Back
in April Alter Bridge announced a 6 date UK headline
Arena tour for October and also announced that
label mates Shinedown and Halestorm would be joining
them on the tour and with tickets priced at £25
tickets flew out the door straight away, and after
months of waiting tonight I headed down to the
Motorpoint Arena to witness the triple whammy
rock ‘N roll tour of the year.
I
got to the venue moments before Halestorm took
to the stage and like normal Halestorm were on
fire tonight putting everything into their fast
paced energetic 30 minute set where they only
had time to play 6 songs but they picked the songs
well as the likes of ‘Love Bits (So Do I)’,
‘ Mz. Hyde’, ‘Freak Like Me’,
‘I Miss The Misery’ and Judas Priest
cover ‘Dissident Aggressor’ really
warmed the crowd up tonight but it was the sing-a-long
set closer ‘Here’s To Us’ which
really got the thousands of fans singing along.
For the majority of the set most eyes were on
drummer Arejay Hale as he is super talented and
spent the whole set showing off and beating his
drums in a way that most drummers lack, by the
end
of the set Halestorm announced that they will
be back for a headline tour in April this was
met by huge cheers and I am sure if you give it
a few years Halestorm will be ready to headline
the arena circuit themselves.
Shinedown were up next and the response they got
from the crowd was like they had just stepped
on stage to headline but then again Shinedown
have spent quite a few years playing sold out
shows across the UK which has helped make them
a big household name in the alternative music
industry and as soon as the band blasted into
set opener ‘Devour’ you just knew
that the next hour with Shinedown was going to
be a pleasure to witness.
Now every time I have seen Shinedown on the live
circuit front man Brent Smith has looked different
and tonight carried on that routine with Brent
Smith taking to the stage built like a brick with
slicked back hair which looked like something
out of the military and throughout the set he
took control by spending a fair bit of time crowd
surfing and greeting his fans and whilst back
on stage he spent a lot of time interacting with
the crowd talking about how this may be the first
time some people have seen Shinedown but it won’t
be the last and also how it is important for all
bands and artists to remember the fans and bands
who have supported them through the years or they
would be playing to empty venues.
The
set that Shinedown played was full of big hitters
such as ‘Sound Of Madness’, ‘Enemies’,
‘Unity’, ‘Second Change’,
but it was ‘Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay
Boom) and set closer ‘Bully’ which
really got the crowd moving tonight and it is
safe to say when Shinedown left the stage I am
sure that the majority of the venue were left
thinking that it won’t be long until Shinedown
are back to headline the Motorpoint Arena as they
seriously had the crowd in the palm of their hands
tonight and that’s a tough thing to do and
achieve for any support act.
Now
Alter Bridge are no strangers to headlining arenas
as the last time they were headlining the UK was
back in 2011 when they were playing the same venues
and with label mates Black Stone Cherry in support
and what makes an Alter Bridge headline shows
great is the fact that unlike most bands when
they hit the arena circuit they don’t need
any special stage props, no big screens, no pyro,
just a massive stage, their instruments, a half
decent lighting show and thousands of fans who
love and appreciate their music and that is exactly
what tonight’s show was a straight up rock
‘N roll show where the music did all the
talking.
By
the time Alter Bridge took to the stage tonight
the crowd was already warmed up from solid sets
from both Halestorm and Shinedown so the crowd
was truly ready for Alter Bridge to take to the
stage, and they did just that opening with ‘Addicted
To Pain’ which happens to be the lead single
from their fourth studio album ‘Fortress’
and it was the best possible move as the song
is new and fresh, one that the hardcore fans love
and one that helped draw a whole new generation
of fans into the music of Alter Bridge and it
really set the bar for a solid 18 song set.
Vocally
Myles Kennedy was on top form, but then again
when is he not as every time I have seen Myles
Kennedy he has blown me away with his vocal range,
Mark Tremonti like usual was at the top of his
game with his fast paced technical guitar riffs
and it was a pleasure to see Myles Kennedy, Mark
Tremonti and Brian Marshall all lined up next
to each other jamming along whilst Scott Phillips
was delivering on the drums showing just how solid
the instrumental work in Alter Bridge is.
The
set Alter Bridge played was solid they played
quite a few songs from their latest album ‘Fortress’
but they also found time to include many classics
and ended up playing songs spanning throughout
their whole 9 year musical career with the likes
of ‘Before Tomorrow Comes’, ‘Cry
Of Achilles’, ‘ Waters Rising’,
‘Broken Wings’, ‘Metalingus’,
‘Blackbird’ and even ‘Watch
Over You’ featuring a guest appearance from
Lizzy Hale all going down amazing with the thousands
of people in attendance tonight.
The
show came to an end with ’Open You Eyes’
which was then followed up by a short two track
encore of ‘Slip To the Void’ and ‘Isolation’
and moments later the thousands of fans poured
out into the cold streets of Cardiff knowing that
they easily got their £25 worth and more
with tonight’s outstanding show and I personally
think that the next time we see Alter Bridge back
in the UK it will be to headline a festival or
to headline the likes of Wembley Stadium or one
of the many other football stadiums in the UK
that have been hosting concerts over recent years.
Halestorm 5/5
Shinedown 5/5
Alter Bridge 5/5
Review By Trigger
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