“Shinedown #8 is on the way” – review of Shinedown’s energetic Monday-night show at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

“Shinedown does Monday nights like Saturday nights,” was the motto for Shinedown’s show at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 18th, and a statement that they were sure to prove at that. With openers Morgan Wade and Bush starting off the night in a packed arena, fans of any of the bands were in for a treat of great live music and good vibes all around from this lineup.

Country music artist Morgan Wade was the wildcard starting set of the lineup, but one that worked well with the overall groove of the night. While you could hear the country music roots in her voice, the instrumentals all leaned towards what you would hear in classic rock – something that Wade is also an enthusiast of. She started us out on a more melancholic, grooving note, which transitioned well into Bush’s set.

Bush began to ramp up the energy, courtesy of a heavy bass intro, to build up the anticipation for the band to come on stage. The band members themselves were full of energy, with drummer Nik Hughes putting his all into playing. Vocalist Gavin Rossdale took full advantage of the catwalk to a separate B stage in the middle of the room, and the offshoots of it that reached even further into the crowd, running and dancing around all the areas of the floor. He gave everyone in the standing area a chance to be noticed, and even made sure to pay attention to those up in the arena’s nosebleed seats.

Before Shinedown ever hit the stage, we were treated to a quick dance and show from a TV-headed man who was escorted up onto the stage. As his dance ended, the screens above the stage began to project a series of flashing imagery, which was mirrored onto the TV man’s screen. His power was suddenly cut, and he was taken offstage just in time for Shinedown’s performance to begin.

Their performance was energetic from the start, kicking off with “Dance Kid Dance,” which got the crowd up and moving. With the band running between the mainstage, B-stage, and the catwalks, and the cameras projecting close-ups of each member onto the back screens with interesting overlays, you were sure to have a good view from your seat, no matter where in the arena you happened to be. It’s obvious that the band put a lot of thought into the stage design, wanting to give everyone a chance to have their moment and have a good show.

After a long line of hard-hitting songs on the mainstage, there was a brief intermission from TV Man as a disco ball was lowered and the band transitioned over to the B-stage. As Shinedown got ready, we were instructed to say goodnight to TV Man, who was promptly turned off again, and our attention was turned back to the band, now fully set up. Much to the crowd’s excitement, we were informed that they were going to play a bunch of songs they don’t normally get to play or that it’d been a long time since they played, especially with how long it’d been since the last time they were in Indiana.

With the disco ball casting dots of light around the room, it was mostly a much calmer, more acoustic portion of the set that started with “Call Me.” It also gave the band time to interact more with the crowd, reading off their signs and giving out a few autographs. The calmer vibes were interrupted a couple of times, once for a brief Star Wars theme break as vocalist Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers got into a lightsaber battle with the stage’s LED strips, and to get the entire room to sing happy birthday to a fan whose 14th birthday was the next day.

After 4 songs on the B-Stage, the band moved back to the main stage to finish out the set. Myers didn’t stay still on the main stage for long, though, still making sure to spend plenty of time along the catwalks. Due to a long pause for a medical emergency, the band ended up going over their call time for the night, still wanting us to get the full show that we paid for. Shinedown ended on their hit song, “Second Chance,” but gave us one last surprise – the news that album #8 was on the way – right before the room went dark and the band took their final steps off the stage.

Setlist:

Dance, Kid, Dance

Bully

Cut the Cord

If You Only Knew

Devil

Three Six Five

Enemies

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Call Me

Burning Bright

Through the Ghost

Fly From the Inside

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Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)

A Symptom of Being Human

Planet Zero

Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

Monsters

Sound of Madness

Second Chance