ALTER BRIDGE

House of Blues
Boston, Massachusetts
February 7, 2017

Another trip into Boston, another rainy cold miserable night. One that has finally caught up with me and I have more than merch to keep this show in my thoughts, at the least the merch isn’t wreaking havoc with my head and sinuses. My first trip to the House of Blues wasn’t that bad. A nice venue with a lot of room and plenty of bars, and drink prices weren’t too bad.

The night started earlier then I was expecting, with the opening band taking the stage at 7:15 and not 7:30 like advertised, so unfortunately I didn’t get any pics of Weapons of Anew. A good sounding band, hopefully I will get to see them again soon and give them a more in depth listen to.

Nonpoint has the enviable task of being direct support for Alter Bridge in addition to headlining some of their own gigs in between. A hard working band out of Florida, probably wondering why they were in New England in the dead of winter touring for their album “The Poison Red”. A energetic set that was well received by a large crowd.

NONPOINT PHOTOS:

Alter Bridge was the band it seemed that everyone was there for. With a plethora of Creed and Alter Bridge shirts and the occasional Slash thrown in for good measure. It was a definitely a crowd that was mixed up pretty good, women, children and men all packed into the House of Blues, waiting for some rock n roll.

Back in October, Alter Bridge released their latest album, “The Last Hero” and are now on the road to support this release. As Scott Phillips climbed up into his seat behind the drums, the crowd started cheering and the volume raised even higher as Myles Kennedy, vocals & guitar, Brian Marshall, bass, and Mark Tremonti, guitar, strolled out onto the stage and immediately went into “The Writing on the Wall” followed by “Come to Life” and “Farther The the Sun” at this point I was ushered out of the photo pit and took up a spot not far from the stage and watched a very entertaining show.

I was never a big fan of Creed and I enjoyed Myles work with Slash over the years, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of this show, but I was very impressed with Mark Tremonti’s skills and Myles stage presence. The crowd around me sang along as they started into the next few songs of their set, “Addicted to Pain”, “White Knuckles”, “Ghosts of Days Gone By” and “Cry of Achilles”.

As I stood there watching the crowd, listening to the music envelope everything, I came to the realization that Alter Bridge is a fantastic live band. One that shouldn’t be judged on the accomplishments or sounds of their previous bands or their other current projects.

The nights set list also included the songs, “My Champion”, “Ties That Bind”, “Crows On a Wire”, “Water Rising”, “Watch Over You”, Isolation:, “Blackbird”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Metalingus” with a two song encore, “Show Me a Leader” and “Rise Today”

A good mix of songs off of all 5 of their albums, and a great introduction to someone like me, who hasn’t really listened to or seen Alter Bridge live before.

Alter Bridge has a few more US dates before heading over seas, but they will be returning and touring here again soon.

ALTER BRIDGE PHOTOS: