3 Doors Down gets it up at State Theater

By Joyce Lee

Daily Arts Writer

DETROIT - 3 Doors Down came knocking on State Theater's door last Thursday. The five-piece rock band from Escatawpa, Miss. showed Detroit their Southern hospitality by giving a great performance. Their hour and ten-minute long set had all the right elements for a kick-ass rock show: High energy, great songs and awesome stage presence.

The band opened their set with the title track of their album "The Better Life," a fast-paced, inspirational song. Guitarist Chris Henderson said the song was about "the five of us and our personal goals for a better life. We come from a really small town. We had never really left the town to do anything. Then when we got the record deal, we went to New York City, and saw that there was more out there than Escatawpa."

Not only are these guys perceptive about life, they know how to rock the crowd. Their set consisted of many songs off their album including "Life of My Own" which is going to be one of the three next singles to be released.

Surprisingly, there was a lot of hardcore moshing and even slam-dancing right from the beginning. People crashed violently against each other and bodysurfers dropped left and right. The crowd's excitement erupted towards the middle of their set. All the lights went out and all that was visible was a green glow on stage. When the lights turned on, guitarist Matt Roberts appeared with a green guitar and green lights. He played literally three chords, and the crowd instantly knew it was "Kryptonite," the band's hit single. During the song, there was dramatic, baseball-type lighting that shined on the crowd and encouraged them to sing even louder. Then lead singer/former drummer Brad Arnold then went into a mini-jam session on the drums with current drummer Richard Lyles.

Brad Arnold is not only a good drummer but is also a dynamic frontman. He moved across the entire length of the stage, headbanging and jumping around. He interacted with the crowd, throwing hi-fives and drumsticks to his fans. He was able to bring a great amount of energy and fun to the show. During the song "So I Need You," a fan threw a plastic cup of water at Brad and he ducked, the cup just missing him. But instead of being pissed off he just laughed and smiled at the fans.

The highlight of the show was the song "Be Like That," a beautiful, mellower song which, Henderson said, "kind of sums up everybody in the world. Everybody wants to be something, whether it be an actress or a fireman, they strive to be something. The song is just kind of taking it down that same road." During the song, the lighters were out and for one moment in time everyone was swaying together in unison. It was definitely a Hallmark moment.

3 Doors Down concluded their set with their current single, "Loser" and the songs "Read Love" and "By My Side." They left the audience satisfied with a good taste of rock.

JOYCE LEE/Daily

Singer (and former drummer) Brad Arnold and the rest of the 3 Doors Down crew put in a solid show at the State Theater on Thursday.