Sunday, February 22, 2009
By Aaron Keker

THE VENUE, Hammond, Indiana - “Appreciative”¹ is defined as “feeling or showing appreciation” and “nicest”² is defined as “amiably pleasant; kind.” Random House Dictionary (2009)

Last evening, one of the “most appreciative” and “nicest” rock bands performed at The Venue in Hammond, Indiana.

You could tell by 3 Doors Down’s demeanor towards each and every person backstage, that they are the “nicest” rock band around.

The entire evening, Brad Arnold showed the audience his gratitude by saying “my friends,” “how you doing, my friends,” “thank you, my friends,” “thank you very much, my friends” and finally closing with “thank you my friends, we love you.”

Brad, maybe you should trademark these signature statements and include them on the band’s merchandise? On the front of the t-shirt, you could have a graphic of the band or 3 Doors Down logo and on the back have another graphic of a crowd and the venues played with a caption that reads “Thank you very much, my friends.”

3 Doors Down opened their performance with their latest single “The Champion in Me.” About midway through the song, Brad proceeded to run up the stairs towards drummer Greg Upchurch and he belted out several lyrics to the song. Brad’s action was totally unexpected and it energized the audience so much that they released a loud ovation after the song concluded.

________________________

¹ Random House Dictionary, s.v. “Appreciative,” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appreciative (accessed February 22, 2009).

² Random House Dictionary, s.v. “Nicest,” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nicest (accessed February 22, 2009).

3 Doors Down performed one-third of their songs from their self-titled album 3 Doors Down. If you are M.I.A. in purchasing the album, then you are missing out on songs like “Citizen/Soldier,” “Train,” “Let Me Be Myself,” “She Don’t Want the World” and “It’s Not My Time,” that 3 Doors Down performed live.

Additional songs that I hoped 3 Doors Down would have performed from their latest album were “Pages” and “Your Arms Feel Like Home.” Unfortunately, those songs never made it on The Venue’s set list.

Some of the songs that were given the opportunity are timeless classics like “Away from the Sun,” “Be Like That,” “Landing in London,” “Let Me Be Myself,” “Here Without You,” “Kryptonite,” “It’s Not My Time” and “When I’m Gone.”

As the audience sang alongside Brad on “Away from the Sun,” “Landing in London,” and “When I’m Gone,” the audience was graced with imagery of the sun, the London map and finally the American flag. In my opinion, the imagery added additional entertainment as these songs were performed.

The imagery went a step further as 3 Doors Down displayed the video in the background of “It’s Not My Time” as the song was being performed. If you enjoyed the video, it is available on iTunes for $1.99.

“Landing in London,” which is one of my favorite videos, is also available. I commented backstage to Brad about “when is ‘Citizen/Soldier’ going to be released on iTunes.” He basically said, “I know we need to get that up there.”

3 Doors Down performed with perfection and were even greeted with boisterous cheers as each song concluded. But the grandest highlight of the evening occurred after the encore.

The moment the drums were being smashed and the first lyric had been sung “Well I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind” on “Kryptonite,” the myth was busted and Brad was indeed behind the drums. When the song concluded, 3 Doors Down received the largest ovation of the evening.

3 Doors Down’s flawless performance coupled with the audience’s enthusiasm, the various video imagery and Brad the “drummer” turned out to be an awesome evening to spend with the “nicest” rock band around. For those of you who feel unlucky to win a radio meet and greet, join the 3 Doors Down fan club for $35.00 plus shipping and handling and you will have an opportunity to purchase a VIP package. Only then will you have an opportunity to meet a very “appreciative” rock band. Based upon my observation, and the fact that the first three albums by 3 Doors Down has reached platinum status, maybe “nice guys [don’t always] finish last?” Below is the set list for 3 Doors Down’s performance at The Venue in Hammond, Indiana.

The Venue Set List:

1. “The Champion in Me”
2. “Citizen/Soldier”
3. “Away from the Sun”
4. “Duck and Run”
5. “Be Like That”
6. “It’s Not Me”
7. “Landing in London”
8. “Train”
9. “Let Me Be Myself”
10. “She Don’t Want the World”
11. “Behind Those Eyes”
12. “Here Without You”
13. “Loser”

Encore:

14. “Kryptonite”
15. “It’s Not My Time”
16. “When I’m Gone”

akecker@alwaysacoustic.com