Written by: Andre La Crout
Around 6pm the night of April 16th, 2022, smoke billowed over the roof of Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
There was a pine tree outside the arena engulfed in flames. No doubt an accident—perhaps someone tossed a cigarette butt in the wrong place.
Nonetheless, the scene served as a sneak preview of what’s to come for the 10,000+ concertgoers flooding the arena to see Shinedown.
Before being treated to Shinedown’s ample doses of pyrotechnics, the sold-out crowd enjoyed waves of thrashing blonde hair from Diamante, the first act of the evening.
She set the stage for a memorable night during her opening song, “Ghost Myself.” She kneeled at the edge of the stage and pointed to a man in the front row while she sang the lines “Think I’ll take your heart and throw it off a cliff.”
All three acts of the night loved to get the crowd involved. Diamante kicked it off by having the arena sing along to a cover of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls.
After a brief intermission, the lights went dark again for an entrance by The Pretty Reckless. The closing lyrics to the opening track of the band’s latest album, Death By Rock And Roll, filled the void: “On my tombstone when I go / Just put, ‘Death by Rock and Roll.’”
The band then burst into a cover of Soundgarden’s “Loud Love.” The cover was part unspoken tribute to the late Chris Cornell—who The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen considered a friend and mentor—and part setting the tone for the remainder of their act. The song featured the first of many solos by the band’s guitarist, Ben Phillips.
Shouts of “I love you Taylor” and other words of encouragement echoed across the arena at several points during the act. The shouts were eventually drowned out by the crowd singing along to the band’s chart-topping single from 2013, “Heaven Knows.”
The Pretty Reckless ended their set with the same words that started it: “On my tombstone when I go / Just put, ‘Death by Rock and Roll.’”
When the time came for Shinedown, two screens connected at the back of the stage to display one large video to greet the waiting crowd. The video showed scenes of the band’s excitement to finally be able to play shows again in a post-pandemic world. The scenes were interrupted by a female figure who said “Welcome to Planet Zero.” She informed us of planetary regulations and reminded us to “start your day with outrage.”
The screens then pulled to the side as Barry Kerch’s drum set floated out through the middle. The band immediately burst into “The Saints of Violence And Innuendo” off their upcoming album, Planet Zero.
The band wasted no time firing up pyrotechnics. Many in the crowd jumped at the first boom of fireworks.
The congregation was relaxed, yet enthusiastic. Singer Brent Smith wanted more.
“We can’t hear you,” he warned, before the band began “DEVIL” off the highly rated 2018 album, ATTENTION ATTENTION.
The band returned to Planet Zero for their third song, the title track off the upcoming album. This time, they counted down to a burst of fireworks. Despite the warning, many still jumped.
During a short break, singer Brent Smith encouraged everyone in the audience to look at the person to their left and right and shake hands. It was the first of many demonstrations that simple acts of unity and love are among the band’s top values.
After playing “State of My Head,” Smith pointed out that the 20th anniversary is around the corner for the band’s debut album, Leave a Whisper. He suggested the audience join them for a trip back to their beginning.
“Did you bring your singing voice?” Smith asked before the band played “45,” their hit single from 2003.
The song served as a good cool down for the next number. The lights lowered as Brent Smith explained that the next song was the band’s “North Star” and helped inspire their direction.
Smith explained to the crowd, “You’re here because you’re necessary and original and you have a purpose on this Earth.”
He then escorted bassist Eric Bass, who Smith said is the “bravest person I know,” to the piano to play “GET UP” from ATTENTION ATTENTION. Bass began the song on piano, then danced around the stage with his guitar, then returned to the piano to finish.
The lights bathed the arena in red as the band prepared to get loud again for another return to Leave a Whisper in “Fly from the Inside.” Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers took turns singing the bridge.
The unmistakable voice of Sylvester Stallone then filled the arena with some famous lines from Rocky Balboa: “You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” The monologue served as an introduction to “Bully,” the lead single from their 2012 album Amaryllis.
Brent Smith introduced the next song as something they wanted to be different and inspired by love.
Eric Bass returned to the piano while Smith encouraged the crowd to get out their lighters and cell phones and hold them in the air.
All the arena lights went dark, leaving only starlight from the audience. The band played “Daylight,” an unreleased single off their upcoming album, Planet Zero.
The band was now determined to get their congregation as enthusiastic as they possibly could be.
Singer Brent Smith said he was going to tell the audience to jump and educated them on what he means by “jump.” Not nodding their heads. Not bouncing on their toes.
“This isn’t a library. It’s not a funeral. This is a rock and roll concert in 2022.” JUMP.
There were many feet in the air through their next song, “Enemies.”
A short while later, the arena was filled with the sound of another voice—this one the late Casey Kasem. It was an old recording of him introducing “Second Chance,” the band’s highest-charting single and the very last song Kasem played on the air.
Fireworks and bursts of flame through the stage were common throughout the show, but one of the cooler moments came during “Second Chance.” Booms of fireworks were perfectly synced with Barry Kerch’s drums as they transitioned into the final chorus.
Shinedown rode the energy and momentum of the arena to tear through “Unity,” “MONSTERS,” and “Diamond Eyes.”
Singer Brent Smith then left the stage. Guitarists Zach Myers and Eric Bass had been singing backup vocals into their microphones all night, but now they were the centers of attention.
“This is the point in the show where I run out of instruments to break,” Bass joked, having had two different guitars hit the floor in the previous song.
Myers joked that everyone must be getting sick of hearing Brent Smith sing. “It’s been a long twenty years for us and a long two hours for you.”
The two then sang lead vocals on a cover of “Wheels” by the Foo Fighters with an image of the late Taylor Hawkins on the screens at the back of the stage.
Brent Smith returned finish out the show, which included an acoustic version of their famed cover of “Simple Man.” He notably changed the lyrics of one line with a message directly to the crowd: “All that I want for you, Hershey, is to be satisfied.”
Shinedown closed out their show with “Sound of Madness,” the title track of their multi-platinum album from 2008. Eric Bass took the stage for the final song with what appeared to be Taylor Momsen’s glittery white guitar, proving that he wasn’t joking when he said he ran out of instruments to break.
All the fireworks and pyrotechnics spent for the night, Brent Smith bid farewell to Hershey, Pennsylvania, the same way he always does—with the fan-favorite phrase: “It’s never goodbye, it’s just ‘till next time.”
Shinedown will be releasing their seventh studio album, Planet Zero, on July 1 which features the lead single and title track “Planet Zero,” the song that just landed the band their 18th #1 at Active Rock Radio as well “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo.”