Co-headliners, Collective Soul and Three Doors Down, joined forces to bring their “Rock and Roll Express Tour” to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater on Saturday night, with special guest, Soul Asylum. It was a night of throwback hits and intense talent and the crowd was loving every minute of it.
Photo: Mick Lite
Soul Asylum took the stage first to kick off the night. The band started their short set with “Shut Down” and “Hopes Up.” They then dedicated their next song to “the great state of Missouri” before performing 1995 song, “Misery.” The band then took a minute to joke with the crowd before rounding out their set with hits like “Black Gold,” “Runaway Train,” and “Somebody to Shove.”
From the moment they walked on stage to “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music, to the end of their set when they had the crowd encapsulated with hits like “Gel” and “Run,” Collective Soul stole the show.
Photo: Mick Lite
There is no doubt that frontman, Ed Roland, has a type of charisma and heart that draws you in, but the entire set was full of a certain passion and soul that stays with you even after the show has long since ended. Between hits like “Shine” and “December” and new songs like “Right as Rain” the band made sure to keep the crowd engaged and even inspired. Roland chose to share a moment with the audience before performing new song, “Observation of Thought.”
He said, “I was going through the sea of doubt, but then I saw the shore of hope. I swam to the shore, but the sea kept rising. As it kept rising, I looked up and saw the mountain of faith, and I chose to climb it….. Let’s go to church.” After a performance of that quality, Collective Soul gained a number of new fans.
As for 3 Doors Down, they brought the perfect mixture of grunge rock mixed with an immense amount of Southern twang, and politeness. Lead singer, Brad Arnold, worked up his gritty vocals for songs like “Duck and Run” and “Not My Time” but didn’t forget to thank his fans with a “God bless you my friends!” between each song. With little talk in between songs, these Mississippi boys slammed through top hits like “Be Like That” and “Citizen/Soldier” before transitioning into their southern roots with Charlie Daniels Band cover, “In America,” which Arnold prefaced by saying “the media will have us believe we’re divided, but we will always have each other’s backs. We will always be Americans.” The American pride had the crowd going wild, and before long the set was wrapping up with a version of “Kryptonite” complete with a Jamaican break and smoke filling the stage. After five minutes of the crowd chanting “encore” the band came back out to perform top ballad, “Here Without You” and “When I’m Gone” which was dedicated to the men and women who serve our country. It was a night full of powerful talent, faith, and American pride that audience members will be talking about for weeks to come.
Photo Galleries courtesy of Mick Lite
Soul Asylum: https://www.micklite.com/Music/Soul-Asylum-at-Hollywood-Casino-Amp-72118/
Collective Soul: https://www.micklite.com/Music/Collective-Soul/Collective-Soul-at-Hollywood-Casino-Amp-STL-72118/
3 Doors Down: https://www.micklite.com/Music/3-Doors-Down-at-Hollywood-Casino-Amp-STL-72118/
