Review | Photos: Shinedown and The Pretty Reckless Bring Down The House in Birmingham

Who: Shinedown, The Pretty Reckless, Diamante
Where: Legacy Arena at the BJCC, Birmingham, AL
When: April 30, 2022

Birmingham, Alabama was treated to a rock showcase on 4/30 when Shinedown brought The Revolution’s Live Tour to the BJCC Legacy Arena. The multi-platinum band were joined by a loaded lineup including The Pretty Reckless and Diamante. This was one of the last stops on the tour which concluded on 05/07 in Knoxville, TN.

Diamante opened the night with a 7-song set. While all three acts on the bill were rock bands, each presented their music in a different manner. Diamante brought glamour to the evening walking out on stage dressed in a sequined jumpsuit. Her set started off with “Ghost Myself” from her American Dream album. She radiated energy with a joy on her face looking like someone who had finally made it and was meant to be performing before 15,000+ people.

It’s easy to get enamored with Diamante’s looks but make no mistake, this lady can sing. She exhibited a powerful voice that rates right up there with the best female rock singers. Her last song was “War Cry” from the Coming in Hot album. Diamante’s time on stage was way too short and left me wanting for more, but with the ensuing acts the short set was understandable.

Whereas Diamante was the glamourous beauty, Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless played the part of the rebellious rocker dressed in black leather jacket, platform boots, and short silky dress. After waiting for several years, I was finally able to photograph a band that was on my top-5 list. The first three songs were a blur. Once Momsen stepped on stage my heart began to race. Being only a foot away from Momsen at times totally through off my concentration. It was amazing I was able to get any photos at all.

Momsen’s love of Chris Cornell is well known so it was no surprise that the band started out with a cover of Soundgarden’s “Loud Love”. The moment she walked on stage all eyes immediately went straight to her. She has such an incredible stage presence. Her vocals are haunting, being both powerful and mesmerizing.

As I watched the rest of the band’s performance I was amazed by their sound. A lot of bands are never able to recapture the sound from their albums live. However, The Pretty Reckless performance reminded me of the old “is it live or is it Memorex” commercial. Another photographer I were discussing how Momsen sounded just like her studio work.

The bands songs spanned all four of their albums Light Me Up, Who You Selling For, Going to Hell, and Death By Rock and Roll. Highlights included their #1 songs, “Death By Rock and Roll”, “And So It Went”, “Only Love Can Save Me Now”, and “Take Me Down”. As good as The Pretty Reckless were it was about to get better.

A little over two hours into the night Shinedown took the stage. The tension in the crowd had been building all night leading up to this moment. Two huge video panels were positioned at the rear of the stage. Video footage of the band started playing on the panels which triggered excitement in the crowd. Planet Zero symbols appeared on each panel as they began to separate at which point band members Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers, and Eric Bass emerged walking slowly, side-by-side toward the front of the stage to cheers from the crowd. After a moment of basking in their glory, they took their positions for their first song.

Shinedown opened with “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” from their upcoming Planet Zero album. The band performed on a T-shaped stage which stretched out into the crowd. It allowed fans to surround all three sides of the stage. Photographers were limited to shooting from the top of the “T”. The reasoning became apparent when flames shot up from multiple areas of the stage midway into the song. Even so, the heat from the flames was intense.

Mic stands were positioned along both sides and the top the “T”. This allowed Smith, Myers, and Bass to roam the stage with each facing a different side of the arena such that the audience was constantly engaged. It was not like a lot of shows where band members are stationary. There was constant movement and roaming from the band which created a dynamic atmosphere for the fans.

The band played songs from several of their albums including Planet Zero, Attention Attention, The Sound of Madness, Amaryllis, and Threat to Survival. Smith was constantly firing up the crowd at one point encouraging them stand and jump during “Enemies”. It felt like an earthquake had hit the stands. The noise was so deafening that an alert appeared on my Apple watch warning me of a loud environment and possible hearing loss.

Going into the night I was most excited to see The Pretty Reckless perform. I had never made a conscious effort to listen to Shinedown’s music and couldn’t provide examples of their songs other than “Planet Zero” which had just come out. However, as the night went on and they performed songs like “Second Chance”, “Unity”, “Monsters”, and “Simple Man”, I suddenly began to recognize several of these songs never realizing that they had been recorded by Shinedown.

