On Saturday, July 26, rockers Shinedown brought the second leg of their Dance, Kid, Dance Tour to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at Fiserv Forum, along with openers Bush and Morgan Wade. The tour references Shinedown’s recently released, chart-topping latest single “Dance, Kid, Dance.” It’s the band’s 22nd song to reach #1 on the active rock chart as well as on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart (making them the only band in history to reach 20 #1’s on this chart).
The tour had kicked off a week earlier on July 19th in Boston at the TD Garden, and all three bands came dialed in with sublime, highly-energic performances. We haven’t been to many arena concerts, but the show was arguably one of the best we’ve been part of.
First of all, the stage set-up for the concert was incredible and innovative. It combined a traditional stage setup with what is commonly referred to as “in-the-round” (kudos to the production team that made it possible). At one end of the arena, there was an atypical stage. A long walkway protruded from the stage area out to the crowd, leading to a circular stage area, with two branches extending even further on both sides. It gave all three acts a chance to bring the action closer to more fans (including the SWT team, who had tickets roughly center court; though Sara got even closer while taking photos on the floor for part of the sets).
Shinedown split their time performing on the main stage as well as the smaller center stage, creating a multi-dimensional performance and epic musical journey that had us hooked from start to finish. The band had an amazing stage presence, with every member having their chance to shine in the spotlight. Their set featured probably the most pyrotechnics we’ve seen at a concert, including from that center stage.
Bush and Morgan Wade didn’t have pyrotechnics, but each made their own fireworks through their fantastic songs and stage presence. During Bush’s performance, singer Gavin Rossdale went on a short tour of the arena, walking amongst the crowd on the floor and roaming through much of the lower bowl area (including within almost high-five distance from us). Morgan Wade and a couple of her bandmates also made full use of the extra room provided by the stage setup.
All three bands played an emotional, hard-hitting selection of old and new songs (here are Shinedown and Bush setlists). It was pure rock and roll bliss.
Below, writer Joshua M. Miller and photographer Sara Halbach share their photos documenting the unforgettable performances.
SHINEDOWN
Sara’s Photos
Josh’s Photos
BUSH
Sara’s Photos
Josh’s Photos
MORGAN WADE
Sara’s Photos
Josh’s Photos
You can catch Shinedown, Bush and Morgan Wade at the below dates:
August 5 | Sacramento, CA | Golden 1 Center
August 7 | Portland, OR | Moda Center
August 8 | Seattle, WA | Climate Pledge Arena
August 11 | Salt Lake City, UT | Maverik Center
August 12 | Denver, CO | Ball Arena
August 15 | St. Louis, MO | Enterprise Center
August 16 | Rosemont, IL | Allstate Arena
August 18 | Indianapolis, IN | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
August 19 | Cleveland, OH | Rocket Arena
August 21 | Raleigh, NC | Lenovo Center
August 23 | Greenville, SC | Bon Secours Wellness Arena
August 24 | Atlanta, GA | State Farm Arena
August 27 | Houston, TX | Toyota Center
August 28 | Fort Worth, TX | Dickies Arena
August 30 | Memphis, TN | FedExForum
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
Sara is a photographer based in southeastern Wisconsin and owner of Sara Cote Photography
