Live-Metal.Net - Concerts: Snocore

Rams Head Live
Baltimore, MD
February 28, 2006

By GREG MAKI

It was with disappointment that I looked upon Shinedown’s set list as it was taped to the floor of the stage just prior to the start of their show. The reason for my dismay? “Atmosphere,” one of the best pure Southern rock songs since the heyday of Lynyrd Skynyrd and by far my favorite track from either of Shinedown’s albums, was conspicuously absent. It didn’t keep me down for long, though. All the other favorites were present, and having seen Shinedown live before, I knew we were in for a passionate, energetic performance.

The band took the stage and immediately launched into “Heroes,” the lead track from their most recent CD, Us and Them. The set struck a good balance between songs from the new album and their debut Leave a Whisper, with the earlier tracks – “45,” “Burning Bright” and the Skynyrd cover “Simple Man” (dedicated to Dimebag Darrell) – generally getting a bigger audience response. But it’s the Us and Them tracks, with their stronger Southern feel, that truly stand out.

The Winterfresh SnoCore Tour has featured many notable bands over the years. I guess none of them interested me before as I cannot recall who they are. This year’s co-headliners, Shinedown and Seether, don’t do anything particularly original, but they do what they do so well that it doesn’t matter. The tour also is introducing larger audiences to two new acts that deserve to be seen.

The first band of the night, Halestorm, blew me away, plain and simple. Singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale has a Joplin-esque, powerhouse voice. She is one of the best singers, male or female, I have heard in a long time. The band’s not too shabby either, playing soulful, riff-driven hard rock. They currently have only a five-song live EP available. I can’t wait to hear more.

Next up was Flyleaf, another female-fronted band. There seems to be some debate over whether they are a Christian band. Reading the lyrics and listening to some of what singer Lacey Mosely had to say on stage, it’s clear that that is probably where her beliefs lie. But it isn’t blatant and never feels as though she is preaching. What I get out of it is a positive message about staying true to your beliefs. I don’t think that is limited to a Christian way of thinking. Of course, it helps that the band rocks and that Mosely can both sing and rip out a ferocious scream. They played most of the debut self-titled CD, with “Fully Alive” and the single “I’m So Sick” as the highlights.

I don’t know if they are too many bands that pull off Pantera and Nirvana. Seether is one of them. After dedicating “Fine Again” earlier in the set to Dimebag and Dave Williams of Drowning Pool, they slipped the first verse of “Walk” into “Because of Me.” Singer/guitarist Shaun Morgan then did one of the eeriest vocal impersonations I’ve ever heard on a cover of “Heart Shaped Box.” If you listened to a recording of it, only the most hardcore Nirvana fans would be able to tell it was not Kurt Cobain (which is a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it).

About halfway through the set, Morgan introduced Seether’s biggest hit, the power ballad “Broken,” by saying, “This is the one we did with that chick [referring to Amy Lee of Evanescence, his former girlfriend] … But we’re gonna bring someone better out on stage tonight.” Enter Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale. And was she ever better than Lee. I’m biased because the original acoustic version of “Broken” is my favorite Seether song, but Lee completely ruined it for me. Hale redeemed it with her performance. I hope this duet has been recorded or will be at a future show. It really should be preserved. Afterward, Morgan added, “No, she’s not my new girlfriend. Just two friends doing a badass version of that song.”

Seether’s set featured all the other favorites, including the opener “Gasoline,” “Needles,” “Truth” and the closer “Remedy.” The band doesn’t quite have the stage presence of a headliner, so it was good that Shinedown closed the show. Between Hale and Shinedown’s Brent Smith, there is no shortage of talented vocalists on this tour. Though his talk between songs (one song was dedicated to “all the dreamers” in the crowd) was a bit on the clichéd side, it’s hard to doubt Smith’s sincerity. And like that of Flyleaf, his message is overwhelmingly positive, something that is lacking in a lot of today’s music.

The hit single “Save Me” closed out Shinedown’s set, and with no other songs listed and the band taking its time saying goodbye from the stage, it appeared the show was over. A few minutes later, the band returned and guitarist Jasin Todd began the unforgettable riff of “Atmosphere.” It was a perfect end a great night of music.