Dance, Kid, Dance Act II Tour: Shinedown, Coheed and Cambria, From Ashes to New
- Phantom Light Media
- Aug 14
- 4 min read
When I started shooting concerts seriously, I cobbled together a short collection of “bucket list” bands I wanted to take photos of before I felt like I could put a bow on this part of my career as a creative. Shinedown was one of the first names that made that list. Having been a fan since my early middle school days when I was first developing my music taste, and especially after catching them live when they performed at Extra Mile Arena (then Taco Bell Arena) back in 2016 on their co-headlining tour with Five Finger Death Punch, I knew I had to see them again, this time with camera in hand. That opportunity came when Shinedown returned on their Dance, Kid, Dance Act II tour on August 10, at the same venue I’d seen them almost exactly 10 years prior.
Opening the night was Pennsylvania-born From Ashes to New. This was actually my second time seeing them live, having photographed and reviewed their headlining show last October (one of my favorite shows I saw that year). What we got this time around was a compressed, roughly 40-minute version of their headlining set from last fall. Frontmen Matt Brandyberry and Danny Case touched on the same messages of mental health and sacrificing for the sake of your dreams, but on a much grander stage. The setup at Extra Mile Arena consisted of the main stage toward the back of the venue, with a sort of inverted “Y” of walkways leading out into the pit area, which perfectly fit From Ashes to New’s dual vocalist arrangement as they played a medley of their latest hits and a few of their older classics. I would love to see them headline on a stage as big as this some day, just to see where their penchant for dramatic lighting and presentation would take them.
Up next were progressive rock heavy-hitters Coheed and Cambria. Lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s iconic vocals sounded just as crisp as ever, and while the band did the least regarding utilizing the stage and theatrics of the night, they also used the fewest backing tracks, meaning they were giving a much more traditional performance. When you have as much talent on stage as Coheed and Cambria brings, this is hardly a bad thing. I will always respect a band that can record and actually perform the vast majority of their songs without leaning on prerecorded tracks. That being said, I feel like they would have been a better fit for a smaller stage. Maybe it was simply a product of being stationed at the back of the floor by the sound booth, but with the way the stages were arranged, it felt as if it was hard to get close to the action, with no real place to be front and center in front of the band. Still, their set was a solid mix of hits from around the same time eras that Shinedown would be drawing from, and thus was a great prelude to the headlining act.
Back in 2016, I was shocked by the amount of pyrotechnics and complex production that went into Shinedown’s performance, even sitting up in the top section of the arena. 10 years later, it seems that they’ve cracked things up even further. The very first song featured fireworks and flames from both the floor and ceiling, so intense you could feel the heat even from the back of the pit. This set the tone for the rest of Shinedown’s 2-hour set. While not always as intense as their opening tracks, the level of showmanship and performing experience displayed by lead singer Brent Smith carried the show. Being able to sing almost as if he’s in his prime after over 20 years is no small feat, standing as a testament to his raw talent as a musician. The band also made full use of the entire stage setup, playing multiple songs from the front stage right in front of the audience on the floor. Their set covered material from all across their discography, and while weighted more toward their newer material, their iconic tracks that put them on the map and catapulted to rock stardom had their time to shine as well.
Overall, this concert delivered everything I hoped it would, and much more. Despite some potential technical audio issues toward the end of Shinedown’s set, it was heartening to see that an act that has been so big for so long can find room to refine their performances and deliver something new after all this time. While the Dance, Kid, Dance Act II tour only has a handful of dates left in the U.S., if you have the chance to catch it, please do! Chances to see rock legends give this level of performance are becoming fewer and further between, and Shinedown refuses to disappoint even to this day.
Photos & Review By: Eric Gibson
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