Rock radio. It’s a term most music lovers know well. The songs from artists that you primarily hear over non-satellite radio. You may not think you’re a rock radio fan, but more often than not, there is at least one band you love that fits into this category. On October 15, 2021, I had the opportunity to see two artists that are heavy hitters in the rock radio genre; 3 Doors Down and Seether. 3 Doors Down was wrapping up their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Better Life and had Seether as a special guest. Orlando, FL was lucky enough to be one of the tour stops and I was there to photograph and review the show.
The show was held at the Hard Rock Live Orlando which sits on Universal Studios property. It’s a little bit of a trip to get to the venue as you need to park in one of the Universal Studios garages, at $27(!!), walk down to the security hub, get through security, walk through City Walk, and over to Hard Rock Live Orlando. Universal Studios was busier than usual as the event took place during Halloween Horror Nights so getting through crowds of people quickly was not easy. After I made it to the venue, I picked up my photo pass and ticket, had security check my bag, and made my way inside. It had been a long time since I had been back at the venue to see live music and I had forgotten how much I loved it. Hard Rock Live Orlando is a large venue with a seated balcony, which was open that night. And if the balcony is open, I knew the show sold well. Two fellow photographers, Vicki and Troy, were both there and it was great to see them as I hadn’t seen them in over a year. As we chatted and waited for the show to start, I watched as the crowd grew bigger and bigger at the venue. Right before the start, it was a nearly sold-out crowd, which was great to see for both of these bands.
Seether was first on stage. The band from South Africa got their start in 1999 and since then has dominated the radio airwaves. All 8 of the studio albums hit the Billboard Top 200 Albums on their release weeks. The band has 3 platinum and 2 gold albums, 17 #1 singles, and 21 Top 5 multi-format hits. Their last studio album Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum was released in 2020 and on this concert night, Seether released Vicennial – 2 Decades of Seether where 16 of those 20 songs were #1 singles. Seether has been a huge success and the fans absolutely love them. And when the lights dimmed and the band hit the stage, the roar of appreciation was deafening.
Shaun Morgan (vocals, guitar), Corey Lowery (guitar), Dale Stewart (bass), and John Humphrey (drums) kicked off the set with some old-school Seether with “Gasoline” from Disclaimer. A great song to get the crowd moving and singing along. They stayed in that era of music and slowed it down a little with “Fine Again”, which is a fantastic sing-along song. After they stopped, everyone walked off stage and Dale came back with an acoustic guitar. Shaun came back out as Dale played the opening chords to “Broken”. This is one of my favorite songs though I was surprised they would play it so early in the set.
But, they came back and raised the energy up for the rest of the show for sure. “Country Song” from the 2011 Holding Onto String Better Left To Fray was nice surprise and got the crowd back moving and jumping around. I loved hearing them play “Rise Above This” from 2007 Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces. It’s such an awesome track with catchy lyrics, solid drum beat, and has some nice highs and lows in the vocals. And of course, Seether had to play a few songs from Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum that included “Bruised and Bloodied”, “Dangerous”, and “Wasteland”.
Seether was having a blast on stage, especially with the fans reacting so positively to the song selection as they played through. Each song garnered more and more cheers and the fans looked more and more animated as the set went on. John was fierce behind the drums, ripping away drumbeats with such precision and speed. Dale strummed away on the bass while he grooved around the stage, making his way to the edge to engage with the fans. Corey is a madman on the stage, playing hard and heavy, and waving his arms in between songs to get the crowd cheering and screaming. Shaun primarily stayed at the mic singing and playing guitar, every now and then stepping away from the mic during an instrumental. Shaun spoke to the crowd in between some songs graciously thanking the fans for being out that night and supporting them over 2 decades.
They wrapped up their set with two of my favorites, “Fake It” from 2007 Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces and “Remedy” from 2005 Karma and Effect. Seether put on an awesome performance, with a phenomenal selection of songs for the fans. You can pick up the new Vicennial – 2 Decades of Seether, other albums, and merch over at their website HERE. Seether will also be performing a global livestream event on November 11th. You can purchase those tickets HERE. Seether’s setlist that night was:
- Gasoline
- Fine Again
- Broken
- Country Song
- Nobody Praying For Me
- Rise Above This
- Bruised and Bloodied
- Wasteland
- Let You Down
- Dangerous
- Fake It
- Remedy
Headliners 3 Doors Down from Mississippi formed back in 1996. They immediately found success with the release of The Better Life on February 8, 2000. The album sold over 3 million copies that year and their career absolutely took off from that point. The band released 6 studio albums with millions of copies being sold overall. This night was the 20th Anniversary celebration of The Better Life as they couldn’t celebrate it in 2020 due to the pandemic. The band would be performing The Better Life along with some other greatest hits. And when those lights went down, the crowd was loud for their appearance.
Brad Arnold (vocals), Chris Henderson (guitar), Chet Roberts (guitar), Justin Biltonen (bass), and Greg Upchurch (drums) walked out all smiles and waving to the crowd. On the back screen, a green diamond appeared in the background that could only relate to the band’s first single “Kryptonite” off of The Better Life. And it’s no wonder, as it’s a super catchy rock song that just has an uplifting beat that sticks in your head. And the songs that followed off that album were just as good. “Loser” while mellow still holds that rock sound and hook that sticks with you while “Duck and Run” has that faster beat and has the fans jumping and bouncing around. These were 3 phenomenal tunes to kick off their set.
The Better Life for their first album was such an amazing album and there should be no surprise why it performed so well. With other songs such as “Better Life”, “Be Like That”, “Down Poison”, one of my personal favorites, and “So I Need You”. I was expecting the band to play the album from top to bottom, but 3 Doors Down decided to mix it up a bit during their set. They thew in “Away From The Sun” the title track from the 2002 sophomore album, “Landing In London” from the 2005 Seventeen Days, and “It’s Not My Time” from the 2008 self-titled 3 Doors Down.
3 Doors Down was having a blast on stage. Chris and Chet were jamming through every song, crouching down by fans at the edge of the stage, and ripping out riffs with such clarity. Justin was also jamming just as hard, urging the crowd on as they played. Though Greg was far back from the rest of the group, you could clearly hear those precision drumbeats through every song. And Brad was clearly enjoying every moment as he was all smiles as he sang. He sounded just as good as they recorded the album 20 years ago.
The band wrapped up and did an encore of two songs, “Here Without You” and “When I’m Gone” both from Away From The Son. The crowd erupted as they finished putting a perfect end to a perfect night. Brad had thanked the crowd numerous times throughout the evening for their support over the years and with the crowd that night, they were more than happy to continue giving it as long as they keep playing. You can pick up all of 3 Doors Down music and merch at their website HERE. Their setlist from that night was:
- Kryptonite
- Loser
- Duck and Run
- Not Enough
- Be Like That
- Life of My Own
- Down Poison
- Away From the Sun
- By My Side
- Landing in London
- Smack
- So I Need You
- It’s Not My Time
Encore
- Here Without You
- When I’m Gone
3 Doors Down and Seether was a perfect combination for this tour. Two rock radio powerhouses proved that not they still have what it takes to bring in a crowd, perform, and show no signs of slowing down in the future. Though 3 Doors Down and Seether completed their tour, Seether will be performing for their global livestream on November 11th. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see them!
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