Shinedown turns a Wednesday evening into a Saturday night during Toyota Center tour stop

Shinedown ignites and conquers their Houston Toyota Center crowd, weeknight be damned. 

The Floridian rock band came in with the energy of a band with much more to prove right out the gate. Shinedown is trekking across North America on their Dance, Kid, Dance Tour. The crowd was ready and eager, fresh from an excellent warm-up courtesy of Bush and Morgan Wade. Band mascot TV Man appeared alone on stage first. Behind him, the band followed in ski masks for the intro sequence. Suddenly lights and pyro flashed, and the first notes began to pour in.  

“Houston, Texas? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show,” lead singer Brent Smith yelled into the abyss, not really choosing a spot to focus his eyes on. “We are Shinedown! Let’s turn this Wednesday night into a Saturday, come on.” 

Coming in hot

The band opened the night with the titular “Dance, Kid, Dance” and blasted through both new songs and crowd favorites with energy that rivaled a new grad. The crowd mirrored their enthusiasm. Everyone looked green or rec under the flashing lights. Pyro was in frequent use during the first ten minutes of the set. Fans who felt chilly in the Toyota Center quickly stopped complaining, especially those on the floor.

They followed up with a booming rendition of “Devour” off 2008’s The Sound of Madness. To date, it’s the band’s most popular album.

The band hopped into “Cut the Cord” with equal enthusiasm, running up and down the arms of their stage. A traditional stage sat at the back of the Toyota Center. Drummer Barry Kerch played from a dramatic set of risers like a lion surveying a kingdom. An initial center catwalk breaks off into three smaller stages reaching into the floor, and a final stage is set up at the back of the GA section. Thus, those who coughed up the cash for floor tickets didn’t have a single bad view.

Floor fans were animated all throughout, despite the ages appearing to skew over thirty. The band played superhit “If You Only Knew” early into their set. Casual fans were able to get it out of their systems before pandering to the long-haul listeners. 

A moment for those we’ve lost

“Tonight, what I’m going to ask is for you to allow yourself some grace to believe, to have faith,” Smith said. Then, the houselights were on as he asked the audience to remember those they have lost during the next song and hold them dear. A series of disco balls suddenly made themselves known from behind the light bars.”I want you to think of that person, and I want you to channel their spirit.” 

The lights went back down for “Three Six Five,” an aptly titled song referencing the challenge of surviving the first full year of grief. A slideshow of loved ones played behind the band. Either way, the song has a steady build that will keep 80s fans satisfied, if you happen to have a penchant for Def Leppard. 

Shinedown is all kinetic energy, with the guitars and lead singer racing to their heart’s content up and down the catwalk and across the stage. Breath is wasted hyping up the crowd, as they’re already pretty locked in. Any distractions were quickly cured by sudden bursts of pyro. Curious minds will wonder about exactly how much of the tour budget went up in flames. The answer? Beats me. When costs range from a couple hundred to a couple thousand per song? One can infer it was $A-Lot.99. 

Even the brightest flames need a break. TV Man made another well-received appearance at the back stage of the stadium, proudly sporting a Houston Rockets jersey. After a brief interlude filled with banter and greetings, attention was drawn back to the front of the stadium.

Playing among the crowd

The band carried their instruments to the three smaller stages deeper in the GA area. This starting a new level of closeness. From there, they locked eyes with fans, read signs, exchanged a few words, and kept the crowd engaged as everyone found their places.

“A lot of you asked about this song,” Smith said as everyone settled in. “Two people DMed me about this song. One was a fellow named Abrahamn and the other was someone named Elizabeth, she’s sitting right there. I hope you like it.”  

The song in question was “Call Me” off Amaryllis, to which the audience responded with a lot of enthusiasm. It was an interesting vibe, the openness to connection Shinedown seemed to have with their fans. Openess is rare in a world where so many artists experience fans overstepping boundaries in unacceptable ways. Thus, perhaps that’s the key to the dynamic between Shinedown and their audience: boundaries and mutual respect. 

The band took a breather to reminisce about the early days, recalling playing venues like Scout Bar when in Houston. Smaller still was a set to no more than seven people in Pharr, TX. Whether it was for seven or 70,000, they still felt a lot of gratitude to the early songs that helped raise them up. With that, they dedicated “Thick as Thieves” to their oldest fans. 

Back in the heat

Shinedown’s powerhouse bassist Eric Bass lit up the stage as the group’s undeniable livewire, anchoring the show with his energy as he strode down the catwalk to meet fans head-on or spun with abandon on the side stage. The band brought welcome energy as they returned to the main stage for “I’ll Follow You,” while smoke curled up from the stage edges. Smoke curled from the stage edges. Blue light bleeding upward until a burst of orange flared into fireworks. Once again, no expense was spared when it came to things that go ka-boom.

Shinedown softened the pace with “A Symptom of Being Human.” The stadium lit with a sea of cell phone lights, swaying in time to Smith’s raised arm. Drummer Barry Kerch left his kit to perch cross-legged on a box near the guitarists, his feet dangling as he soaked in the glow of the moment. Even Bass set aside his usual theatrics to strum acoustic, the stage erupting in faux flames and sparks that fell like embers from a fireplace when Kerch returned to his drums.

Energy returned to full throttle for “Planet Zero.” Here, each member hit their stride, Kerch pounding with precision, Myers shredding with fiery focus, Bass careening across the stage. 

Finishing strong 

The band dedicated their cover of “Simple Man” to a few loved ones they had recently lost and to late rock pioneer Ozzy Osbourne. Smith asked the audience to really meditate on the thought of their loved ones who are no longer present, and for a few minutes, the enormity of the room shrank to a single voice. 

The final stretch consisted of “Monsters” and “Sound of Madness.” Shinedown closed with their 2009 hit  “Second Chance.” The chorus left the venue shaking, but it felt less like an ending than a promise; a band still hungry, still at the top of their game, still writing the story with their fans by their side.