Shinedown and Ayron Jones at the Warfield in San Francisco

After much anticipation from Shinedown fans they are back with new music and a new tour which kicked off in San Francisco at the historic Warfield.

Ayron Jones kicked off the evening with a generous 45 minute set that visibly impressed the crowd. Soulful, bluesy, grungy and just darned good … think Lenny Kravitz meets Kurt Cobain. Ayron’s ferocious cover of Nirvana’s “Breed” will remove any doubt of this dude’s cred. Talk about a perfect opener!

The crew made quick work of the set change, turning over the stage with time to spare as the crowd waited impatiently. Finally taking the stage to “Cut the Cord,” it became clear early on that the band was pumped and ready to leave it all on the stage for the San Francisco crowd. Clearly non the worse for wear after an extended break from touring, Brent Smith’s vocals were on point while Zach Myers and Eric Bass tore across the stage from one end to the other. A concussive blast of pyro made sure that everyone in the theater was paying attention (not that they already weren’t).

Certainly the big news in Shinedown land was the announcement of their new album and the release of a new single, “Planet Zero.” Aptly inserted into the setlist right behind an epic singalong of “Diamond Eyes,” the San Francisco crowd was treated with the song’s live debut. With the song having been out a matter of hours, a quick glance around the room showed fans singing along, pumping their fists in the air and soaking it in with a look of appreciative awe. If the reaction from the audience was any indication, the new material is going to be a winner for Shinedown.

While the debut of “Planet Zero” was certainly a highlight of the evening, it was by no means the end. A couple of fire extinguishers strategically placed stage left and blackened marks on the stage ramps were both clues that the band wasn’t planning to stop with the intermittent pyro. Sure enough their would be flames belching behind the band for “Devil” and then again for “Monsters.”

The hour and 45 minute set ended with a cover of Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” before closing with “Sound of Madness.” All in all January 26, 2022 will go down as a good day to be a Shinedown fan in San Francisco with new music and an intimate live show with a big stage production.

Setlist: