Due to the groundbreaking rock formation Living Colour having just finished a tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album Vivid, it was no surprise that the New York City act went straight into a handful of tunes from this landmark record.
It was fantastic for fans to hear ‘Middle Man’, ‘Desperate People’, and ‘Funny Vibe’ live, yet these songs were sadly lost on the majority of fans who were there to see Alter Bridge. That changed once the hits started to kick in, such as ‘Type’, ‘Love Rears Its Ugly Head’ and, of course, ‘Cult of Personality’. By the end of their set, the whole crowd enthusiastically replied to singer Corey Glover’s question, “What’s your favourite colour?” by loudly chanting the band’s name.
Glover is still as charismatic a frontman as he was in the band’s heyday (albeit, not as youthful). But he still has that voice – that hurricane force of a voice with its signature sound and enormous vocal range, which dynamically switches from soothing soul to full-out raging rock.
The closing covers ‘Sexmachine’ (James Brown) and ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ (The Clash) could have been replaced by classics of their own, such as ‘Elvis Is Dead’, ‘Bi’, or ‘Open Letter To A Landlord’, but overall it was a great performance. In saying that, Living Colour should be no one’s support act. These legendary musicians are top notch headliners in their own right.
Can a band drastically change for the better by just replacing its singer? Alter Bridge answers this question with a resounding “Hell yeah!” Guitarist Mark Tremonti, bass player Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Philips used to be three quarters of the much-maligned band Creed. In 2004, the group replaced their frontman Scott Stapp with the sympathetic singer Myles Kennedy, while also trading in their safe post-grunge for balls-to-the-wall hard rock. Alter Bridge was then born.
Although the three Creed musicians have since reformed with Stapp, their new sound certainly redeems them of past musical sins.
This metal quartet may not be creating anything groundbreaking, but they are among the absolute best at delivering maximum energy, pump-your-right-fist-in-the-air heavy music. From opening song ‘Addicted To Pain’, it was clear these guys loved every second of being on stage.
Kennedy, who of course also doubles as the singer in Slash’s Snakepit, is a surprisingly humble and modest frontman, however the real rock star was the guitarist. With his crew-cut and American flag t-shirt, Tremonti looked like the quintessential high school football captain, and the tall muscular axeman was not afraid to show off his skillset.
Continuously smiling at the crowd, the proud shredmeister barely glanced at his instrument while performing the most jaw-dropping solos.
During the encore, the band revealed that Tremonti isn’t the only great guitar player in the band, when him and Kennedy went head to head in an entertaining duel. Needless to say, Tremonti won – although the singer proved skilled enough to be the lead guitarist in just about every other band (but the two he plays in).
It should surprise no one if this group’s next album has one or two hit singles that will see them break through to the mainstream. Next time around, Alter Bridge might just be playing right next door at the larger Hordern Pavillion.
