What can I say about a co headlining tour with Skillet and Alter Bridge besides - winner! Both bands have such energy on stage and, as they swap nights closing the shows along this tour, I can only imagine a bit of friendly musical "one upping" each other in this manner. If so, no one at all loses for sure!
Opening band, Dirty Honey, WOW! What a refreshing new band on the scene and are really blowing up right now! As of press time, they have the #1 rock song in the country with “When I’m gone”. They have sounds reminiscent of our old favorites and rock heroes alike such as Led Zeppelin. I, myself, hear a bit of Jeff Keith of Tesla in that voice in a few choice songs. Yet they are distinctly their own and a band to watch. They arrived on the scene as the first band ever to chart without being signed to a label and have been crushing it ever since. Radio play is through the roof as they have been touring for the last year opening for many notable headliners and taking part in huge festivals across the US. As their next step, they embark on a European tour with Alter Bridge.
On this night, Skillet was in the second slot to hit the stage. Skillet's latest release, 'Victorious' came out earlier this year so this tour of new music made perfect sense to coincide with Alter Bridge’s newest release; and, of course, with newcomers making their mark, Dirty Honey, it was surely an epic & strong tour.
Skillet's set list included many of the newly released songs destined to be hits including, "Legendary", Victorious", and the awesome "You Ain't Ready". Along with these we heard some of their biggest such as "Awake and Alive", "Comatose", and "Monster".
The members of this christian rock band have so much passion when performing. You can feel it transfer into the audience. They have lighting set up for maximum viewing of all 4 members, not to mention great for photography also, who command the entire stage during their set. Skillet is made up of 2 females and 2 males. Everyone contributes to singing which lends to the unique sound of the band that we love.
Closing this night’s show was Alter Bridge. I've heard it said when someone is describing Alter Bridge to another person that may not be very familiar with them, they say "...it's Creed without Scott Stapp singing.". But I'd have to disagree, at least in part, and say Alter Bridge has an edge. A mighty rock and roll edge! While both bands put out excellent music due purely to excellent musicianship, Alter Bridge continues to put out phenomenal music, including the newly released album, 'Walk the Sky'.
Just before the band took the stage, the first song off of “WTS”, a haunting song, 'One Life', came out of the speakers to a darkened stage. It was the perfect lead into the single entitled 'Wouldn't You Rather' when the lights came on bright and the band burst onto the stage. This single has hit #18 on the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart in early October.
We heard two others from this CD, 'Pay No Mind' and the live debut of rock ballad, 'Dying Light'. Filling the remainder of the set list were favorites, 'Addicted to Pain', 'Cry of Achilles', and many more with 'Rise Today' closing the show on the highest of points.
This was the last show on this leg of the tour and every song was played to perfection highlighting each member and bringing Mark Tremonti's guitar skills to the forefront. This band performs with the same charisma whether it's the first of the tour or the last.
I must say Myles Kennedy is a favorite voice for me. He is so distinctive and powerful in everything he does. As we know, many members of today's bands have outside projects and other bands they are part of. This helps to feed the many interests of an artist. I've followed both Myles and Mark on their side ventures. Seeing them together in Alter Bridge with this line up is always a treat!
Don't miss the upcoming European tour!