Shinedown brought The Revolutions Live Tour to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota withThe Pretty Reckless and Diamante in support. The bar is always set high when it comes to Shinedown putting on spectacular shows and you could feel the anticipation as people filed into the venue. As the night played out, it was apparent that all three acts rose to the occasion and put on fantastic shows.
Diamante started the night with her hit “Ghost Myself.” She has the flair and style of a pop music star but also has a bite that lends itself to hard rock. She dropped her second record ‘American Dream’ in 2021 which showed the artists growth from her debut ‘Coming In Hot” which was released in 2018. She has continued to hone her craft by extensive touring and the opportunity to open this run of dates with Shinedown has allowed her to introduce herself to thousands of people every night. Her set consisted of “Haunted,” “American Dream,” “I Love Myself for Hating You” and a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls hit “Iris.” As with most opening acts, the set was short and came and went very quickly. What she lacked for in time, she made up for with quality. Her voice sounded fantastic and she seized every moment to give the crowd an entertaining set and lasting memories of her hook induced songs that stick with you long after she has left the stage.
It has been a very long time since anybody has seen The Pretty Reckless on stage. In fact, the last tour was back in 2016-2017. For fans, it’s been a long wait, especially after dropping, what could be, their best album to date, ‘Death by Rock and Roll,’ back in early February of 2021. The band is led by vocalist Taylor Momsen and when she took the stage and kicked into the Soundgarden cover “Loud Love” the crowd let out a tremendous roar. Your immediately struck by the strength of her vocals as she invited you into her world. They pulled out the track “Since Your Gone” from the “Light Me Up” release second and then the title track from the newest record. The way Momsen delivers her vocals, changes up styles, from all out power to raspy seduced venom, gives The Pretty Reckless it’s uniqueness and sound. Call them hard rock, alternative, post-grunge or whatever you want, I simply think they douse themselves in good old-fashioned rock-n-roll and light the match. Although the vocalist steals most of the praise and attention, the band is top-notch and supply the foundation for which Momsen stands on. Guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins really brought the songs alive in their full sonic thunder. Other songs from the night included “Going To Hell,” “Heaven Knows,” “And So It Went” and “Take Me Down.” It was great to see The Pretty Reckless back on stage, they absolutely killed it and sounded like a band that is now on a mission to make up for lost time.
What can be said about Shinedown that already hasn’t been said? They pride themselves on bringing a bombastic live show and energy that engulfs the venue from the very first moment they take the stage. Shinedown Nation is a loyal one and they love this band, so the pressure is always on to produce a bigger, better and more exciting show than the one before it. This tour is the introduction to the new album coming called ‘Planet Zero.’ The album was supposed to have dropped on April 22, but due to delays in physical product, the wait will be a little longer as it now will be released on July 1. The stage was unique, a narrower one that shot much further into the crowd which gave many fans a front row view of the stage. In front of the drums was giant screen. After a short clip about the band getting ready to tour again after covid, a giant door, that was the screen, opened up and band walked out to the middle of the stage. From that moment it was on, they unleashed the pyro, blasted into one of the new cuts called “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” and the crowd went nuts. The brilliance and aggressiveness of the song cut though the venue, a song truly served best in a live setting. The energy coming off the stage was being quickly shot back at it from the people rocking with the cut. Then when the moment seemingly can’t get any better, it does, as blasts of fire shot through the floor of the stage adding another shot of adrenaline to the moment. The show didn’t slow with the next two songs played either as “Devil” and “Planet Zero” hit next. Shinedown members Brent Smith (Vocals), Zach Myers (Guitar), Eric Bass (Bass) and Barry Kerch (Drummer) understand a concert is more than just playing the songs, it also is delivering an experience, a moment where the only thing that matters is that music, in that venue, with Shinedown. They work hard to bring everybody into the show and it shows by the response they get every night. The set as usual, is packed with powerhouse songs and hits. “Cut the Cord,” “Enemies,” Bully,” “45” and the closer “Sound Of Madness” always go over big. They also take some time to slow it down and bring up a piano from underneath the stage and acoustic guitars and played “Simple Man,” “Call Me” and a cover of the Foo Fighters “Wheels” with Myers and Bass on vocals. It’s a pretty simple formula but so few bands pull off such an exciting show tour after tour like Shinedown does and ‘The Revolutions Live Tour” is just another great example of what they do and how they do it.
