Alter Bridge
Live @ Alcatraz, Milano, 29.11.08

THE REVIEW

I arrive in Milan to see Alter Bridge live, a band that has always moved me, yes but never too much. I'm not a fan, unlike my concert companion who has pestered me for years with their songs. Their pieces are catchy and well-played, but without that breath of innovation and enthusiasm that I love to discover in truly valid recent bands - increasingly rare now - this is my thought about Alter Bridge.

The Alcatraz is an ideal place for concerts, perfect acoustics and a good view from every point, the evening begins with the performance of the Scottish band Logan, which gives me the impression of being very little, besides a faded copy of AB. The show is fun only because of the presence of two twins, one on the guitar and the other on the bass. After about ten songs, here come our guys on stage, and here's the show description: if the previous album I sang along with it from memory, "Blackbird" turns out to be a much more complex album, full of much more heavy ideas, but I would say markedly better, and this complexity is very well implemented in the live performance, at least in the Milan one. In hits for the pure fans like "In loving memory" - moving, yes - "Metalingus" and "Find The Real" alternate the songs from the latest album, in a methodical path. The best ones seemed to me to be the enormous, majestic, incredible title-track, absolutely enchanting in the double solo first by Myles Kennedy and then by Mark Tremonti, the tender and acoustic "Watch Over You", the catchy "Before Tomorrow Comes" and "Rise Today" - "Are you ready to rise today???", the piercing Brand New Start, in addition to the country-flavored cover Travelling Riverside Blues, in which Myles' tenor voice in a high note reaches peaks I never thought a human could achieve.

After this concert, my opinion of AB has risen by a notch. Let's say that when music is driven by sincere ideas, it should always be listened to with a more attentive ear, because in the end... when an album is made just for the money... you can see and hear it (Right dear AXL Rose??). Moreover, hearing Myles Kennedy's voice live is an experience all music enthusiasts should have. Myles is a fantastic frontman, and besides having a divine voice, he knows how to be very charismatic and a stage animal. I hope the evolutionary path of Alter Bridge will lead them to refine ever better ideas and not sink like most postmodern bands into anonymity and commercial success for teenagers.

In short, 4 stars and next time, if I don't have vital commitments, I'll see them again...