Tonight the HMV Ritz in Manchester is packed. Floor and balcony are awash with a sea of Tremonti and Alter Bridge t-shirts. The atmosphere is quite calm, the result of an older, more mature fan base. Most of these people have been here before and will no doubt be back again.
Support tonight comes in the form of Heaven's Basement. They take to the stage ten minutes late and don't create much of a riot. Songs off the long awaited, debut album don't go down so well, and it takes a lot of jumping around, shouting and swearing for even the die hard fans at the front to move.
It isn't long before the lights go down and Tremonti strides into the green spotlights. Opener 'Leave it Alone' sets the tone for tonight. Tremonti's solo album, 'All I Was' is an angrier effort to previous works with both Creed and Alter Bridge. Some songs sound very Alter Bridge, the guitar riffs and solos are typical of the heavier songs that come from albums such as 'Blackbird and 'AB III', but 'All I Was' lacks in vocal ability.
Mark Tremonti is a good guitarist, there is no denying that. His technique is flawless, guitar fans the world over have snapped up his signature guitars. Every song is performed perfectly, matching the recorded version. Of course, his vocal ability isn't as good as that of Myles Kennedy, but for once, Tremonti isn't in the shadow of the front men he is used to playing with. It must be daunting to be thrust into centre stage, suddenly having to command a crowd, demand circle pits and clap-a-longs, but after a slightly awkward entrance, Tremonti takes to his new found role as front man of his band.
'All I Was' is an album filled with bitterness, betrayal and being hurt by the ones you once loved. It's nothing new or different, but it's still good. He has a following of extremely loyal fans, who sing the lyrics back at the risk of bursting a lung. Album tracks go down a storm, the emotional 'Proof' brings proceedings to a slight halt, only to be picked straight back up again with 'Decay'. Crowd pleaser power ballad 'New Way Out' has everyone singing along, and debut single 'You Waste Your Time' makes the floorboards shiver. It isn't until 'Wish You Well' that Tremonti demands 'a huge fucking mosh pit' and fans at the front oblige, creating a pit of head banging and hair swishing.
By the encore, Mark Tremonti looks like a very happy man. It isn't the first time he's played a venue of this size, of course he's played arenas with Alter Bridge, but this is all his own for the first time. A rejected B side is brought out for the encore, closing with the hate fuelled 'Brains'. Tonight has been a success. As the man who has walked in the shadow of Myles Kennedy and Scott Stapp for a number of years has finally come into his own, gained a legion of dedicated fans and will no doubt go on to continue doing what he does best. Will another album be on the cards? Maybe. AB 4 is due out at some point in 2013, but if Myles Kennedy abandons Alter Bridge in favour of Slash again, I'm pretty sure Mark Tremonti will be just fine.
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