LIVE PHOTOS
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Review by Greg Maki
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Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy closed his latest U.S. solo tour in fine fashion on a Saturday night in Baltimore. The word that keeps coming to mind as I think about his typically awe-inspiring performance is “genuine.” Gracious and thankful to be on tour after many months of uncertainty and for the fans who came to the show, Kennedy gave off not even a hint of “rock star” attitude or the sense of entitlement that often comes with it. He was all about the music and the obviously strong connection between him and the audience.
Songs from Kennedy’s two solo records—“Year of the Tiger” (2018) and “The Ides of March” (2021)—comprised the bulk of the set list. With accompaniment from drummer Zia Uddin and bassist Tim Tournier, it was a markedly different experience than his solo acoustic tour in 2018. The songs showed off Kennedy’s wide ranging taste in music beyond the metallic hard rock of Alter Bridge, drawing heavily from Americana and blues. (He talked about being inspired by country blues artist Mississippi John Hurt while introducing “Haunted by Design,” for example.) Since he’s in bands with Mark Tremonti and Slash, we tend to think of Kennedy as a singer first, but his guitar prowess was on full display all night, with many of the songs featuring extended, bluesy solos.
High points of the set included an especially dynamic rendition of “The Great Beyond,” the tender “Love Can Only Heal” and two of the more upbeat, rocking numbers, “Get Along” and “In Stride.” What stuck with me most, however, were those genuine moments—playing “Eden,” a song by Kennedy’s pre-Alter Bridge band The Mayfield Four because a fan requested it during the pre-show meet-and-greet, and an impromptu, partial cover of Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night,” egged on by the audience when Kennedy fondly recalled playing in bands with Uddin going back to their high school days. (“I hope this doesn’t end up on the Internet,” he said with a nervous laugh, and surprisingly, it doesn’t appear to have turned up on YouTube yet.)
Tyler Bryant, minus the Shakedown (he was backed only by guitarist Graham Whitford), was in top form while opening the show. His more up-tempo blues rock succeeded in revving up the crowd for the main event and I’m sure earned him quite a few new fans of his own.
MYLES KENNEDY SET LIST:
“Wake Me When It’s Over”
“A Thousand Words”
“Devil on the Wall”
“Turning Stones”
“Haunted by Design”
“Eden” (The Mayfield Four)
“All Ends Well” (Alter Bridge)
“Blind Faith”
“The Great Beyond”
“Year of the Tiger”
“Tell It Like It Is”
“Moonshot”
“Love Can Only Heal”
“Get Along”
“In Stride”
(encore)
“Worried Mind”
LINKS:
Buy “The Ides of March”
www.myleskennedy.com
www.facebook.com/officialmyleskennedy
www.instagram.com/officialmyleskennedy
www.twitter.com/myleskennedy
www.youtube.com/myleskennedyofficial
www.tylerbryantandtheshakedown
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