To get ALTER BRIDGE singing at your birthday… is something special ;) And to make it clear: ALTER BRIDGE did their very best to please me and to unleash me into the night with a happy face.
Unfortunately, there are always twist and turns before pleasure when you are going to attend the :: Turbinenhalle :: Oberhausen. First, the show was downgraded from the main hall to the Turbinenhalle 2, and the door times pushed back from 6.30pm to 7pm. So far, so good. When I arrived shortly after 7pm there was lotsa noise and that was, by no means, the soundcheck but a third surprising and unexpected band that already got into their set. Aaahhh… grrr… that was a sprint into the photo pit…
:: pics :: JADED HEART ::
This band was German/Swedish Hard Rock act :: JADED HEART ::. This band played without any prior announcement. I, at least, haven’t heard, read or seen anything around about them. Even the security seemed to be surprised to have another band on the bill. And I can imagine that there have been people that would have loved to seem them here right now.
However, our surprising guest had to play a hall that was filling slowly. At least, the one or the other still outside hurried to get in. The show was short and sweet. JADED HEART played a best-of set through the last four records. Snappy songs, catchy, made my hips swing. Smashing! After 30 minutes later, everything was finished and done.
Setlist: Freedom Call, Schizophrenic, Godforsaken, Saint Denied, Rescue Me, With You
:: pics :: AS LIONS ::
Ok. Now I had to gather myself. And my equipment. Took a breath and chilled out...
:: AS LIONS :: started on time as announced. The Brits are the leftovers of the Metalcore band Rise To Remain. Out of the ashes frontman and singer Austin Dickinson (son of NWOBHM Legend Bruce Dickinson) formed AS LIONS, together with bassist Conor O'Keefe and guitarist Will Homer, and released their debut, Selfish Age, early this year. AS LIONS play modern metal, much in the veins of big US bands such as Disturbed.
AS LIONS had a lot of fun on stage and performed highly energetic. And they made it to infect the crowd. In between, Austin talked nineteen to the dozen with a strong fondness for the word “fuck”. He often thanked the crowd for its overwhelming response and warm welcome. As for the fucks… he didn’t match Demolition Hammer’s Steve Reynolds ;)
All in all a good show but quite tame.
:: pics :: ALTER BRIDGE ::
Now, fans pushed close to the stage. The hall was packed and crowded. It got hot and cuddly. But the show wasn’t sold out. Unfortunately, I missed the first leg of the The Last Hero tour, and so I was really happy to catch :: ALTER BRIDGE :: on their second European stint. I like the new album a lot. Interestingly, they played anything else but no tracks from The Last Hero. At the end, one song crept into the regular set, and another one into the encore.
Much more, ALTER BRIDGE focused on older and rare material like Shed My Skin. Most songs came from the 2007 sophomore BlackBird, they played half of the songs from. The most emotional moments appeared when Myles Kennedy performed Watch Over You and In Loving Memory acoustically. Just he and his guitar, with Mark Tremonti joining in a bit later. That was soul-touching. And I saw it sparkling in many eyes around. The response was breathtaking! Fans downright freaked out. Some said those tracks killed the momentum. I disagree. It made the set even more varied. I rather found the guitar duel during the encore boring.
The mood in the hall was overwhelming. The band was in high spirits and so was the audience. Every songs was frenetically welcomed, and made the fans dance and rock out. They just had certain problems with the lyrics to sing along correctly. It was hot; it was loud and riff-driven. That’s the way a rock show has to be. And that’s the way to celebrate your birthday best :) Stunning show, fantastic evening! Yeah!
Setlist: Farther Than The Sun, Come To Life, Before Tomorrow Comes, Addicted To Pain, Ghost Of Days Gone By, Cry Of Achilles, Ties That Bind, Crows On A Wire, Waters Rising, Watch Over You (acoustic), In Loving Memory (acoustic), Blackbird, Metalingus, Shed My Skin, Isolation, Open Your Eyes // Show Me A Leader, Mark & Myles guitar duel, Rise Today
|
