Sick Puppies in Charlotte Professional Concert Photos by Richard Thigpen Amos' Southend

Sick Puppies 07/27/10 Charlotte, NC at Amos’ Southend

Halfway through the set list, Sick Puppies played a long 3 song acoustic set, with the drummer in front alongside Shimon and Emma. While 2 songs would

have sufficed I think the extra acoustic song took away from the energy the crowd had worked up. During the last half

of the show, the band played the intro to RATM's "Killing in the Name Of". While very entertaining I just didn't think that the guitar skills were strong enough

to pull it off, and also unnecessary, especially after also playing the intro to "Bombtrack" earlier in the evening. Shimon really worked the crowd though,

getting everyone involved bouncing up and down, and telling the crowd to hold their arms up, and having a noise contest between the

men and the women. While this was all great, I really wanted to hear more Sick Puppies songs instead of several successful attempts at getting the crowd

more involved in the show, which took too long. Maybe it's different in Australia where bands really involve the audience, I just never experienced it in

all the many shows I've attended.

Photo of Sick Puppies at Amos' Southend in Charlotte, NC by Richard Thigpen Photography, professional concert photography, live concert photos

Live Concert Review:

Taking the stage, the trio started off with "War" from their latest album Tri-Polar. The first few songs the band were calm and collective, as if they were taking in Charlotte. After warming up a few, the lead singer, Shimon Moore, was more involved with the audience which proved to be the motif for the rest of the evening. The bassist, Emma Anzai, was very sleek and cool. She had a fan blowing in here direction giving a cool wind effect blowing her hair while she played. She never skipped a beat and was always on the move and posing the rock star moves. We heard her singing voice, which was very clear and beautiful, during the end of "Odd One".

Shimon and Emma grew up in Sydney, Australia and when they were 15 they were inspired to be musicians as part of their life goal. When they moved to L.A., they found their drummer to complete the band. Shimon talked about being in rock n' roll for the heart of it and not the money. I like this guy. If one has the right mindset and do things for the right reason, one will find themselves to be successful. This band is heading in the right direction. Sick Puppies have done a lot to promote themselves and essentially started from a YouTube video that landed them their first big record deal. The moral from his story he told on stage is to never give up on your dreams. Shimon was very thankful and told the crowd several times during the show the band got to be where they are now because of them.

Almost ending the show, Sick Puppies did a rendition of "Pants on the Ground" from the American Idol reject, blending in a rock cover of Beyonce's "Say My Name". The Sick Puppies ended the 1:25 minute setlist with "You're Going Down", the biggest hit they have on the radio to date. Coming off a tour with Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, and Shinedown, the Sick Puppies did a great job at headlining this show. Support acts for this concert were My Darkest Days, Janus, and It's Alive.

Setlist:

War

Cancer

Survive

My World

Odd One

Riptide

Maybe

All the Same (acoustic)

What Are you Looking For (acoustic)

Too Many (acoustic)

Should’ve