‘The Revolutions Live Tour’ Featuring Shinedown, Papa Roach, and Spiritbox – Tampa, FL – 9.29.23

On September 29, Shinedown, Papa Roach, and Spiritbox visited the MidFlorida Amphitheatre in Tampa, for The Revolutions Live Tour. From the outside the tour seems like an odd mixture, but these bands mesh together in the most unexpected but wonderful way. Having different backgrounds and sounds really pulled the night together. 

In a pre-tour roundtable, Brent Smith, Jacoby Shaddix, Courtney LaPlante, and Mike Stringer talked about the variation of fans between their bands, and how having paired up for this tour will introduce all these different people to bands they may not have listened to much before. This truly came to fruition throughout the tour, but I saw it first hand in Tampa. I talked to some fans before the show who were wearing some Spiritbox merch and they told me they only knew the hits that Shinedown and Papa Roach had put out, but then after the tour was announced they decided to check out more of their music and they found out they liked a lot of it! It was really cool to see as a huge fan of all three bands how the different mix of fans were brought together and how several fans became listeners of the other bands.

When time came for Spiritbox to hit the stage they started out strong and heavy with their latest release, “Jaded.” The band had an energy that could only be matched by their fans. The crowd was screaming and pitting, especially for songs like, “Circle With Me” and “Holy Roller.” Courtney LaPlante did not disappoint with her insane vocal performance, she did not miss a beat with her melodic singing and heavy screams going back and forth. 

Papa Roach hit the stage next, and the audience was hit with what could only be described as ‘whiplash’ after Spiritbox’s set. Papa Roach brought a much different energy to the stage, bringing more sharp and punch-like vocals and instrumentals. Papa Roach has been playing a cover of 2Pac’s “California Love” this whole tour and coincidentally on the Tampa date, someone connected to the death of Tupac was arrested and charged with murder. Papa Roach’s set had a balanced mix of their discography to show off their range, and the crowd definitely vibed with it.

Shinedown hit the stage last but definitely not least. They hit the ground running with an overall captivating show. The usage of screens, pyro, lights, was perfectly coordinated to each track and it all fit together so well. Shinedown’s energy definitely gave us another round of whiplash or two in between the vast difference from Papa Roach’s energy and the difference in energy between their own songs. Shinedown cannot be put in a box, they have the heavy hitters, they have the soft and emotional, they’ve got everything in between, and you can tell the audience loved every minute of it. Shinedown, as well as the other bands, are big advocates for mental health and suicide prevention, and Brent always makes it a point to discuss it at every show, “don’t feel ashamed for needing help.” 

Check out Nolan Fisher’s gallery of the amazing show below.

Spiritbox

Papa Roach

Shinedown