Tremonti - Birmingham Review

Despite currently being known primarily as the lead guitarist of the stadium-filling rockers Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti has also been cultivating a successful solo career since releasing his first solo album All I Was back in 2012. Heavier and more metal-orientated than anything he had been a part of up to that point, All I Was allowed Tremonti to display another side of his guitar playing and songwriting as well as, crucially, introducing him as a singer. As a member of Alter Bridge, and before that Creed, Tremonti has always been joined by a charismatic frontman to help bring his creations to life. Myles Kennedy and Scott Stapp are both very recognisable and much-loved vocalists, but with All I Was Tremonti showed that he could more than hold his own vocally. While not as dynamic or versatile as either of his two main collaborates, Tremonti's smooth, powerful, and low voice suits his heavier material perfectly. The more straight-ahead riff-driven material that fills his solo albums does not require a vocal gymnast, but over time his vocal skills have improved significantly. Companion albums 2015's Cauterize and 2016's Dust followed All I Was, and both saw improvements on the vocal front. His skills have improved even further on the newly released A Dying Machine, a concept album that is easily Tremonti's most ambitious solo venture yet. A Dying Machine is less than a month old, but to capitalise on the album's release and the extremely positive reviews that it is receiving, Tremonti brought his solo band over to the UK for a few live shows as part of a wider European trek. I had seen the Tremonti band once previously: in Wolverhampton back in 2013 when All I Was was being promoted; but had not managed to catch them again since. I opted for the Birmingham show this time as it was at a weekend which meant that I did not have to take any time off work. I always enjoy visiting Birmingham too, so need little convincing to book a weekend away there. The show was at the O2 Institute in Digbeth, which is a good-sized room but far from my favourite venue. It is one of those halls that always feels over-crowded, no matter how many people are in attendance, and the stage is rather low which can make the views quite poor. The sound has a tendency to be quite mushy too, and sadly that was the case for parts of this show - although it was not as bad as I had experienced there previously. Luckily for the crowd however, the venue has a very good air conditioning system which was certainly welcome given how hot it was outside!

Despite the venue opening the doors around 20 minutes late, which was not appreciated considering the aforementioned heat, there was still a good-sized crowd packed into the venue when the sole support act The Fallen State hit the stage at 7pm. Being a band from my home county of Devon, I have been following The Fallen State's progress for some years and it was great to see them bag such a high-profile support slot. The band have been doing pretty well for themselves recently and, while there will always be a bit too much late 1990s/early 2000s post-grunge in their sound to consider myself a true fan, I have enjoyed watching their star gradually rise. I caught the band in Plymouth last year, so knew what to expect, but on a bigger stage they really came alive and showcased their talents. Despite battling poor sound throughout their set, the five-piece ran through half an hour or so of music culled from their various EPs and managed to elicit a strong reaction from portions of the crowd - especially towards the end of their set. Frontman Ben Stenning might not have the best voice out there, but he is a captivating frontman and led the band through a strong set that included oldies such as Hope in Revival, the power ballad Nova, and a personal favourite in Sons of Avarice. Jon Price (guitar/vocals) impressed during the latter with an emotional guitar solo, and Nova seemed to garner the biggest crowd reaction which is unsurprising given its soaring chorus. I am sure that the band made a few new fans with their performance in Birmingham, and I am looking forward to hearing their debut album which I gather they are currently working on.

After a fairly quick changeover, Tremonti took to the stage at around 8pm and played straight through until just before 9:30pm. With four albums of material to choose from now, the set featured a good selection of songs from all of Tremonti's albums - but with most of the focus being on the new material from A Dying Machine. Throw Them to the Lions got the show off to a fast, metallic start; before Another Heart and Cauterize added an anthemic side to proceedings. Tremonti shows are much lower-key affairs than Alter Bridge shows, and Tremonti mostly lets his music do the talking. He and his band - which consists of Eric Friedman (guitar/vocals), Tanner Keegan (bass guitar/vocals), and Garrett Whitlock (drums) - barely paused for breath all night, and neither did the crowd who fed of the energy being created on stage and often out-sung the band, especially during some of the more powerful choruses. Early highlights for me were the murky Traipse from the new album, and the Iced Earth-esque My Last Mistake which possibly contains my favourite Tremonti riff yet. As I had not managed to see the band live since the All I Was tour, I was glad that they chose to include a good few numbers from both Cauterize and Dust, meaning that most of the set was made up of songs that I had not heard performed live before. The lead single from the new album Take You With Me was another real highlight, and saw one of the biggest audience reactions of the night. So often it seems that bands struggle to garner much of a reaction when playing brand new material, but that did not seem to be a problem for Tremonti. It was clear that many of those in attendance had already memorised the entirety of A Dying Machine, and the songs from it were greeted as fondly as some of the old favourites. This was especially the case for the ballad As the Silence Becomes Me, which has one of the best choruses on the new album for me. This followed an older ballad, The Things I've Seen, which featured some excellent guitar work from Friedman. While Tremonti obviously takes the lion's share of the solos, there were a few moments that Friedman soloed and showed that he is more than a capable player in his own right. Despite this however, Tremonti throughout showcased why he is seen as one of the best modern rock guitarists. I was disappointed that at the last Alter Bridge show I attended in 2016 he was almost a spectator for the whole night and Myles Kennedy soloed in the vast majority of the songs played, so it was great to see him taking nearly all of the credit this time around! By this point however the show was winding to a close, but the dynamic title track from the new album and the slower groove metal of Flying Monkeys ensured there was no late set slump. Dust was another highlight, and proved to be a real 'lighters in the air' moment, before Tremonti announced that the band do not do arbitrary encore breaks and would play two more songs before finishing up. These final two numbers were fast ones, with Radical Change and the slightly punky Wish You Well bringing a powerful set to a close. The setlist was:

Throw Them to the Lions
Another Heart
Cauterize
You Waste Your Time
Traipse
My Last Mistake
Take You With Me
Betray Me
The Things I've Seen
As the Silence Becomes Me
So You're Afraid
Flying Monkeys
Bringer of War
A Dying Machine
Dust
Radical Change
Wish You Well

It had been over five years since I last saw Tremonti, and they were certainly worth the wait. Despite battling a mushy sound mix during the first part of the set, the band's power shone through and it was great to see a modern rock legend in a relatively small venue and playing a good, old-fashioned metal show without big screens and all of the other stadium trappings that come with Alter Bridge shows these days. As an aside; given the early doors and show times, it meant that I left the venue to find it was still light outside - which was a bit of a strange experience! More venues should consider doing this, as it would certainly help those fans who have to catch trains etc. afterwards. I am in the middle of the real glut of gigs at the moment, and I will in fact be returning to Birmingham next weekend to catch the great Roger Waters, something which I am looking forward to immensely.