Back on April 27, 2003, Earthday Birthday 10 took place in Orlando, FL at a location known as Tinker Field. At the time, the one-day festival had made a great name for itself and secured some truly wonderful acts such as Godsmack, Sevendust, Shinedown, and Stone Sour. And on that lineup was a young Canadian rock band known as Theory of a Deadman. I had already known of them as their song “The Invisible Man” was on the Spider-Man (the very first movie with Toby MacGuire) official movie soundtrack and I was hooked the moment I heard it. I went and bought their self-titled debut album and loved it. So I was super excited to see them live for the first time. And WOW did they ever impress fans that day. I remember looking at my wife during their set and saying, “Watch, one day this band is going to break out big.”. Fast forward 3 years later to Earthday Birthday 13 on April 30, 2006. Theory of a Deadman was back on the lineup just after they had released their second album Gasoline. Their performance was fantastic, they had a huge crowd there as an opening band. I even had the opportunity to meet the band that day, which I’ll never forget. Fast forward again to 2022 where Theory of a Deadman is one of the biggest rock bands out there today. Their singles are all over rock and mainstream radio, they have TV appearances and perform at major festivals. I knew all those years ago what they’d end up doing and on March 6, 2002, was heading out to Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL to photograph and review their Say Nothing Tour show.
As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of Theory of a Deadman and you’d probably have to physically hold me back to miss one of their shows. As I made my way across Universal Studios Citywalk to get to Hard Rock Live there was a buzz in the air as Universal Studios is in the midst of their Mardi Gras celebration. The buzz carried over into the Hard Rock Live as well. You could see the fans who were there early were excited for the show that night, probably just as much as me. I knew this was going to be a great show for photos and performance.
There was only two bands performing this evening and both are spectacular. Opening up the show was the rock band Shaman’s Harvest from Jefferson City, Missouri. This is a band I’ve known for years, who I truly enjoy, and more people should get behind their wonderful music. The band has been around since 1996 and released their first album Last Call for Goose Creek in 1999. They’d go to release 2 more albums when their fourth album Shine from 2009 peaked at #41 on the Billboard U.S. Heatseeker charts. When they went to record their fifth album, Nathan Hunt had to be treated for throat cancer in 2014. But, they finished and came back stronger than ever with Smokin’ Hearts & Broken Guns that peaked at #5 on the Billboard U.S. Heatseeker charts. It was the first album with Mascot Records. Their sixth album Red Hands Black Deeds from 2017 hit #1 on the Billboard U.S. Heatseeker charts. And now they’re back on tour supporting their new album, Rebelator dropping on March 11, 2022. Shaman’s Harvest consists of Nathan Hunt (vocals), Josh Hamler (rhythm guitar), Derrick Shipp (lead guitar), Adam Zemanek (drums). Also joining them was Cord Bishop on bass, who is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band T.R.O.Y. (The Reality of Yourself).
They opened up with “Bird Dog”, which was the first single released from Rebelator. It has this slow southern rock sound before it kicks into that hard rock groove. I really dug this song for the rock harmony it holds with all the band members. It grabs you with that sing-a-long feeling, which is exactly what the crowd was doing. They followed up with the second single they released from the new album titled “Voices”. Another slow groove song that jumps into that melodic hard rock before slowing down again. I totally got into this song for the lyrics and music. It really grabbed me and caught myself singing with them in the photo pit.
Shaman’s Harvest thrives on their hard rock sound and have this wonderful ability to captivate the crowd during their music. And their stage presence is top notch. They absolutely get working the stage and engaging with the crowd. Josh and Derrick are amazing guitarists and work the stage so well. Adam is a top-notch drummer and keeps that rock vibe alive. Nathan’s vocals are so deep when he speaks but he beautifully works that range from deep bass to falsetto so easily. And he has such a presence in the way he sings and performs. I had the chance to meet Nathan and Josh while I was covering the festival Carolina Rebellion in 2018 and they are the nicest and most genuine people too. I think this is one of the reasons I love Shaman’s Harvest so much. Great music, great vibe and genuine rock music. You feel they believe in the product they produce. Cord from T.R.O.Y. fit right in with the band as well. His bass playing and showmanship on stage was awesome.
Shaman’s Harvest had a fantastic opening for such a small set. They definitely had the Orlando crowd behind them that night and I look forward to hopefully seeing them again to support their album. You can find their music and merchandise HERE. Their setlist that night was:
- Bird Dog
- Voices
- Soul Crusher
- Blood in the Water
- Lilith
- Under Your Skin
- In Chains
- Dragonfly
And then we were ready for our headliners Theory of a Deadman. The rock band out of North Delta, British Columbia, Canada made waves on the music early on. Formed in 1999 they signed on Chad Kroeger’s (vocalist of Nickelback) 604 Record imprint and released their self-titled debut album in September 2002. That album would eventually be RIAA certified Platinum in 2006. Their follow-up album Gasoline in 2005 was another successful album. They also had singles from the album used in television and video games. The band would continue to release hit after hit of albums with many notable singles. Their current and seventh studio album Say Nothing, released on January 31, 2020. The Say Nothing Tour was scheduled to run during 2020 but was postponed many times during the pandemic and finally got back on the road to perform for the fans in 2022. Theory of a Deadman consists of Tyler Connolly (vocals, guitar), Dave Brenner (guitar), Dean Back (bass), and Joey Dandeneau (drums).
