Collective Soul & 3 Doors Down
September 11th, 2018
Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, Colorado
Words & Photos by: Tyler Hypnarowski
After closing its doors for most of the summer while renovations were being done to the 111 year old building, the Fillmore Auditorium re-opened just in time for Collective Soul and 3 Doors Down to bring their co-headlining Rock & Roll Express Tour to Denver. The 3,900 capacity hall was mostly full as the two bands treated the Colorado crowd to an evening of good old fashioned rock music along with a side of both nostalgia and patriotism to go with it.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Hints Allegations And Things Left Unsaid album, Collective Soul opened up their set with “Now’s the Time”, a high-energy track from their upcoming new album. It wouldn’t be long before the Georgia-based band dove into that breakthrough 1993 album as frontman Ed Roland took to a keyboard and played the opening piano chords to their smash hit “Shine”. Fans got their chance to belt out their take on those unmistakable “Yeah!” lines as Roland eventually got up and danced around for the third verse. With the guitar playing of Ed’s brother Dean Roland and Jesse Tripplett both in fine form, the song proved just as great in a live setting as it does in the studio. In one of the area’s better venues for sound quality, the quintet, which also consisted of bassist Will Turbin and drummer Johnny Rabb, also ran through other songs including their 1995 hit “December” and the Suffragette City-esque sounding “Better Off” during the first part of their set.
Normally a highly energetic showman, Ed Roland admitted that this evening was not his finest saying “I’m not going to apologize, I’m just going to do the best that I can do.” Losing his voice towards the end of the set and looking a bit under the weather, it appeared he battled through and was true to his word there. However, the band did have to cut “Run” off the end of their setlist, the sweet acoustic single from 1999’s Dosage album. Before closing out with back to back rockers “Gel” and “Where the River Flows”, the band slowed things down with “The World I Know”, the hit ballad from their 1995 self-titled album. As images of the Manhattan skyline were projected on screens behind the band, Roland sang “I drink myself of newfound pity, sitting alone in New York City, and I don’t know why”. Given the significance of the day, the line surely resonated with many within earshot. Even on a night they’d perhaps like to have back, Collective Soul was still able to deliver a solid show for their fans.
The USA pride continued as the 3 Doors Down crew affixed American flags to drum risers on both sides of the stage. Beginning the show with the hard-hitting “Duck and Run”, they got good use right away as frontman Brad Arnold ran from one riser to another and everywhere in between on stage. Following in his lead were guitarists Chris Henderson and Chet Roberts while drummer Greg Upchurch and bassist Justin Biltonen kept a cool, heavy groove in the background. As one of the dominant forces in post-2000 rock radio, 3 Doors Down had no shortage of hits to pull from. The crowd sang along to songs like “It’s Not My Time”, “Be Like That”, and “Here Without You” while the band also offered up a rarity in “Dangerous Game”. According to Arnold, the band hadn’t played the track from their 2002 Away From the Sun album in “about a year.”
The best may have been saved for last however, as the show concluded with two songs from the band’s 2000 debut album The Better Life. First up was “Loser”, the lyrical content of which unfortunately hits way too close home for the band that was performing it. If fans or the band themselves needed something to lift them up after that, they got it in the form of “Kryptonite”, the mega hit that reached number 1 on three different Billboard charts. After playing the song live thousands of times, the band seems to have found a way to keep things exciting for both themselves and the crowd, as they interjected a reggae-grooved chorus towards the end of it.
About as patriotic a band as they come, it was extra special to see 3 Doors Down continue to keep their Mississippi brand of American rock & roll alive on the 17th anniversary of that tragic and fateful day. I couldn’t help but think if this date offered a bit of extra inspiration for them to perform. After all, they do have a Navy Veteran in their band in Chris Henderson, and have played numerous concerts over the years for US troops in locations that include Pearl Harbor, Japan and even aboard the USS George Washington. For those about to rock, we salute you indeed.
With over 25 years behind Collective Soul and over 20 behind 3 Doors Down, neither band’s train shows any signs of slowing down anytime soon. As mentioned, Collective Soul has their tenth studio album on the way, while in 2016 their pals in 3 Doors Down released their sixth studio album, Us And The Night. But while both bands have continued to put out quality music over the years, it is as if those old hits just sound sweeter with age.
