 First
up tonight are Exit Ten, they are a local bad
that have been slowly climbing the music ladder
for a few years now. They are pretty much a hard
rock band melodic on the most part, they have
some really decent riffs, in their lengthy 4 song
set, which while fairly decent out stay there
welcome by being just too long by about a minute,
the pace could do with a little kick in gear too,
but the vocals are clean and good, and what you
expect of a hard rock band, he can hold a note,
the band have decent stage presence and a nice
full sound. Overall it's not a bad start if a
tad indifferent due to the lengthy songs; shorter
punchier songs are needed to open a show like
tonight.
 Next
up and main support are Redlight King, they are
a 4 piece rock band from the US. A pretty good
melodic rock band at that, not the heaviest of
hard rock bands, more catchy than heavy but you
know heavy enough. They open with Comeback and
City life both really catchy songs, that I'm sure
would have the crowd singing if they knew the
words, but they still give the band a good cheer
after each pause, they know a good band when they
hear one. They continue on with Old man, maybe
taking the pace down with that one and the vocalist
ditches his guitar for this song but the bands
full sound doesn't suffer, in fact it's barely
noticeable. They close out their set with Something
for pain, Underground and the superb set closer
Bullet in my hand, they close out the set on a
real high. Overall it’s a decent set from
these guys, and I should think from the reaction
they got from the crowd it might be a band you'll
hear from a lot more.
 Shinedown's
show just gets more and more spectacular every
time they come over here, tonight's show in particular
I must say has to be my favourite Shinedown performance
from all 4 of which I saw before this one. This
time though they've had to adjust their set list
to include their latest album "Amaryllis", their
14 song set in fact included 6 new tacks, 1 of
which ("Diamond Eyes") not included on any of
their albums to date, 5 from previous album "The
Sound of Madness" and 3 from "Leave a Whisper".
In all fairness I was disappointed with the list
but at the same time I wasn't! Loved every single
song but I like the majority of the bands back
catalogue so no matter what they did I'd always
be left craving more. Lead vocalist Brent Smith
is the driving force in this  rampage,
wholesome values and very down to earth, taking
a moment to get a round of happy birthday going
for a girl in the crowd's birthday and giving
speeches and inspirational talks as per usual
to uplift the spirits of all of their fans and
friends alike. Every time I attend a Shinedown
show I leave with a clear mind and a healthy dose
of loving life in a darkened world. Highlights
though for me personally; Opening with "Sound
of Madness", Closing with emotional song "Bully",
the lovers song "If You Only Knew", the friend
bonding song "I'll Follow You", scream vocals
in "Devour", the soft renditions of "45", "Second
Chance", "Simple Man" and "Crow and the Butterfly".
A spectacular show from an absolutely spectacular
band, I will always shed out however much money
it costs to see these guys.
Exit Ten 3/5
Redlight King 3.5/5
Shinedown 5/5
Review By Robert Lawrence And James Webb
Photos By Robert Lawrence
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