One of the highlights of the night was the band’s tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Brent Smith left the stage and gave Meyers and Bass their chance to shine. The two pulled out acoustic guitars and sang “Wheels” by the Foo Fighters. The phones all went up in the air with flashlights turned on. It was a very moving and emotional moment. It also showed that the two are very capable singers in their own right. Smith returned to the stage after the song and the band performed “Call Me” with Meyers continuing on acoustic guitar and Bass moving to piano.

I have been to several concerts over the years which have included great artists such as Green Day, Paul McCartney, and U2 among many others. However, I left the Legacy Arena with this being one of my favorite concerts. Diamante and The Pretty Reckless were great opening acts. Shinedown put on a spectacle which had the crowd in awe keeping most fans in the arena for the duration of show even after seven encore songs.

The Revolution’s Live Tour is now over. However, there will still be plenty of opportunities to see Shinedown in the future. The band will be releasing their seventh studio album Planet Zero on July 31, 2022, from which they have already released the lead single “Planet Zero”, which is their 18^th #1 at Active Rock Radio, and “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo”. To support the album, the band will launch their Fall Planet Zero Tour on September 3^rd in Kansas City. They will also be performing at several music festivals in Europe over the summer and several dates in Canada.

Shinedown Planet Zero links:

Album Pre-Order – https://shinedown.lnk.to/planetzero
“Planet Zero” Music Video: https://youtu.be/IipnUpoW-58
“The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” Lyric Video: https://youtu.be/ghrrjUz0qNw
Tour Dates: https://www.shinedown.com/

Shinedown Setlist

The Saints of Violence and Innuendo
Devil

Planet Zero
State of My Head
45

Get Up
Fly From the Inside
Second Chance

Enemies
Daylight
Bully

Unity
Cut the Cord
Monsters

Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
Wheels (Foo Fighters cover)
Call Me

Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Sound of Madness

Shinedown Tour Dates
MAY21 – DAYTONA BEACH, FL, US
JUN03 – NUREMBERG, GERMANY
JUN07 – BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
JUN09 – HAMBURG, GERMANY
JUN11 – DONINGTON, UK
JUN13 – BELFAST, UK
JUN16 – UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS
JUN17 – CLISSON, FRANCE
JUN18 – DESSEL, BELGIUM
JUL08 – DEADWOOD, SD, US
JUL11 – CASPER, WY, US
JUL12 – KEARNEY, NE, US
JUL14 – MADISON, WI, US
JUL15 – COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA, US
JUL16 – CADOTT, WI, US
JUL19 – QUÉBEC, QC, CANADA
JUL20 – MONTREAL, QC, CANADA
JUL22 – TORONTO, ON, CANADA
JUL23 – WINDSOR, ON, CANADA
JUL26 – WINNIPEG, MB, CANADA
JUL27 – MOOSE JAW, SK, CANADA
JUL29 – SASKATOON, SK, CANADA
JUL30 – CALGARY, AB, CANADA
JUL31 – EDMONTON, AB, CANADA
AUG02 – PENTICTON, BC, CANADA
AUG03 – ABBOTSFORD, BC, CANADA
SEP03 – BONNER SPRINGS, KS, US
SEP05 – MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO, US
SEP06 – CEDAR RAPIDS, IA, US
SEP09 – BURGETTSTOWN, PA, US
SEP10 – HOLMDEL, NJ, US
SEP11 – CAMDEN, NJ, US
SEP13 – MANSFIELD, MA, US
SEP14 – SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, US
SEP16 – GILFORD, NH, US
SEP17 – SYRACUSE, NY, US
SEP18 – VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, US
SEP20 – DARIEN CENTER, NY, US
SEP21 – CLARKSTON, MI, US
SEP23 – LOUISVILLE, KY, US
SEP24 – GRAYSLAKE, IL, US
SEP26 – CHARLOTTE, NC, US
SEP28 – BILOXI, MS, US
SEP30 – IRVING, TX, US
OCT01 – THE WOODLANDS, TX, US
OCT02 – CEDAR PARK, TX, US
OCT05 – ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US
OCT07 – PHOENIX, AZ, US
OCT08 – ANAHEIM, CA, US
OCT09 – SACRAMENTO, CA, US