Critic's evaluation
The sky was already announcing dusk in the city of São Paulo (SP). The heat was strong, but didn't scare away the audience that started to arrive at Allianz Parque. It would be today (09/21), the first day of the São Paulo Trip festival, in which The Cult and The Who would also perform.
The clock was approaching 6:20 pm when what would be the introduction of Come to Life was heard. It was announced that the American supergroup Alter Bridge was taking the stage. With lead singer Myles Kennedy in the center, guitarist Mark Tremonti on the left, bassist Brian Marshall on the right, and drummer Scott Phillips with his three cymbals in the background, the sound pressure had kicked in. And Allmanaque was there to check it out.
Both wearing black shirts and blouses, the band members had the typical sound pressure that somewhat stereotypes their performances around the world. Kennedy, in turn, made evident his belting vocal technique and charisma. In Addicted To Pain, the singer didn't need to ask the audience to participate in the song. During its entire performance, the audience took the position of third singer and clapped along to the rhythm guided by the frontman.
Cry Of Achilles made the audience vibrate from the very first riffs played by Tremonti, who, like Kennedy, smiled with every interaction from the audience. During the execution of the song, the members walked around the stage asking the audience what they were already doing, singing along.
Then it was Crows On A Wire's turn, the only song from The Last Hero album to be performed during the performance. A funny moment worth telling was during the performance of Isolation. When Kennedy saw the big screen next to him and said: "This is really big", he had moments of laughter that, for a moment, distanced him from the song in question. In Waters Rising, Tremonti's versatility takes over the lead vocals while Kennedy is on second voice.
But it was with Blackbird that the apex of audience interaction happened. With the typical pressure of the supergroup's sound, the song brought to São Paulo a kind of duel between Kennedy's bluesy parts and Tremonti's thrashy ones. With a mix of solos, sometimes performed by the vocalist, sometimes by the guitarist, the song brought Myles' particular versatility: to make good riffs and show vocal technique.
Open Your Eyes, one of the classics of the band, had moments of a great choir and applause from the audience, both interspersed with the tones of Kennedy, who surprised in tune. Rise Today arrived announcing, in advance, the end of Alter Bridge's participation in the festival. As soon as the song ended, the musicians threw picks and left the stage. The public wondered if there would be an encore, in vain. The supergroup left the stage of Allianz Parque 30 minutes earlier than announced.
Even so, the performance served as a welcome to the supergroup in São Paulo (SP). Marked by striking riffs, smiles from Kennedy and Tremonti showing satisfaction, interaction with the audience and the precision of the drums commanded by Scott Phillips and Marshall's bass, the show served to give a taste of what a solo Alter Bridge show is like. It is hoped, then, that this taste will be enough to bring him back to the Brazilian lands. But, next time, under the conditions mentioned above.
Check out the setlist of the concert:
Come To Life (Blackbird, 2007)
Addicted To Pain (ABIII, 2010)
Ghost Of Days Gone By (ABIII, 2010)
Cry Of Achilles (Fortress, 2013)
Crows On A Wire (The Last Hero, 2016)
Waters Rising (Fortress, 2013)
Isolation (ABIII, 2010)
Blackbird (Blackbird, 2007)
Open Your Eyes (One Day Remains, 2004)
Metalingus (One Day Remains, 2004)
Rise Today (Blackbird, 2007)
*Review originally published on Allmanaque.
