A massive storm raged along the Eastern US on August 7th that either deterred people from leaving their homes or made leaving impossible. The rock gods decided that Richmond would not be affected as the storms surrounded the city limits but left clear skies above Virginia Credit Union Live. Every performance tonight mentioned the storm and heat but at the same time, it made for an event that fans were thrilled wasn’t canceled last minute as Alter Bridge live was going to happen as planned.
Alter Bridge’s Pawns & Kings Tour featuring Sevendust and Mammoth WVH is a tour that speaks to long-time rock fans. This is a live show about the music and not gimmicks or trends. The tour isn’t about stage personas or edgy rockstars trying to get attention. The music was the focus of the entire night.
Myles Kennedy addressed the crowd and said the band wanted to try for the third time “Fable Of The Silent Son”. This was a song that the new audiences were gravitating to and Alter Bridge has gathered the courage to play the beastly track.
Alter Bridge pulled off the big spectacle highlighting many songs off their latest album Pawns & Kings, while also playing songs going back to their 2000s days. Every solo was met with cheers, Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti traded off singing at points, it was exactly what Alter Bridge has established over nearly 20 years as a group.
Sevendust are a band I’ve been listening to since 1999 when I first heard the album Home. I could feel how happy I was when the band played “Denial” for the second track of the evening. Lajon Witherspoon addressed the storm and sweaty weather but pushed through, all while Sevendust continued to prove themselves as one of the most underrated live bands ever.
The band’s latest album Truth Killer was released less than a month ago and Sevendust decided to treat Richmond by playing the charting single “Everything” live for the first time ever. The song was well received and Lajon proclaimed “We did it!” after the track finished. It was a good moment for everyone.
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Opening the night was Mammoth WVH, who less than two weeks prior released their second album Mammoth II. After listening to the new album and then hearing some of these songs live, it furthers my opinion that Mammoth WVH is going to be a big name for a long time. His vocals keep improving over time and his guitar work is fantastic. Along with the rest of Mammoth, Wolfgang Van Halen make a great case for modern rock still being able to have its place in 2023.
I greatly enjoyed this show. It was the perfect lineup for three bands who are in tune sonically but also understand the tradition of hard rock not needing to follow suit with online trends. Alter Bridge live has always been held to a high standard, and this entire night including Sevendust and Mammoth WVH all lived up to that high bar.
The Pawns & Kings Tour continues through August 2023 ending in Iowa. Tickets can be found at Alter Bridge’s website here: https://alterbridge.com/pages/tour
