Shinedown, Bush, Coast Arcade @ Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide 27/9/2026
Incredible! The dream pairing of Shinedown and Bush will without a shadow of a doubt go down as one of the year’s best shows in Adelaide. Even on reflection I can’t believe that we got to experience a show of this magnitude right here in Adelaide. Shinedown and Bush, Bush and Shinedown… doesn’t matter what way you look at it this show was earth shattering brilliant. It had every thing and more with fans getting plenty of value for their hard earned.
Opening was New Zealand indie rockers Coast Arcade who had the ultra-tough assignment ahead of these two giganteum rock outfits. They are an exciting prospect who were only just here back in July with the Silversun Pickups playing a much bigger venue this time round. It is always tough playing to someone else’s crowd but they continue to impress. They have some absolute guns in the armoury with Afterthought, Greener, Cycles and City Limits. It was a ballsy move covering Velvet Revolver’s Slither but did it well finishing on the popular Acetone.
Bush what can I say besides brilliant! With a bankable back catalogue that’s designed to rock stadiums that’s exactly what we got. It was a turbo charged opener with Machinehead fanning the flames of a set that had plenty of firepower. In the words of the legendary great man Gavin Rossdale “It’s Friday night, let’s do this.” Seventy five minutes of rock ‘n roll bliss and the strength of their set list reflected how many great songs got squeezed out. Identity was great as was The Land of Milk and Honey. Even fans who had side of side access looked pumped when Gavin acknowledged them mid song. “So many ways to forget them” led in to 60 Ways To Forget People. Everything Zen was an epic moment with the band in full flight. Oh my, how good was Greedy Fly from Razorblade Suitcase? Phenomenal!
The iconic Swallowed got the crowd singing building in to one of those magic moments. The important themes of mental health couldn’t be any more stronger with I Am Here To Save Your Life. Lyrically deep and one of those songs to be introspective. Glycerine is still just as powerful and memorable as it was when they first played it here back in 1996 in the Arena. Mobile phone lights lit up the room and if they weren’t they were recording this moment as the perfect keepsake. Gavin was in the thick of it in the crowd during Flowers On A Grave then finishing on a couple of big ones in I Beat Loneliness and Come Down uniting the crowd with the theme that we are all in this together.
With the stage smouldering after Bush and Coast Arcade things lifted another gear with Shinedown. There is a touch of irony with the Peter Gabriel song Sledgehammer being played right before Shinedown coming on. Right from the first songs their set had everything… pyros, fireworks and launching with a big booming opener Safe And Sound. Sixteen years has definitely made the heart grow fonder and they wasted no time making up for lost time. This show was everything you would see in a live concert film with every song having their own anthemic qualities. Asking For It and Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom) were massive songs and at this point we were only three songs in. Shinedown’s resume boasts eight killer albums with much the same dilemma of which ones to leave out. Even armed with a new album Ei8ht which is killer no filler only saw one played from it.
Brent Smith commanded attention proving to be the ultimate front man of all front men promising that it wouldn’t be another sixteen years to come back. Hmm, 2028 maybe??? The show went up another notch after If You Only Knew with Smith asking the question of Adelaide fans “what ya got?” 45 and Enemies were scintillating and the stage effects and use of pyros in Devil was absolutely first class creating this cauldron fire pit feel. The set was loaded highlights but one that stood out for me was A Symptom Of Being Human prompted by empathetic statement from Smith saying “take however many human moments you need Adelaide.” What a song, right?
I reckon Shinedown could of played for two to three hours and still only barely touch the sides with an abundance of riches to drawn on knocking over Bully, Cut The Cord and Monsters. The tribute to Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down, who would have been forty eight last night, was heartfelt and poignant featuring guitarist Zach Myers playing their big hit Kryptonite solo. The sentiment was carried over in to Lynyrd Skynyrd cover Simple Man was Smith talking about how unpredictable the universe is in working out why someone so young was taken. Shinedown finished in a blaze of glory with crowd favourite Sound Of Madness and the “song that introduced us to you” with Second Chance. Wow! An incredible night of live music and as we walk out to Tears For Fears Everybody Wants To Rule The World we can definitely say that Shinedown definitely ruled Adelaide.
Live Review By Rob Lyon