Some hard rock bands are all business. Some like to throw in some good times to go along with the crunching metal riffs.

A crowd at Roanoke Civic Center Coliseum got plenty of both Tuesday night.

Platinum-selling Staind -- an almost hardcore, almost pop band -- delivered its hits business-style to 3,672 people at the 7,500-capacity arena. Second-on-the-bill Shinedown mixed in plenty of talk, courtesy of affable frontman Brent Smith.

Staind singer/guitarist Aaron Lewis was a clear-throated warbler one minute, a "rawring" beast the next on tunes such as "This Is It" and "Falling." He didn't speak a word between songs, opting instead to charge his tight, professional band right through its set. The crowd was cheering the opening lines of "So Far Away" as this reporter was leaving about 10:35 p.m. to make deadline.

Shinedown brought the hot crossover rock hit of the moment, "Second Chance." The band played it toward the end of its 55-minute set, packing the time in between with a cache of hard-hitting tunes, including "Sound of Madness" and "Devour."

Singer Smith is from the school of prop-a-leg-on-a-monitor-and-lean-into-some-piercing-metal-tenor singing. And for an often angry-voiced rock 'n' roller, the guy was a sweet and sincere stage presence. Smith told the audience, "You are the greatest gift that we've ever been given, and we love you very, very much."

Contrast that with Chevelle singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler, whose frontman work came off as rote and uninterested. His band's 40-minute set of midtempo rock came off the weakest of the night. On recordings, the band shows some musical subtlety that didn't translate live.

Halestorm opened with a set that was nearly half as long and about twice as entertaining. Lzzy Hale, carved directly it seems from the frontwoman archetype, was a party-sparker from jump, with the requisite stratospheric vocals that remained strong at the bottom of her range. Her brother, Arejay Hale, was a loose-limbed, stick-twirling groove machine of a showman. He led the group in a full-band metal march of a drumline solo piece, all flailing tightly on tom-toms.

With songs such as "Dirty Work" and "I Get Off," the band showed energy and stagecraft. Hard rock fans, keep your eyes on this act.