Date: Thursday July 23rd
Venue: Xfinity Mobile Arena
City / State: Philadelphia, PA
Subjects: Shinedown, Coheed & Cambria, From Ashes To New

Back for another night of Shinedown. This time we got early entry and that put us on the barricade for all three bands. The night started this time with our boys in FROM ASHES TO NEW. This was a very special night for the bands founding member and Rapper Matt Brandyberry as he is from Lancaster and had always dreamed of playing this venue. The band is playful and uses the Backstreet Boys “Backstreets Back” as a intro song to get the crowd hyped up before they came out and broke into “New Disease” a track off the new record “Reflections”. One by one the band took the stage with Matt being the last one out as he ripped into his verse. They had the crowd jumping through the next couple songs “Nightmare”, “Drag Me” and “Heartache”. At this point it was time for Matt’s speech. He spoke about how he grew up not far from this venue and he pointed out his family in the crowd. His son was sleeping, which got a laugh from the crowd. That led them into their two biggest songs “Barely Breathing” and “Die For You”. Everyone was singing along to these songs. The band then closed out with the raucous “Panic”. After the set Matt went over to the booth of DJ Rock Feed and they did the Philadelphia Eagles war cry twice.

Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria at Xfinity Mobile Bank Arena.

The lights dimmed and the familiar sounds of Peter Gabriels “Sledgehammer” filled the arena and out came TV Man. A fella wearing a TV for a head as him and 2 masked people danced to the song. A third masked person would join and grab a remote control changing the channel on the TV Head and the big screen behind the stage to what was the bands intro video. One by one the band took the stage, and they ripped into “Safe and Sound” a track from the just released album “EI8HT”. The band played a very similar set to the Hershey show however this one was different in that numerous times they would get emotional speaking about what Philadelphia meant to them and the band. Brent Smith was also in an extremely good mood even cutting what you could call inappropriate jokes before saying “This is a family show”. Once again, the first portion of the set focused on songs like “Devil”, “Devour” and the emotionally charged “Three Six Five”. They then took the center stage up front to do the portion of the set that focuses on songs they don’t play often. Guitarist Zach Myers spoke in tribute to Philadelphia native Pierre Robert who was a DJ in the area. Zach then played a solo version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” which was beautiful and poetic. They played “Thick as Thieves” which is a bit of a deep cut these days and is not brought out often. Closing out that portion of the show with the positive and up lifting “Get Up” before heading back to the main stage.

Zach Myers of Shinedown performs in Philadelphia at the Xfinity Moblie Bank Arena.

Guitarist Lance Dowdle of From Ashes To New at XFinity Mobile Bank Arena in Philadelphia.

‍ ‍Next up was the legendary Coheed & Cambria. The New York based progressive hard rock band was handpicked by Shinedown as they are huge fans of the band. The band came out to “A Favor House Atlantic” to a huge ovation from the crowd. The band is a very eclectic bunch with lead vocalist Claudio Sanchez with big afro head of hair. He’s a wild man as well with his vocal style and his intense guitar solos. Blasting through a ten song set we all knew what was next when he brought out the ole double neck guitar. The bands biggest hit “Welcome Home” would be the closer for the set. Claudio ran from stage to stage with his solo and putting the guitar over his head and just showing off. He is one of the more underrated guitarist in rock music.

One of the extra fun portions of this tour is the DJ Rock Feed portion of the show where he plays some classic tracks to get the crowd moving. Limp Bizkit, Lit and more are on the playlist as the crowd sings along to every word making the thirty-minute wait for Shinedown feel more like ten minutes. Eventually he lands on Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” which gets the loudest of all sing a long going. He would then thank the crowd and announce that Shinedown was up next, though we all knew…

Brent Smith of Shinedown performs at the Xfinity Mobile Bank Arena.

Back to the main portion of the show for the finale of the set. By the way Shinedown doesn’t just put on a show they use pyro and explosions along with lights and everything else you can think of. The band began the final portion of the show with “Bully” and then a new addition to the set list the newest single “Young Again” which is also off the brand-new record. Another Brent Smith speech led into “Symptom of Being Human”. They followed with “Cut The Chord” and “Monsters”. Typically, the band dedicates their cover of “Simple Man” to 3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold who sadly passed away early this year after a battle with Cancer. On this night it was dedicated to Brad and Pierre. Towards the end of the song he encourages the crowd to sing the chorus louder than anyone ever, do not give 100%, not 110% but give 1000% and do it for Brad and Pierre. It was loud. They then closed out with “Sound of Madness” and “Second Chance”. With a big finale and explosions Brent gave us his customary “Its never goodbye, it’s just until next time”. The loudspeakers then blare “The Heart of Rock N’ Roll” as some band members walk the barricade signing autographs and taking pictures. Zach is particularly funny as he tells us “You gotta be fast” with those pictures. With that we watch as the rest of the band heads back stage and we finally take our leave. Another night with Shinedown complete.

SHINEDOWN SET LIST:

“Sledgehammer” (Peter Gabriel)
01. “Safe and Sound”
02. “Devour”
03. “Diamond Eyes (Boom Lay Boom Lay Boom)”
04. “How Did You Love”
05. “Three Six Five”
06. “Devil”
07. “Searchlight”
08. “Enemies”
B-Stage
09. “Dancing in The Dark” (Bruce Springsteen)
10. “Call Me”
11. “Thick as Thieves”
12. “Get Up”
A-Stage
13. “Bully”
14. “Young Again”
15. “A Symptom of Being Human”
16. “Cut The Chord”
17. “Monsters”
18. “Kryptonite” (3 Doors Down) (Zach Solo)
19. “Simple Man” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
20. “Sound of Madness”
21. “Second Chance”

COHEED AND CAMBRIA SET LIST:

“Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Deviant”
01. “A Favor House Atlantic”
02. “Searching For Tomorrow”
03. “Ten Speed (of Gods Blood and Buriel)”
04. “Shoulders”
05. “Blind Side Sonny”
06. “Grave Makers and Gunslingers”
07. “Delirium Trigger”
08. “Here to Mars”
09. “The Liars Club”
10. “Welcome Home”

FROM ASHES TO NEW SET LIST:

“Everybody (Backstreets Back)” Backstreet Boys"
01. “New Disease”
02. “Nightmare”
03. “Heartache”
04. “Drag Me”
05. “Barely Breathing”
06. “Die For You”
07. “Panic”