Shinedown played to a sold-out crowd at Foxwoods Casino‘s Premier Theater for their last show of 2023. Located in Mashantucket, Connecticut, the casino’s Premier Theater has a seating capacity of 4600 people. This show was smaller than many of the arena shows they played this year on their Planet Zero tour. Upon entering the theater, there was a long line for the merch booth, so I decided to wait until later to check it out. There was no opening act for this show. The fans slowly filled in and the show started about fifteen minutes late.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the show, because Shinedown usually has lots of pyro and explosions at their bigger shows, and I wasn’t sure if the theater would allow that. Although scaled down somewhat, they still had pyro and fireworks in about 75% of their songs making for a killer show for all of your senses. The stage lacked the usual catwalk or thrust but had a small platform at the front center of the stage.
Shinedown walked onto a dark stage illuminated by their Planet Zero logos on the giant video walls behind the drum riser, and as they got to the front of the stage, they took a bow. They started the set with “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)”. Zach Myers and Eric Bass were jumping wildly back and forth across the stage as the song began with an explosion and fireworks. The lights were flashing, and crowd was singing along as the band brought their a-game to this last show of 2023. They played an eighteen-song set only eliminating three songs since last time I saw them play at The Total Mortgage Arena in Connecticut earlier this year.
The fans were on their feet for the entire two-hour set. They played all of my favorites including, “Dead Don’t Die”, “State of My Head”, “A Symptom of Being Human”, “Second Chance”, and “Monsters”. They also had a few surprises in store during the show. First was during a cover of “The Middle”, by Jimmy Eat World, during which the band invited their techs on stage to perform with them. Brent Smith took a break from his vocal duties and Zach and Eric took over singing for this song while playing electric-acoustic guitars. Drummer, Barry Kerch wandered around the stage goofing with the other band members while his drum tech, Ricky Sanders, was playing his kit. Guitar tech, Drew Foppe, and bass tech, HooGie Donais even did a synchronized jump off of the drum riser. Next, they sang, along with a heavy audience participation, Happy Birthday to Erin, a very valued member of their crew. At one point, they even brought their tour photographer/videographer, Sanjay Parikh, on stage, introduced him, and then had him get some crowd shots.
During “Daylight/Get Up”, Brent came to the front of the stage and sat to sing intimately to the crowd while Eric played piano. Next, Brent invited out the President of Foxwoods Casino, Jason Guyot, for a presentation. Shinedown had a raffle to raise money for City of Hope along with iHeart and Foxwoods with the prize being tickets and backstage passes to this show. They raised $92,000 for the cause. Next, each member of Shinedown was presented with commemorative plaques for having achieved 23 number one songs.
Winding down the evening they played a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man” during which the crowd all had their cell phone lights on and held high, while singing along. They ended the night on a high note with lots of flames and fireworks during the fan favorites “Monsters”, and “Cut the Cord”. Brent’s vocals stand the test of time and Barry’s passion on the drums really shined. At the end of the last song, the band came to the rail to greet fans and throw out picks and drumsticks.
Shinedown’s show at Foxwoods Casino was a fun, intimate, evening with lots of memorable moments. Lots of pyro and fireworks throughout the show kept everyone on their toes. It was great seeing the big check presented to City of Hope in their name, and cool to see them presented with plaques for their 23 number one songs. Although there is no tour on the books yet for next year, I bet we see them out again based on the number of packed shows they had this year.
Shinedown is:
Brent Smith – Lead Vocals
Barry Kerch – Drums
Zach Myers – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Piano
Eric Bass – Bass, Backing Vocals, Piano
Setlist:
1.Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)
2.Dead Don’t Die
3.I’ll Follow You
4.State of My Head
5.Devil
6.Unity
7.45
8.Enemies
9.Sound of Madness
10.A Symptom of Being Human
11.Planet Zero
12.Second Chance
13.The Middle (Jimmy Eat World cover)
14.Happy Birthday to You (Mildred J. Hill and Patty Hill cover) (sung for crew member)
15.Daylight/Get Up
Presentation
16.Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd Cover)
17.Monsters
18.Cut the Cord
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