3 DOORS DOWN AT THE MANN CENTER IN PHILADELPHIA

Being a teen in the 90’s sure as hell was one great way to grow up.  One of the best parts of that era was the music.  Now technically yes, The Better Life, was released February 8th, 2000, but some of the classic singles hit the airwaves towards the end of the 90’s from an early demo that was released.  These songs would later make their way onto The Better Life (selling over six million copies worldwide).   Two decades later, 3 Doors Down is currently on tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of this post-grunge, hard rock, and now 7x platinum album. 

This past Saturday the band made their way on stage at the Mann Center, located in the city of brotherly love: Philadelphia.  The place was packed, and the fans were ready to hear some of those classics; “Kryptonite”, “Loser”, and “Be Like That” (with all the other hits not part of this album as well).  Fans didn’t have to wait that long as a last minute cancellation by Seether moved the start time up for 3DD.  Twenty years later and the band is still absolutely amazing.  As Brad Arnold joked saying, “We may be moving a little slower these days; especially in this crazy heat,” there would be no way of ever noticing.  These guys had one massive stage and crowd to entertain, and they made sure they covered all grounds, switching stage sides, walking the entire length of the stage to solo in front of all the fans, running up and down the rack risers - they literally were rocking as if it was the year 2000. 

Shooting these shows and some of my favorite acts is truly something special, but when hearing songs from an album like The Better Life, there are no words to describe the feeling.  I was a young teen the last time I saw 3 Doors Down at a festival.  Seeing them now almost twenty years later and hearing these songs from The Better Life album brings back so many great memories.   

The band was involved with the crowd: tossing picks, grabbing cell phones from fans, and taking a tour of the stage while singing and playing. The energy they brought to the stage Saturday night and gave off to the crowd was spot on, and to think, these guys are playing songs and singing lyrics that were recorded and written back in the year 1999.  That in itself shows the passion and appreciation a group like 3 Doors Down has for their fans that have been with them since the beginning.