3 Doors Down - The Better Life Anniversary Tour: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The short summary:
The Good - Concerts are back! Anniversary of Debut Album! Free parking and good venue
The Bad - Seether cancelled last minute
The Ugly - Litter and traffic in Philly
For those that want the full details, please read on!
Twenty-one years ago, before their video for Kryptonite made the TRL countdown, I discovered 3 Doors Down on Napster. Remember Napster? I discovered a lot of good bands there, and built up my music catalogue (Thank you for sharing, as the slogan goes). But even as a recent high school graduate without much money, I liked to support the artists I found for free. I couldn't tell you the first song I heard for certain, but I soon downloaded every song I could find by them. It seemed as if each song was better than the last. I couldn't believe how awesome they were. I immediately looked up their website and bought a t-shirt (to support them with the purchase and advertising). Fast forward a little bit and soon they were blowing up. Their three singles all did well and The Better Life went 7x platinum! Fast forward to 2021, and they celebrated their 20 year anniversary, plus one, because as Brad said last night "last year didn't count."
I like anniversary tours so I was intrigued by this. When I saw Seether was opening for them, I bought a ticket to the earliest show in my area. Unfortunately, at 5PM, only two hours before door time, Seether posted on their social media that they would not be performing due to a "family emergency." Third hand news from the box office claims that the band was already at the venue when they got some bad news and bolted. At this time no further information has been released. I love Seether, so I hope for their sake that it is nothing too devastating. Curiously, 3 Doors Down did not mention Seether at all during their set.
I thought about staying at home because I really wanted to see Seether most. It was also projected to rain, and I didn't know anything about the Mann Center in Philadelphia. However, I hadn't waited 18 months for a concert to let a little uncertainty keep me at home! Despite a little traffic getting into the city, I arrived in plenty of time for the 8PM start time. Parking was free, although it was on grass. I was a little worried about getting stuck in the mud, but was luckily parked near a tree where the ground was sturdier. I met some nice folks on line and we talked about Seether while a double rainbow appeared overhead. The base rainbow was nice and complete. Security consisted of a metal detector. There was no pat down, and they were not policing masks. Once through the gate there is a patio area with concessions. T-shirts looked moderately priced, with many at $30. Drinks and food were outrageous, but I expected nothing less. The Mann Center is an open-air pavilion with a balcony and a lawn area in back. My ticket was for a middle seat in the middle section, right next to the sound board. I had a great view of the stage. It turned out there was no replacement opening band. There was a DJ who played a few Seether songs along with classics like Dio and ZZ Top. At 8:45 he went off stage and the PA played ACDC and some more rock. I went to the bathrooms (which were clean!) and got an overpriced drink while I waited and hoped 3 Doors Down would go on early.
They took the stage at 9:05PM. While I hoped they would do a longer set to make up for the fact that Seether wasn't there, they played the same 17 songs as the previous night in Baltimore. For it's anniversary, they played the Better Life in its entirety and in order. This means they started with their most infamous song, Kryptonite. Honestly, I enjoy this album top to bottom, so it was fun to hear it all in person. The band sounded great, but toned down from the energy they had in 2000 and 2008 when I had seen them previously. There was also just a small drum riser and a diamond video screen. Gone are the pyrotechnics and running around on stage like when they were younger. The lack of pyro is likely a cost saving measure after not touring for so long. Also, the venue was not close to a sell out. A few times Brad thanked us for being there and gave little stories in between songs. One standout was about the song "Be Like That." Brad described how this was written after they had been signed by Universal, but before the debut album was finished, and he was thinking of rock stardom and following his dreams.
After "So I Need You" the band walked off signifying the end of the album. They returned with "Away From the Sun," but only with guitar (Chet) and vocals (Brad). They followed this with "Let Me Go, Landing in London, and It's Not My Time." They then left the stage again. Lights dimmed, but stayed blue-green over the drum kit. The crowd did some clapping and chanting to bring about an encore. Since it is not uncommon to skip the encore these days, I was happy to have them return for two more songs. They finished with "Here Without You" first with only guitar and vocal and then with bass and a shaker for percussion. "When I'm Gone" was the last song played, and was dedicated to the military and first responders. By 10:30PM the lights came up, and it was over.
All in all, I was left satisfied, but wanting more. 3DD has several more great songs that they could have played to fill two hours in the absence of Seether. I also would have switched out "Landing in London" because it is not one of their better known singles, and it added nothing to the set. It rained, but I was nice and dry under the pavilion roof. Most people did not wear masks. I was lucky to have empty seats next to me, and when I moved over I had nobody on either side or directly behind. There was a nice breeze in my face too which kept the humidity from being too uncomfortable and circulated more air. I made it out of the parking area without issue, although if I backed up instead of pulling forward there could have been an issue as there was standing water in back of me. I would go back to this venue again.
