Shinedown, 3DG, P.O.D.

March 29, 2013
La Crosse Center
La Crosse, WI

Can I just say thanks to the La Crosse area for coming out and supporting rock music in this area?

According to 95.7's Facebook page, there were 6000 people at the P.O.D./Three Days Grace/Shinedown show last night. It was reportedly the biggest crowd since Motley Crue in 2006. (I don't know if that's for any concert or any rock concert. Regardless, the turnout was fucking amazing!) I knew we were in for a good turnout when I arrived 5 minutes after the doors opened and couldn't sit anywhere near where we wanted.

So, this is what I saw when I walked in. The background music while waiting for the show was the Beastie Boys. Hell yeah!
P.O.D. started the night out. Personally, I neither love nor hate P.O.D., and I really only know the songs I hear on the radio. I knew probably 75% of the stuff they did. However, I really wasn't impressed. Not sure why. I did find their guitarist hilarious. He was a short, stocky fellow who basically just screamed into the mic throughout various songs. He totally didn't scream "rock god."

Next up was Three Days Grace. Now, quick history lesson for folks who don't follow this kind of music. About 2 days after I bought these tickets, the band announced that the lead singer (Adam) was leaving the band. Then, a few days later, it was announced that the lead singer of My Darkest Days (Matt) would be filling in for this tour. Drama ensued. I like My Darkest Days (MDD), but Matt's voice is nothing like Adam's. The internet lit up for weeks with complaints and suggestions for a better replacement. I was mostly worried that the La Crosse area wouldn't come out to support this show because you really didn't know what you were going to get. However...

Picture "borrowed" from the La Crosse Center's Facebook page.

Three Days Grace (3DG) was awesome! Matt did a really great job. There was a mic set up center stage that had some kind of effect on it that I felt he went too way too often and ruined parts of songs for me. One of my co-workers thought he did a great job but expressed concern for his excessive use of gestures. I can attest this was a bit annoying. Overall, though, they rocked it. I feel better now that I know I'll be seeing them again at RockFest in July.


The best part of the whole night, though, was probably when 3DG performed Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff." Seriously...there aren't words. Our local radio station has a compiled video of some of the show on YouTube. A part of this performance is on there, and I would encourage you to go watch.

Shinedown was up next. Once of my favorite parts of going to concerts is the "in between" music. Beastie Boys greeted me when I walked into the venue; a little Rage Against the Machine while waiting for 3DG; then...a mixture that included Journey and House of Pain while we waited for Shinedown. It made no sense, but it was funny as hell as the place was singing out loud to all of it.

All of a sudden the lights went down and all eyes turned to the stage. There were spotlights on the bassist and the drummer, but there was a moment of "wait...isn't there something missing?" All of a sudden I turn to look directly in front of me...

Yep, they had completely set up two risers in the sound/light area without me ever realizing it. Oh, and security moved the guys in without me every seeing it, too. (The video I linked to earlier has their "secret"entrance and about 2 minutes of them singing the opening song, "Enemies.")

Sorta like P.O.D., I neither love nor hate Shinedown. Thanks to a co-worker sharing some music with me, I have a fair amount of it in my library, and satellite radio plays a fair amount of it. However, I know nothing about the band. Like, I was shocked they all came out in some sort of suit attire. They stayed in those outfits until they came back out for the encore. Weird, but pretty cool.

The circle thing is where the videos played.

They had a video playing behind them on stage almost the entire time. (It reminded me of Rob Zombie.) I guess I never really paid attention to the meanings of their lyrics. This is a pretty emotional, issues-oriented band.

They were phenomenal live. No joke. The music was spot on, the performance was great, the lights weren't overboard (like 3DG's were), and the videos were pertinent and moving.

So, aside from people standing in front of us, blocking our view, and a random drunk whose ass I thought I might have to kick, it was a great show. I really hope Mr. Fahey paid attention to the attendance last night. Mr. Fahey: La Crosse can support a rock show!