Grin Like A Dog

"If you are not in this room, if you are outside those doors tonight, YOU DO NOT FUCKING EXIST!" That statement led off last night's ShineDown concert at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. The front man, Brent Smith, is a terribly brooding, angst-ridden kind of rock star. He also plays crazy a little bit too well. He waxes profoundly between each song on the ills of society. There are no macrocosmic events in Brent's life though. He remembers every slight ever committed against him, and wants nothing more than to get even. If this were purely spoken word it might wear thin, but the bands power chords and edgy, nearly dark lyrics provide the proper backdrop for the show. Think The Doors sans acid, plus bipolar disorder and a healthy dose of obsessive compulsive and you approximate ShineDown. 45 is their Black, with people yelling for it nearly before the band had taken the stage. The stage show has come a long way since I first saw them open for Default at the Stone Pony a couple years ago. Late '70s/ early '80s hard rock band light shows and loud, guitar riffs fill the space between the audience and the band in a way that makes the crowd's energy seem to propel the show. Most of the current song list is entertaining, even good, but without any true staying power. 45 though, has the power to be good twenty years from now, provided the band can manage to keep their synapsi from imploding. All in all, at $20 a ticket you cannot go wrong with a ShineDown performance. The last few times I have seen them Silvertide, of Northeast Philly, has been the preceding band. The boys from the Northeast are enjoying themselves being rock stars, which perfectly balances the "I'm so deep" aspect of ShineDown. Halestorm, a hard rocking band from York, PA, fronted by an ambitious female rocker, who growls and screams better than anybody I've heard lately but Chris Cornell, provided the opening salvo of the evening. After the show I approached Ms Hale and said, "You know my wife doesn't let me date, but when you screamed I fell in love." Leaning in, taking my hand in both hers she looked deeply into my eyes and said, "That's the sweetest thing anybody's ever said to me. I really appreciate that." The band needs a little polish, but get close to their lead singer and you'll be willing to see any bill their on.