrill of the guitars that kicked off their set. It was each of the four band members, together, walking the length of the stage as if saying “Hello family. Thanks for coming out. It’s good to see you again”. Then, each band member walked back, positioning along the stage with their instruments and launched into their 2010 single “Diamond Eyes”. There was nothing subtle about the opening song, nor the 18 songs that followed it. It was full steam, foot-on-the-gas, turn the volume up to 11 until the lights came on.
Throughout the show, there was tons of pyro to go along with all the heavy rock and roll. But this show simply felt different. Shinedown just connects with their fans in a unique and very personal way. Lead singer Brent Smith talked about their 20 year suicide prevention mission and their decade long involvement with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). He went on to stress the importance of connecting with people and recognizing them; the importance of talking to people that are struggling. Shinedown’s commitment to the cause is so strong that $1 from every ticket sold on this Revolutions Live tour goes directly to AFSP.
During the last verse of “Simple Man”, which Brent dubbed “the rise”, he encouraged the crowd to sing along and to send love to the world. Portland came through in spades.
When the lights came on in Portland’s Moda Center, Shinedown had performed 19 incredible songs. But more importantly, they connected with Portland.
