FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Courtney TownsendSTAFF WRITER

ERIN NEWBURY

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I took this photo walking along the beach in Ft. Lauderdale when I was down there for the Orange Bowl. Although the weather was a little chillier than we had anticipated, it was still almost 50 degrees warmer in Florida than it was in Des Moines.

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Shinedown exceeds expectations in Val Air Ballroom

I forgot how much I love rock concerts until I went to see Shinedown on February 12. The tour’s lineup consisted of Like a Storm, Skillet, Puddle of Mudd, with Shinedown head-lining the tour. Apparently the show kicked off very early and despite getting there on time, I had already missed Like a Storm and Skillet. However, despite missing the two open-ing bands, the concert exceed-ed my expectations.

Puddle of Mudd had a

great set, opening up with “Control” and included other hits such as “Blurry”, “Fa-mous”, “She ****ing, Hates Me,” and “Psycho”. The lead singer, Wes, was having some trouble with his voice, so he asked the crowd to help him out with the singing, which the crowd eagerly obliged. The band ended their set with a cover of AC/DC’s “TNT” with the lead singer of Like a Storm providing vocals, too.

Next, Shinedown en-tered the stage and immedi-ately brought the crowd to life opening with “Sound of Mad-

ness.” I had forgotten how many singles Shinedown had, as they went through their set list and was surprised that I knew 15 out of the 16 songs they played.

Starting off with some of their hits “Devour,” “Save Me,” “If You Only Knew,” “45,” and “Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide.”

Lead singer Brent Smith showed his dynamic vocal range and kept the energy up the entire concert, asking the crowd to jump on his count, put their fists in the air and get out cell phones and lighters.

He also dedicated the song “What a Shame” to anyone who had lost someone to can-cer. As a member of the crowd, I felt appreciated, as Smith ex-pressed his thanks for every single fan coming to see the

show. It made me feel like I was really a part of something, at least until the concert ended.

The show concluded with an encore of their biggest hit “Second Chance” and a cover of Lynyrd Sky-nyrd’s “Simple Man.”

S e e i n g S h i n e d o w n for the second time I had my predictions. I wasn’t too ex-cited about be-ing crammed into Val Air B a l l r o o m , since the concert had been sold out almost since tickets went on sale, but I was surprised at

“The Val Air provided a

more intimate place and is a

great venue for all bands.”

Courtney Townsendstaff writer

how awesome the show turned out to be.

The Val Air provided a more intimate place and is a

great venue for all bands. Next time Shinedown comes, fans may have to shell out more money because the venue will probably be Wells Fargo. I am glad I was able to see them in a smaller ven-ue because the experi-

ence is much better, but Shine-down will always rock no mat-ter where they play.