Alter Bridge & Mammoth WHV
February 11, 2023
History, Toronto, ON
Canadian Beats Passport
Fresh off their seventh full-length album, Pawns & Kings, Alter Bridge is in the middle of their North American tour with supporting act Mammoth WVH, one of the tightest up-and-coming rock bands on the scene. Alter Bridge brought the Pawns & Kings tour to the only Canadian stop at Toronto’s History for a sold-out crowd.
Mammoth WVH opened the show with a jaw-dropping performance. Fronting the band is Wolfgang Van Halen on lead guitar, vocals, and keys, along with a stellar touring band on guitar with him is Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators Frank Sidoris, among other very talented musicians.
As the lights went off, you could feel the crowd’s anticipation for them to come on stage. They opened with “Mammoth” and went right into “Mr.Ed.” Everyone sang along with their horns in the air. When they played “Distance,” the whole crowd held the lights of their phones to the stage and sang note for note and hit them right in the heart, bringing some people to tears. It was a heartfelt tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen. As Wolfgang introduced the band, they did a breakdown of “Don’t Back Down,” and it had the crowd dancing on their feet to the beat, which was one of my favorite parts of the show.
Personally, this was my first time seeing them live. I walked away as a huge fan and can’t wait to see them again.
As the lights went down for Alter Bridge‘s sold-out show. The crowd was more than ready to sing along at the top of their lungs. They started with a low bass that hits you right in the face before they hit the stage. They opened with one of their earliest singles off their album called “Silver Tongue.” This hard-hitting opener showed how tight the band is right off the bat. From their strong rhythm section foundation drummer Scott Philips and bassist Brian Marshall to Mark Tremonti’s electrifying guitar playing and Myles Kennedy’s unique voice and seamless guitar playing too. Following “Silver Tongue,” they went right into “Addicted to Pain,” which is my personal favorite from their catalog of music. They are two of the tightest songs to start off the show.
Kennedy went into a solo acoustic of “Watch Over You” along with “In loving Memory,” with Tremonit joining on an acoustic guitar for a heartfelt part of the show. As the show went on, the band sounded incredible, and the tones were on point the whole night. They played quite a few songs off their new album, which included “This Means War,” “Stay,” and their title track “Pawns & Kings.” Along with fan favorites like “Burn It Down,” sung by Tremonti himself, “Blackbird,” and “Isolation.” Alter Bridge closed out the show with an encore of “Rise Today” and “Open Your Eyes” that had the whole crowd singing word for word.
This was my first Alter Bridge show and will definitely not be my last. They are among the strongest bands still touring after almost two decades and let their music do all the talking. That’s what makes them the showmen they are. Alter Bridge is a must-see show!