The moment Theory of a Deadman took the stage it was full speed ahead. Opening up with their popular single “Lowlife” from their 2011 album The Truth Is… had the crowd (and me) singing along to every word. And you can see from everyone on-stage they were happy to be back and performing again. They jumped into “Bitch Came Back” from the same album, which really amped up the crowd to sing even louder. From there they changed gears with “Blow” from the 2017 album Wake Up Call. It was already such a fun start to the evening. The band got a bit more serious performing “World Keeps Spinning” from Say Nothing focusing on the struggles people deal with in their daily lives while the world seems to be going crazy. Theory of a Deadman was firing on all cylinders, though I noticed Tyler’s vocals seemed to be a little off-key at times that night. When they performed “Santa Monica” from Gasoline, one of my favorite songs from them, his performance of it wasn’t the same as it was in prior shows. He didn’t seem to be hitting the notes I was expecting in certain spots, while totally nailing it in others. But he definitely killed it when they performed “So Happy” from 2008’s Scars & Souvenirs.
Stagehands rolled out a piano for Tyler right after “So Happy”. I was wondering when would come out as usually they have a keyboard or piano on stage early on in their set. Tyler made himself comfortable and performed the Chris Isaak cover “Wicked Game” off Wake Up Call. It’s such a beautiful song and this is one where Tyler completely nailed the song from note to note. And then the band decided to have some fun with the crowd. Tyler started playing the opening note’s to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” smiling the whole time as the crowd went ballistic. I stood there watching saying to myself “This isn’t happening…” and Tyler gestured to the crowd to sing and they obliged. Yep, it happened. They only played a quarter of the song before stopping, which made the crowd cheer. The band then played a snippet of “Jump”by Van Halen, which got more cheers. Tyler looked to Dave and said, “Watch this” and started playing the opening piano notes to “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. And once again, the crowd went crazy. Tyler opened up the piano top and had hidden inside some beer that he passed out to adults in the front row.
You just could feel the happiness from the members of Theory of a Deadman that evening. Dave was totally focused on his guitar playing and backing vocals and was just so into the music that night. Dean was dancing and grooving with his bass all evening long. Joey is just a wildman at the drums ripping away the notes, banging his head along to the songs, and having fun. Tyler was smiled a lot during the evening and you could see it in his face he was so pleased to be performing again. Tyler even stated during the show that after 20 years why haven’t they given it up? Because of the fans! They enjoy seeing us at shows just as much as we enjoy seeing them.
And as they were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, they performed their very first single from that album “Nothing Could Come Between Us”. It was great to hear that song live again after so many years as it’s one they don’t play often. They also threw in their performance “History of Violence” from Say Nothing. While it is such a sad song, is so fantastic to hear performed live. They wrapped up with another of my favorite songs, “Hate My Life” from Scars & Souvenirs. That is probably the most popular sing-a-long song from the band. The moment he sang, “So sick of the hobos” is all it took for the crowd to sing along and Tyler let them before jumping back onto the vocals. Though the best part was he sang “Put your middle fingers up in the air” to which he did and the crowd did as well and then sang “Go on and say ‘Fuck you!'” and flips over his guitar that had a styled colored “Fuck You” on it. That was purely awesome.
The band stepped off-stage and then came back a few minutes later for their encore performance. They started it off with “Rx (Medicate)” from Wake Up Call which such an evolution of music from their normal rock sound. I really got to love this song the more and more I listened to it. I’d consider this to be a song that should be on all their setlists. Then the band had fun with the crowd again playing a good minute of “Paradise City” from Guns N’ Roses. And it was really good! I wouldn’t mind hearing a full cover of it from the band. They then jumped into a minute of “Walk” from Pantera, which really threw me for a loop and was very unexpected. Finally, the wrapped up the evening with my second-favorite single “Bad Girlfriend” from Scars & Souvenirs. That song brings back that hard rock sound we all know and love from Theory of a Deadman.
You can find the music and merch from Theory of a Deadman HERE. Their setlist that night was:
- Lowlife
- Bitch Came Back
- Blow
- World Keeps Spinning
- Santa Monica
- So Happy
- Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
- Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey cover – not full song)
- Jump (Van Halen cover – not full song)
- A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton cover – not full song)
- Straight Jacket
- Nothing Could Come Between Us
- Not Meant To Be
- History of Violence
- Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks cover – not full song)
- Angel
- Hate My Life
Encore:
- Rx (Medicate)
- Paradise City (Guns N’ Roses cover – not full song)
- Walk (Pantera cover – not full song)
- Bad Girlfriend
Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better night with Shaman’s Harvest and Theory of a Deadman. The last tidbit Tyler left us with was after the tour they were heading back into the studio to record their eight studio album. I can’t wait to hear it!
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