7/24/13

Show Review: Bigger than Life Tour featuring 3 Doors Down & Daughtry @ DTE Energy Music Theatre 07/22/2013


3 Doors Down and Daughtry are midway through a co-headlining tour which brought them to the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkstron, MI. this past Monday. Having completed an extensive tour of the world, they added a 3rd leg to this well received show with a number of dates here in the States. 3 Doors Down are no strangers to the rock music community, rising to quick fame on the strength of their hit song "Kryptonite" which cracked the Billboard Top 10 list almost immediately and led to a series of subsequent chart topping albums over the next decade. Daughtry, fronted by American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, hardly needs any introduction with his multiple appearances on the show culminating in a season 5 finals appearance. Opening acts Oleander and  former Live vocalist Ed Kowalczyk primed the crowd early on with short but energetic sets.



Both bands came together Monday night in display of raw energy and passion for playing live music, with a tremendous stage presence put on for the packed crowd. Daughtry took the opening headlining slot on this night, strutting his moves across the weathered and hallowed stage of DTE, engaging the crowd, slapping hands, and even standing on the barricade to sing to his fans eye to eye in the front rows. The electricity in his performance was well matched by those in attendance, and it is easy to see how this artist was a nations favorite on American Idol.

3 Doors Down came on shortly after dusk with a full moon rising in the sky, to a rousing and enthusiastic round of applause from the audience which was still riding on the adrenaline imparted by Daughtry. Wasting no time with words, they band saluted the crowd and launched in to Time Of My Life from their most recent album of the same name. Still delivering the same one-two punch as they did when they first burst on the scene in 2000, they left little doubt that they are still relevant in this age of one hit wonders and regurgitated overnight music "sensations". One of the highlights of the night included an on-stage appearance by Daughtry who shared vocals with Brad Arnold when they cranked out their flagship hit "Kryptonite", igniting the entire venue into a raucous chorus of cheers. Closing out their set with "When I'm Gone", 3 Doors Down left their legacy in no doubt as the lights faded and the crowd moved on in to the night, awash in the glow of a perfect concert night out at DTE Energy Music Theatre.



ABOUT 3 DOORS DOWN:
Since forming in 1995, Mississippi rock quintet 3 Doors Down (vocalist Brad Arnold, lead guitarist Chris Henderson, bassist Todd Harrell, drummer Greg Upchurch and guitarist Chet Roberts) has sold more than 16 million albums worldwide, garnered three Grammy nominations, two American Music Awards, and five BMI Pop Awards for songwriting, including BMI’s coveted "Songwriter of the Year" award. The band’s debut album, 2000’s The Better Life, which is now certified six times platinum, featured the smash hit “Kryptonite.” Their sophomore album, 2002’s Away from the Sun, saw similar success with its radio mainstays “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You.” Their subsequent efforts 2005’s platinum certified Seventeen Days and 2008’s 3 Doors Down debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart.  In 2012, 3 Doors Down released The Greatest Hits, a collection of nine #1 hits and three new songs, returning to the Top 5 at radio with "One Light."  The band continues to perform for crowds around the globe as they enter the next chapter of their career.
 
In 2003, 3 Doors Down founded The Better Life Foundation with the goal of giving as many children as possible a better life; they have raised more than two million dollars for local children’s charities since their inception. For more information visit: www.3doorsdown.com and www.thebetterlifefoundation.org