Victorious Sky Tour Brings Alter Bridge To House of Blues
October 24th
Fresh off of the release of the bands highly anticipated album Walk The Sky out on Napalm Records, Alter Bridge invades Orlando on the Victorious Sky Tour for back to back shows to close out a very successful twenty-one date tour. In less than two weeks, the bands sixth effort has reached number one in ten different charts including Billboard Top Albums, Top Current Albums and Hard Rock Albums as well as earning an impressive number two spot in digital album downloads.
Out on the road with them are the immensely popular new comers Dirty Honey as the openers. The band has hit the ground running with rave reviews with their sound and live shows, earning them spots of some of the years best tours including a slot on the annual Earth Day Birthday show here in Orlando.
And of course the phenoms in Skillet who have had their music featured in just about everything from the WWE to video games. For these last two shows, they will alternate headlining slots closing out the this show and allowing Alter Bridge to close out the tour the following night.
As the lights cover the crowd like a blanket, intro tape of “One Life” from the bands newest album begins to fill the venue. The crowd catches a glimpse of guitarist Mark Tremonti and immediately begin to cheer. The cheers only get louder as every member makes their way on stage one by one, and end with the crescendo as singer Miles Kennedy takes his place behind the mic.
After a quick four count on the high hat, Alter Bridge dive into their heavy hitting single “Would You Rather”. The band came out swinging by following up one hit for another with 2010’s “Isolation” off ABIII.
Because Mark Tremonti has been a revered guitar icon since the early days of Creed, it is with heavy heart to say that one can sometimes over look the immense talents of Miles Kennedy, not only as a prolific singer but as a accomplished guitar player himself.
If you weren’t paying attention, there was no way to know who was actually playing the solos from song to song. As an intro to “Rise Today”, Miles stands before the crowd sporting a vintage beat to hell Telecaster and just jams out to a great sounding blues progression making it look as easy as it gets.
Before the next song “In The Deep”, Miles engages with the crowd about their new album and changes it up from a Tele to a Van Halen Frankenstein to channel his inner EVH through out the song. “Cry of Achilles” gives Kennedy a chance to show off his finger picking and legato skills while the crowd claps in unison as the intro builds to a climatic level.
The track “Blackbird” makes an appearance towards the end the bands set. The eight minute emotionally charged song was written about Miles Kennedy’s long time friend who had passed away as the song was being completed. Even though the song has a somber story behind it, it was referred to by Kennedy as “One of the most gratifying songs we’ve ever written”. Guitar World placed the split solos in the song between Tremonti and Kennedy on the list of 100 Greatest Solos of All Time.
As the band breaks into the final song of the night with “Open Your Eyes”, the crowd participation had not been higher. The fan favorite motivates everyone in attendance to give it there all for one last song. There was not a single disappointed person leaving that building after Alter Bridges’ set.
Miles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall put on an incredible performance and made it very clear why they are one of the best in the business. To have two high powered back to back sold out shows topping off a great tour, speaks volumes not only to the success of the band, but to the dedicated fan base that continues to grow with every live performance and every fantastic album.
Make sure to pickup Alter Bridges newest album Walk The Sky, also available on all major streaming platforms. For additional music, merch and VIP opportunities, head over to the bands website at https://alterbridge.com. For those in Europe, check out the tour dates below to make sure you get your chance to see Alter Bridge as they tour from November through the end of December.