Alter Bridge @ Rapids Theatre, Niagara Falls, NY 1-31-17

On tour in support of their fifth studio effort titled “The Last Hero,” Alter Bridge sure left their mark to the crowd in Niagara Falls this past Tuesday. Alter Bridge are known for two monster guitarists in Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy (vocals too) and a solid rhythm section in Scott Phillips on drums and Brian Marshall on bass. This powerful combination cranked out almost two hours worth fist pumping riffs.

A few weeks on the road and the band members are hitting their stride. Opening up with “Show Me a Leader,” Kennedy showed why he has one of the most dynamic voices in rock. His range was on display all night. He appeared all alone with just an acoustic on “Watch Over You.” Before this, he joked that he was the biggest self proclaimed dork in rock-n-roll. I think this was the only time the audience wasn’t in agreement with him.

To me, personally, I’ve always thought Tremonti was thee guitarist of the 2000s. His crunchy riffs and his lead guitar playing directed the band throughout the performance. The band took the intimate venue of the Rapids Theater and played it like it was major stadium. The band just plays big. Phillips started off “Metalingus” with a small solo and showed off his skills some during this track.

Alter Bridge is one of the most underrated bands out on tour today and you won’t see a finer band combined with a more humble band. We were privileged to be invited to the pre show soundcheck meet and greet and they treat their fans with the highest respect. We saw it firsthand and I think this translates over to their ability to effectively communicate musically with their audience. It’s early in 2017, but Alter Bridge is already showing their musical counterparts they have a lot to do to match up to an Alter Bridge show.

Setlist:

The Writing on the Wall

Come to Life

Farther Than the Sun

Addicted to Pain

Ghost of Days Gone By

Cry of Achilles

Brand New Start

My Champion

Ties That Bind

Waters Rising

Watch Over You