Alter Bridge (Photo credit: Mike Augusti)
BOSTON – Hot on the heels of their latest release The Last Hero, Alter Bridge found their way to Boston’s House of Blues on Tuesday night for a rocking 18 song set that spanned their entire thirteen year career.
Alter Bridge was born from the ashes of the mega record selling machine Creed. Creed disbanded in 2004 due to the usual creative differences. Guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips decided to move forward with another project and teamed up with singer Miles Kennedy formerly of The Mayfield Four. The band name, Alter Bridge, actually comes from a bridge located on Alter road near Tremonti’s former home in Detroit Michigan.
The band kicked off the set with a rocking new one from The Last Hero, titled The Writing on the Wall. This was the start of the pummeling that Alter Bridge gave the raucous Boston crowd. After seeing this band numerous times, I can say their fan base is rabid and seriously dedicated. Up next was Come to Life off of their 2007 release Blackbird and quite possibly my favorite record from the band.
With five full length releases, Alter Bridge has a plethora of material to choose from and they made sure each album was showcased. Next two songs, Farther From the Sun and Addicted to Pain were off their fourth release Fortress.
Alter Bridge was really on tonight and the crowd also felt it with some serious noise after each song. The band ripped through White Knuckles, Ghost of Days Gone By, Cry of Achilles, Water Rising then also included a couple of new songs, Crows on a Wire and My Champion.
One of the many highlights of the show was when Miles Kennedy did a solo acoustic version of Watch Over You. Kennedy is a super talented singer and musician who also fronts Guns N Roses guitarist Slash’s solo projects during down time with Alter Bridge. Rumor has it that he was asked to practice with some of the remaining members of Led Zeppelin for a possible tour. He did not disappoint with this rendition and brought many fans to tears…ok maybe not to tears, but a loud ovation.
The rest of the band came back out for the remaining songs of the set that included Isolation, Blackbird, Open Your Eyes and Metalingus. The band left the stage to the roar of the crowd wanting more…
After a couple minutes of a very loud Alter Bridge chant from the fans, the band came back out for their encore. The lead encore song and also the first single off of The Last Hero was Show Me a Leader. The political undertones of this song really ring true in these crazy political times.
Then guitarist Tremonti and singer Kennedy had a little fun on the stage with some dueling guitar solos. Both are amazingly talented, but clearly Tremonti is the lead guitarist for a reason. He blew away Kennedy with the speed and accuracy of his solos.
The band ended their set with fan favorite Rise Today and promptly rode off in to the sunset! If you are a fan of live rock music, go see this band. They are well worth the price of admission.
Please feel free to reach out to Mike at [email protected]
