Shinedown shine’s down!! Coca-Cola Coliseum plays host to the 'Dance Kid Dance, Act II Tour' in Toronto
- Justin Michael Carriere
- 4 hours ago
- 11 min read
By: Justin Michael Carriere
Toronto, Canada - I was at a university gym when I first heard Shinedown in 2004. Their song “.45” came on over the sound system and when the chorus dropped, I instantly added an extra 200 lbs to my bench press… or maybe it was an extra 2 lbs on a calf raise (I don’t remember exactly as it was over 20 years ago)… Regardless, I felt an infusion of adrenaline that carried me through for the rest of my day.
Fast forward to 2026 and Shinedown continues to inject that adrenaline into audiences worldwide. With eight studio albums, over 10 million records sold, and more than TWENTY number one singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, it’s easy to see how they have been able to generate such a following over the last two decades. Blending lyrical depth, heavy riffs and a kick ass show, the guys from Jacksonville, FL brought their Dance Kid Dance, Act II Tour to the Coca-Cola Coliseum on July 13th. While they were without their longtime bass player, Eric Bass, who has stepped away for mental health reasons (we wish you all the best Mr. Bass!), band members Brent Smith (vocals), Zach Myers (guitar) and Barry Kerch (drums) were joined onstage by musicians Josh Sturm and Zack Mack to give TO a Monday night rock show they won’t soon forget!
Despite the heat (and it was a hot one!) folks showed up in droves to the Coliseum. With a line up extending far down the block, the thickness of the air didn’t put a damper on the palpable excitement. And it was fun to see the mix of summer rock show attire, which ran the gamut from “head to toe metal black” to “fuck it, it’s plus a million outside so I’m going with a pastel tank top and shorts”.
From Ashes to New
Opening the night (to an already three quarters full house!) was nu metal band From Ashes to New. Formed in 2013 in Lancaster, PA, with a line up consisting of Matt Brandyberry (rap vocals, keyboards), Danny Case (vocals), Mat Madiro (drums), Lance Dowdle (lead guitar, bass) and Jimmy Bennett (rhythm guitar, bass), these guys set the tempo for an electric night. With the house at half, and the audience buzzing “I Want It That Way” (of all songs!) came on over the speakers. As it neared its end, the track became discordant and dissolved completely as the lights went to black and the band exploded onstage with their song “New Disease”
Making full use of the runways and mid venue platforms (which was greatly appreciated by the photographers in media row!) both Case and Brandyberry were livewires. Anchored by Madiro’s pounding drums, they blasted through their set with songs like “Nightmare”, “Heartache” and “Drag Me”, the latter having become their first official number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. While the comparisons to Linkin Park have been floated around, this vocal duo definitely bring their own style. Case’s tone was mellifluous and was a perfect complement to Brandyberry’s aggressive attack. Not be outdone, Dowdle, fully masked up, made sure to take his moment on the centre platform and treated us with his impressive guitar chops.
As the band worked through their set with songs like “Barely Breathing” and “Die for You” the energy never dropped. As the band launched into their closing track, “Panic”, Brandyberry took to the mic and told the Coca-Cola Coliseum crowd to “lose your fucking minds…” and they happily obliged! A fantastic way to kick start the night.
From Ashes to New Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Coheed and Cambria
Up next, the stage was set for veteran NY rockers Coheed And Cambria. For those who are unfamiliar, their extensive music catalogue is paralleled with a vast sci-fi universe created by lead singer and guitarist Claudio Sanchez. With over three quarters of their studio releases being concept albums, Sanchez weaves the story of the 'The Amory Wars' through lyrics, accompanying comic books and now a full-length novel. I’m just at the beginning of this journey and I highly recommend giving it a go if you’re a sci-fi fan!
But I digress, on with the show! Sanchez was joined by bandmates Travis Stever (guitar), Josh Eppard (drums and keyboard) and Zach Cooper (bass), with all joining in on backing vocals. Opening their set with the track “Running Free”, the band’s heavy guitar tone was on full display, as were Sanchez’s lyric tenor vocals. They was crystal clear and soared through the Coliseum. Moving straight into “Searching for Tomorrow”, the complexity of their catalogue is evident. This tune was a perfect example of why they’re so hard to categorize into a single genre; it was a bit of prog rock with an 80’s speed metal bent, and fun as hell!
