Alter Bridge, Manchester Arena. 15th December 2019

Last night was lofi rock n roll, down n dirty in a good ol’ British pub. Tonight we’re in the soulless cavern that is Manchester Arena, but I have to say the sound is spot on. Support band Shinedown don’t do it for me though, this is safe soft rock, the kinda thing embraced by monster truck fans in the US of A punching the air. I don’t like slating bands, but I’m sick of acts playing Manchester thinking we want to hear their cover of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’... FUCK OFF! To top it they depart the stage with a call of “God Save the Queen” (not even the song, just those words)... again FUCK OFF! Alter Bridge are better, but it’s all a bit repetitive. The highly polished production is impressive, the lighting op is earning their crust for sure and the screen setup is lovely, 9 split screens across the back of the stage with a further 6 set at an angle above, I appreciate that stuff... even if some of the screen content is a bit lazy. It’s showy, four songs in, one lucky punter wins a guitar ‘Christmas present’. This is the Miles Kennedy show though and he does sound good, but somewhere between Bruce Dickenson and David Coverdale. You’d struggle to find a better singer, but it’s still all a bit wallpapery, like introduction rock music. If I were a teenage boy I can see I’d give this more attention, but now quite frankly I’ve heard better. There’s no danger and little excitement, Kennedy himself seems very nice, but it’s all “Ladies and Gentlemen” and “This is an amazing venue, it’s magical”. No it’s not, it’s too big, a nightmare getting in and out of and £6 for a pre-poured pint of Amstel. Alter Bridge aren’t bad, they’re listenable, but I’ve spoilt myself with gigs this year and this one certainly comes up short against the rest.