Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown Play for a Packed House in Sioux Falls, SD

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Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown have been on tour playing for massive crowds all over the country since mid-October.  Saturday, November 12th was no different and it was Sioux Falls’ turn to witness this amazing show.  The Denny Sanford Premier Center was the location for the show and even though South Dakota is a little out of the Twin Cities area, it was the closest this tour was going to be.  So, I made the drive to cover the show.  I could see the building from quite a distance away and realized just how massive this venue was the closer I got to it.  The number of people in line at all the doors was amazing.  I could tell this would be a good show with many people enjoying it!

As Lions opened up the show right on time.  They came out on stage with a ton of energy and made full use of the large stage.  I hadn’t personally heard of As Lions, but they were a great addition to this show with heavy hitting songs that the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy.  The lead singer must have had a very durable microphone, as he liked to swing it around a lot during the vocal breaks and dramatically catch it before singing again!  I think As Lions was a great way to start out the show!

Next up, Sixx AM.  Now, if you don’t know about this tour, the next three bands are pretty much worth twice the drive I made.  Sixx AM was the first of these bands and they certainly did not disappoint.  You can tell that every band member puts everything they have into their performance.  They performed all the fan favorites during the set and the high energy show was just what the crowd was waiting for!  These guys are a blast to photograph with all the crazy things they do on stage!  It was hard to keep up with them at times since they moved back and forth so much up there!  Sixx AM is definitely not a band you want to miss!

Shinedown was up next and they were the band that I was personally excited to see.  I saw them back in May of this year and was blown away by their show.  I wasn’t sure what to expect this time, but after the curtain went down it was clear this was going to be one hell of a show.  Fire spewing from the back of the stage, fireworks going off, and tons of lights everywhere, and this was only the first song!  The craziness continued throughout and well past the first three songs that I got in the pit.  I had to quickly store my gear in the back offices and head out to watch the rest of the show and I, like the thousands of other people in the venue, was treated to a performance that won’t soon be forgotten.  Aside from all the lighting and effects that were going on, Shinedown was spot on for each song.  The lead singer commanded the stage as well as the audience.  He told everyone to make a path for him to walk to the back of the floor and no one hesitated!  The show was also stopped a couple of times to let security handle some rowdy fans.  Shinedown truly cares about their fans and makes sure they show their appreciation by giving them a spectacular show!

Closing out the show was Five Finger Death Punch.  Once that curtain dropped, they blasted the lights and took the energy of the show up way past anyone’s expectations!  The crowd was singing along to every song and it was cool to see some younger kids in the crowd enjoying the show as well!  Part way through the show, the band brought up some of those kids on stage along with their parents.  One of those kids had a birthday and the singer made sure to get every member of the band to sign the poster he had.  What a memorable 9th birthday for him!  Five Finger Death Punch puts on an impressive show and really strives to make the experience a fun one for the fans.  From what I could see from the packed venue, they succeeded!

I wish that I could have stayed for the entire FFDP show, but a long drive awaited me.  All in all, it was worth the drive to see four amazing bands!

As always, get out and support live music and I’ll see you out there!

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