Alterbridge Live in London
At tonight's sold out show in the London ULU it's clear that half of the people here are Creed fans that've come to check out the reformed and renamed band. Alterbridge contains the drummer, bassist and guitarist of Creed, but with Myles Kennedy taking over on vocals, expectations are high for the band this evening.
To the man on the street walking by, he could have walked back and forth past this venue repeatidly over the hugely long set Alterbridge play and he would think "didn't they just play this song?". Sadly, the worst has happened and Alterbridge are just a lesser version of Creed, with less emotion, less unique sound and less stage presence. To the fans however, this band appears to be going down extremely well. Each repetitive track seems to blur into the next and the last, becoming just one long song to the ears of several people around me, watching from the sidelines.
Alterbridge even seems to disappoint the fans at some points, with the pit consisting of 4 overly eager teenage boys with rucksacks jumping up and down out of time, but still, Kennedy and his band mates are giving it all they've got. This band are good live, they sound very clean and some of the guitar riffs can be impressive at times, but each riff just doesn't seem to fit into the songs, and you're left with the feeling that you're just watching guitarist Mark Tremonti jamming and shredding away to his heart's content. Something is definitely missing from this band, and that's a principle songwriter that pushes each track in the direction he wants it to go.
As Kennedy grabs the hands of each and every fan that reaches out to him and the odd crowd surfer flails past him, it's obvious that this is one of the most enjoyable shows Alterbridge have played. They wholely appreciate the support the London fans are giving them, and thank us all repeatedly, reminding us just how great we are between every second song. But again, this eager approach isn't going to save the band, and as they launch into a heartfelt ballad, I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt at thinking this would be a good time to go get another drink, and from the guilty looking faces of those around me, the same thought has obviously crossed their mind.
Alterbridge will never be able to shake off the fact that 3 of it's musicians were in a widely known and successful rock band, but that's probably a good thing. Without a driving songwriting force in this band it's going nowhere other than a debut album. At least some reconsideration of the main songwriters in this band needs to be done if they are hoping to reach the fame of Creed, but I honestly don't hold out much hope for Alterbridge.