Editor’s note: proud dad moment, as this review is my daughter’s first for Moshville Times. The gig was her boyfriend’s first ever “proper” concert and I don’t think they could have picked a better one (their original first gig was supposed to be Lamb of God, but…).
This night’s eclectic lineup consisted of Zero 9:36, Asking Alexandria and of course Shinedown.
Zero 9:36 are a rap-rock/metal band steadily growing a following. I had never heard of Zero 9:36 before this concert and my attention was focused on the two other bands playing that night. However, they started their set off at full throttle with the drummer smashing his kit and the vocalist delivering some fast and angry bars. They played with a loud and aggressive confidence which quickly caught the attention of the crowd. Zero 9:36 kicked the night off to a great start with catchy songs and a sense of humour that got the crowd chuckling between sets, definitely a fun band to experience.
Next on stage were Asking Alexandria. A band that started off in metalcore with a big emo following and surprisingly transitioned into a softer rock sound. Despite this genre twist, they still have a large following and the band played both new songs and some of their classics. Their 2021 single “Alone Again” was a standout performance with strong vocals and a catchy chorus that I was admittedly humming afterwards.
However, it started to feel like a proper metal gig once the band began playing some of their classic metalcore songs. Danny Worsnop’s screaming vocals and the band headbanging in unison got the crowd moving. The set ended with “The Final Episode”, a fan favourite that had the crowd screaming along, ending their performance with a bang.
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As a Shinedown fan I was excited for the old classics but only ended up knowing about half of the songs in their set. However, the songs from their new album Planet Zero were extremely catchy so anyone who hadn’t heard them before could easily rock along and be a part of the crowd.
The main vocalist Brent Smith made an effort to make everyone feel comfortable and spoke about the importance of positive mental health and people’s place in the world. His attitude definitely made everybody feel like they belonged there at that moment. He also said their concert tradition was to have the audience wave/high five/ smile at each other. Which probably was a good idea since it was a jam-packed venue and you were pretty much in someone’s personal space whether you liked it or not.
Many fan favourites like “Cut the Cord” and “Bully” had the volume reach astronomical levels in the venue but the band were also able to bring some calmer, heartfelt performances like “Second Chance” that had the crowd swaying.
During their final song “Sound of Madness” there was an incident in the crowd (I’m guessing someone fainted/collapsed), and the music stopped right on the beat drop so people were disappointed and booing as it felt like the band were teasing us right at the climax of this amazing song. As soon as the crowd found out about the incident, we were obviously patient and supportive. Shinedown did a great job to make sure everyone was aware and encourage the audience to move to the side to allow the person to be escorted out. Once the person was safe, the band restarted the song.
It was a powerful finale and left everyone on a high. I definitely left the gig satisfied and with some new favourite songs.
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Photos by Bracken Hake
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