Alter Bridge Rocks The Fillmore Charlotte
Pawns & Kings Tour Stops In The Queen City
Way back in the early 2000s, after the demise of the rock band Creed, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips formed their own group. They invited vocalist Myles Kennedy to join and Alter Bridge was born. Since their 2004 debut album One Day Remains, Alter Bridge has taken the rock world by storm with their style that combines everything heavy with wonderful melodies in a way that no other band does. With last year’s release of Pawns & Kings, the band embarked on a whirlwind tour in support of the new record and recently made a stop in Charlotte to play to a packed house at the Fillmore.
Fun Fact: The band took their name from an actual bridge near Mark Tremonti’s home on Alter Road in Detroit.
Opening the show was rock and metal heavyweights Sevendust. Every single time Sevendust plays a show, fans come out in droves and tonight was no exception. There’s something special about this band that just resonates with the rock and metal community. Perhaps it’s the songs or the passion they put forth into each and every performance or maybe it’s their humbleness and their love of their fans. The combination of it all has formed a foundation of fans that supports the band through thick and thin and to experience a show is something you don’t want to miss.
Hitting the stage first is drummer extraordinaire Morgan Rose as the band quickly got things going with “Face To Face.” Fists were in the air and the mosh pits were starting to heat up as the band kicked things into overdrive. The musicianship of this band is second to none with guitarists Clint Lowery and John Connolly crunching riffs and providing blistering leads to the driving bass lines of Vince Hornsby and masterful stick handling of Rose. Frontman Lajon Witherspoon is world-class both vocally and personally as his love for the fans shines through in each subtle gesture and movement on the stage.
The stage lights glowed from behind as the band kept the hits coming and the fans, especially those up front, were having the time of their lives. We got to hear a new track, “Fence,” from their forthcoming Truth Killer album which is due out in July, and after hearing the song live, I can not wait for the record to drop. It’s going to be epic! Of course, there’s more to Sevendust than moshing and metal as the band provides poignant and thoughtful lyrics to go with the heavy blasts. There’s no better example of this than during “Angel’s Son” which Lajon always dedicates to his brother Reginald whom he lost to gun violence in 2002. A few tears were shed as the audience remembered those nearest and dearest to them that are no longer with us. Their set finished with a total heavy fest before closing out appropriately with “Thank You.”
Fun Fact: Back in community college, Myles Kennedy studied jazz and even joined a jazz group, The Cosmic Dust Fusion.
After such a killer opening set, the crowd was definitely amped up and ready to rock when the superstars of Alter Bridge took the stage. This all-star group consists of Myles Kennedy on vocals and guitars, Mark Tremonti on vocals and guitars, Brian Marshall on bass, and Scott Phillips on drums. One of the unique things about Alter Bridge is that Myles and Mark both trade off on lead vocals as well as lead guitar making them a double threat in that respect. Add in the rock-solid rhythm section of Marshall and Phillips and you have the recipe for rock and roll success.
Seeing this band live is a treat for all and we were more than ready when they hit the stage with “Silver Tongue” off their latest record Pawns & Kings. Soon after, we were all “Addicted To Pain,” as Kennedy’s vocals soared throughout The Fillmore. I may be a little biased here because Myles happens to be one of my all-time favorite and in my opinion underrated vocalists of all time.
Fun Fact: Bassist Brian Marshall is also a licensed Realtor in Florida.
Beams of light were flashing on Tremonti and Marshall as they jammed away while plumes of cryo shot up on each side of Phillip’s kit. The mood was all-inclusive and completely freeing as we all sang along to “Ghosts of Days Gone By.” Tremonti and Kennedy were on fire tonight, trading licks with ease and lighting up their fretboards all night long.
Although Myles handles vocals on most of Alter Bridge’s songs, Mark Tremonti got his time to show off his pipes as he sang lead on “Burn It Down” before they tore into “Cry of Achilles.” After a blistering beginning, it was time to slow things down a bit, and Myles and Mark brought out the acoustics for a passionately beautiful performance of “Watch Over You” and “In Loving Memory.” Damn, I didn’t want to cry again tonight, but here I go because it was all about the feels right now.
After this acoustic portion of the show, we were treated to the epic piece de resistance, “Blackbird.” Words can not begin to describe the musical magnitude of this song. It’s simple yet complex and the guitar work by both Tremonti and Kennedy is nothing short of extraordinary. If Alter Bridge showed up and could only play one song, this would be it. I could listen, watch, and leave the show happily contented. Of course, that wasn’t the case as there was much more to come as Alter Bridge was done melting our faces.
Fun Fact: Mark Tremonti wrote parts of his solo album when he was only 13.
We were all shouting at the tops of our lungs to sing along to “Isolation” before the regular set closed with the penultimate track made famous by its use by WWE wrestler Edge, “Metallngus.” It was gloriously amazing and no better way to end the evening. After a minute or two of shouts for an encore, the band returned for two more songs bidding us all farewell as they urged us all to “rise today and change this world.”
What a night! Charlotte rock fans got the pleasure of experiencing a show that not only blew our minds but had us wanting for more and anxiously awaiting the next time we could all get together again.
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