They moved deftly through their set which included songs like “Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)”, “Play the Poet” and “Shoulders”, the latter earning them the band’s first top 10 spot on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay charts.
The band worked their way through 5-6 tracks before Stever briefly addressed the audience with an intro but then quickly added “let’s party some more” and got right back to the music. One of the highlights of the evening was “Liars Club”. In the preamble, Sanchez asked the audience “I got a weird ass question…how many of you in here have told a lie…?” To which a woman behind me promptly answered “fuck that, no!”… which I didn’t believe for a second, and I guess neither did Sanchez, as right before launching into the tune he graciously said “Welcome to the club!”
Aside from what appeared to be a bit of a microphone issue on “A Favour House Atlantic” (which was rectified pretty quickly) my only critique was that Sanchez waited until the very end of the set to make use of the mid arena platform on the final tune “Welcome Home”. Since us photographers were already done shooting, I was rendered incapable of capturing that glorious hair in mid head bang as he ripped on his double neck guitar (for a moment even behind his head!) to close out their time! A tight set and a perfect run up for the headliners to come.
Coheed and Cambria Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Shinedown
As the buzz intensified throughout the arena for the main act, the familiar swell of cheers began, and as the lights came down, the crowd bore witness to… a guy with a TV on his head dancing on the stage to “Sledgehammer”… ??? Yes, you read that correctly. But once our brains adjusted to what we were watching, everyone quickly got on board with cheers and excitement. And looking closely, the screen on “TV guy” were the same images as the ones on the large screen above the stage, and after a minute or two, video of the band started and moments later they had arrived. A super cool and esoteric way to start the show!
The band exploded into the opening track of the night, “Safe & Sound”. And I mean exploded in a very literal way; balls of fire rained down from above and shot up from below. The pyrotechnics were out in full force on this day my friends! The intensity of the track, combined with Smith’s high-octane enthusiasm was an amazing way to start their show. He was back and forth from the main stage to the platforms, connecting with the music and the audience in perfect harmony. Clad in an all-black suit jacket and pants, I tip my cap to him for having the cardiovascular stamina to put on the show he did in such heat! Adding to the frenetic pace, Myers and Sturm prowled the platforms in the exact same way as Smith (but with guitars!) and the Coliseum floor crowd was so appreciative to get an up-close view of these veteran rock stars!
The band moved from “Fly From the Inside” right to “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)” which was an absolute highlight of the night! The pyro seemed even bigger and hotter on this track, and it ratcheted the energy in the building even higher. Side bar; how Canadian am I that the first time I heard this song I thought the lyrics were Voulez, Voulez Vous…!
After having the privilege of being able to shoot through “Diamond Eyes” us photographers had to go stow our gear away, but I managed to make it back in time for a track off the new record called “Three Six Five”. As I was prepping for this show, I listened to the new album and this tune instantly stood out. It has a mellower feel, but Smith’s vocals have so much depth and dimension. The live performance was no different. Before starting the song, he took some time to address us directly and asked us to reflect on loss. What followed was a beautifully quiet and shared experience for the entire arena… When it comes to rock and roll, you expect a song to grab you by the throat and make you pay attention, but when one of them folds its arms around you and encourages you to remember loved ones no longer here, it’s another thing entirely. Thank you for that Mr. Smith.
And what better song to follow that than “Devil”!! An explosion of fireworks around Kerch’s drums followed by more fireballs amped the energy right back up from the last song and the arena was pounding! This was another highlight as I could feel the bass rumbling in my chest and the residual heat from the fire. If there had been any doubt we were at a rock show (there wasn’t) it was put to rest with this song’s performance.
After moving through tracks “Searchlight” and “Enemies” there was another appearance by TV Guy! This time he was clad in a Raptors jersey and playing the role of DJ spinning some tunes. It struck me as a little odd, but I thought maybe there were some technical glitches to sort through as it was only night two of the tour. Well, I was wholly incorrect! When the lights returned, the band had moved their instruments to the platform for a “middle stage” set. The power of misdirection is a real thing my friends!
