Shinedown Portland, ME (April 18, 2022)
This the 3rd time I’ve seen Shinedown and they’ve yet to disappoint.
Promptly at 7p, Diamante came on and played a good set. She really has great stage presence. Although I did listen to some of her songs ahead of time, I didn’t recognize the ones that were played (except Iris). I thought her songs rocked much harder in person than they do in the studio versions.
Next up was The Pretty Reckless. I had seen them a few years ago when they opened for Halestorm at the State Theatre. Their last couple albums haven’t clicked with me as much, but they sounded great and Taylor Momsen has an amazing voice. She did move around on stage a lot, certainly more so than with Halestorm when she just stood behind the mic the entire time. However, she seems a bit uncomfortable on the stage and doesn’t look as natural as Diamante. Interesting tidbits: Death by Rock and Roll was recorded in Maine at Halo Studios. Also, Taylor Momsen lives in Maine.
Precisely at 9p, Shinedown started with a video on their giant screen recapping the last tour. This video was “hijacked” by the Planet X avatar and then the screen opened, the band walked out and the drum kit rolled out behind them. The band waved to the loud crowd for a couple minutes before the jumped into The Saints of Violence and Innuendo.
They played a variety of songs from every album except Us and Them. The full setlist:
The Saints of Violence and Innuendo
Devil
Planet Zero
State of My Head
45
Get Up
Fly From the Inside
Bully
Daylight
Enemies
Cut the Cord
Second Chance
Unity
Monsters
Diamond Eyes
Wheels (Food Fighters cover and tribute to Taylor Hawkins )
Call Me
Simple Man
Sound of Madness
The show wrapped up around 11p. It was brilliant with tons of pyro, smoke, strobes and even fireworks at one point. The only change I would make to that setlist is to replace Bully with I Dare You.
Really the only negative thing was that Brent had to repeat the announcement from last week that the Planet Zero album is delayed until July 1. They did successfully soften that blow by playing the next upcoming single, Daylight, which is a great ballad and should prove popular.
The band played to perfection as always. They also made a big deal about Portland how much they love it, with specific stories of going to Gilbert’s Chowder House1 and the last time they played here (2019 at Rock Row outside in the rain). It seemed sincere and the crowd ate it up.
They finished about 11p and as things were wrapping up and the stage was being dissembled, show credits played on their big video display. That was a really nice touch and not something I’ve seen before.
Here are some other videos (not mine) from the show:
Take Me Down (The Pretty Reckless)
Going to Hell (The Pretty Reckless)
You Make Me Wanna Die (The Pretty Reckless)
Ghost Myself (Diamante)
Iris (Diamante)
This was my first concert since 2019 and it was amazing! It’s hard to beat live music and I’m so glad it’s back!
Zach did mention they were out of lobster, which seems really hard to believe, though,