20 Years 6 Albums... Just 3 Doors Down

The arrival of 3 Doors Down in Louisville, Kentucky on August 31st, for the next stop on their "Us and the Night" tour, proved that even a mid-week concert can pack a venue with the right ingredients. When you add twenty-years of experience, a total of six albums under your belt and combine that with an inter-generational audience, you have created a dish called "success". 

It is hard to believe that number, 20. When you reflect over that time period, it is hard to believe that something has been a part of you longer than it has not. Brad Anderson, one of the band's founding members, mentioned during a recent interview that he was only 17 years old when the band was founded in 1995.  They have quite the resume to go with those years as well, including selling 16 million albums globally, Grammy nominations, two American Music Award wins, five awards for songwriting and a debut album that was certified six times platinum by 2000 (which was fueled by the smash hit "Kryptonite"). Their second album reached triple platinum status again with not one, but two stand-out singles "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You" just two years later. The band's third album (platinum) along with their fourth album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and their fifth album, released in 2011 debuted at #3. Clearly, they are no stranger to success in this business and their latest album, Us and the Night, which was released in March of 2016, coupled with the ongoing tour, indicates there may be another twenty successful years in the future for these guys. 

I have to admit that as a fan of the band from "way back", I was excited to be able to attend and photograph this show, especially after downloading my personal copy of the new album and reading reviews on the new music. The guys came out and started the show off with a new track and we did not have to wait for the "classics" we love as they went into "It's Not My Time" as the second, staying on the 2008 self-titled album, and going into "Citizen Solder" which was released as a tribute to the National Guard in 2007. The night was consistent with a sampling from each album and all the favorites we all expected and wanted to hear.

I was a little skeptical walking into this show. As I mentioned, I read the reviews on the new album and while my personal opinion greatly differed from those I read, maybe the live version would sway me to the dark side. I am very pleased to say that I am even more grounded in my beliefs and opinions on this band as well as their music, old and new.

The reviews I have read consist of complaints that the band sounds like, well, themselves. That the album doesn't offer a new sound.  I was thinking to myself, and probably said it aloud as well, "why would they not sound like themselves?" I could not understand why, if you are a fan of a band and their music, why you would want them to sound like anyone other than who they are? It seems to come down to a few things, as I have gone back and forth over the confusion with these reviews and comments combined with what my personal opinion and experience has been with regard to the band, the album and the performance.  The genres of music that people box some bands into has continued to transform and morph into other things over these past twenty-years, whereas a "rock band" may now be considered "alternative rock" based on who wants to place them where, in order to reach certain stations, video channels and/or demographics. The problem with boxing this band into one category and judging them on that alone, is that they have continued to evolve over the years, as happens with everything over a span of time. It takes pure talent, dedication, passion as well as a little luck thrown in, with the industry as ever-changing as it is, to be able to keep your loyal fan base while watching it grow by adding new generations.  When you do something great, there is no reason to completely change it. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

I am excited to see "what happens next" with this band.  If this new album and this performance tonight is an indication of things to come, I think the fans will continue to pack the venues, buy the music, and support them for another twenty-years, and by then, who knows how we will listen to music, or watch videos, or even attend shows. How ever it happens, I believe that 3 Doors Down will make sure that they evolve enough to stay relevant and remain rooted in who they are enough to satisfy the die-hard fan. 

One last note, in case I was not clear, go get your copy of Us and the Night today, you will not be disappointed.