Boasting a full drum kit and a keyboard set up, the band took this opportunity to offer us a more stripped back take on the show. Not necessarily strictly acoustic, but a bare bones “non-pyro” set of 4 songs including “Call Me”, “How Did You Love”, “Burning Bright” and “Thick as Thieves”. Personally, this was one of my favourite moments of the evening. It felt very genuine. Smith addressed Bass needing to step away and offered his (and the band’s) full support, we got some genuinely funny back and forth between Smith and Myers, and we learned a couple of fun facts! One, this was the band’s biggest show in TO, and two, keyboardist Zack Mack, who was filling in on that role for Bass, learned 45 songs in 4 days before joining the tour!
As Myers was introducing the final performance on the platform, “Thick as Thieves”, Smith was noticeably absent, and when he finally returned, iPad and music stand in hand, Myers quipped “It took Poncho Mack 4 days to learn 45 songs, but we put this record out 11 years ago, and Brent still doesn’t know the words everybody!” To which Smith replied by gleefully waving to the crowd. It’s moments like this (rippin on your buddies in the band) that for me, make a group stand out and connects them with an audience even more.
Once they wrapped up the middle platform set, they were back to main stage for one of the heaviest tunes of the night, “Planet Zero”, with thick crunching guitars and a distorted mic for Myers on backup vocals. After another track on the newest album, “Young Again”, the band moved into the acoustic opening to “Symptom of Being Human”, during which time Kerch broke out the Canadian flag and sat beside Myers on the edge of the stage as he played guitar. As the song crescendoed, Kerch was back behind his kit just in time for sparks to rain down for an epic end to the performance!
Following up with powerhouse tracks “Cut the Cord” and “Monsters”, I’ll admit this is when my “sensible safety adult” brain started to panic. I am all for looking cool, but when Smith took to the centre platform to sing between two towering infernos, I was worried for him. I kept thinking “…night two of the tour, maybe they marked the squares wrong!!! For the love of God Brent don’t make me watch you burn alive!!” But! All for nought. He stayed safe and looked so fucking bad ass doing it!
Before moving into the closing tracks for the night, Myers took to the middle platform for a solo first verse/chorus cover of “Kryptonite”, a touching tribute to 3 Doors Down frontman Brad Arnold who passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer. Transitioning right from there into their cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”, Smith had the entire audience singing along on the chorus and got us primed for the last couple of tunes of the show, the penultimate of which was “Sound of Madness”. By this point the band had more than demonstrated their musical prowess with Kerch’s merciless attack on the drums, Sturm’s thumping bass, Mack’s incredible versatility and Myer’s effortless guitar work, so what stood out to me was how much FUN they were having! Nothing showed this more than when mid-way through the song, Myers appeared out of nowhere with a goalie stick and started to “puck handle” Smith! It was clearly not planned as you could hear Smith trying to suppress his laughter while he was singing. Another instance of the band instantly levelling up with the Coca-Cola Coliseum crowd.
While the screen above the main stage appeared to stop working around this time (night two of the tour glitch I’m sure) by this point we were are all so enthralled with the music that it didn’t seem to matter. The entire arena was whipped into a frenzy when the band launched into the closing song “Second Chance”; a final display of Smith’s commanding voice and the bands incredible stage presence. The final notes were punctuated by Smith graciously stating “It’s never goodbye, it’s just ‘til next time” before more fireworks exploded at Kerch’s drums and he hammered out an epic fill as the stage lights went out to end the show.
When those dreaded house lights eventually come up (translation: no more music), there’s usually a bit of a dip in energy. But! On this night, the fellas from Shinedown did not immediately leave the stage but rather came right out and were meeting and greeting people still left on the floor, signing things, slingin' picks and sticks, and once again demonstrated how much they care for their audience.
Set List
Safe and Sound
Fly From the Inside
Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
If You Only Knew
Three Six Five
Devil
Searchlight
Enemies
Call Me
How Did You Love
Burning Bright
Thick as Thieves
Planet Zero
Young Again
A Symptom of Being Human
Cut the Cord
Monsters
Kryptonite (3 Doors Down cover)
Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Sound of Madness
Second Chance
One of my favourite moments of any given show is the exit; it’s so much fun to see how affecting an artist and/or an experience has been for someone. Well, this night did not disappoint; from the legion of folks in brand new Shinedown gear and a young man with a signed Coheed and Cambria vinyl, to the lady who I excitedly heard exclaim “Zack signed my sweater!” and the dude passed out in the flower bed (he had a friend with him!) this was truly a night worth remembering.
5 flaming fireballs out of 5
Shinedown Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Shinedown Online
Show Date: July 13, 2026