Tremonti - May 11, 2015 - Highline Ballroom, NYC
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 5:35 pm
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Tremonti at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. Just when I was wavering, this show restored my faith in the future of hard rock & metal.
I got to the venue at around 2:30. The weather was perfect -- warm enough to wear a t-shirt, but not brutally hot. In line I caught up with a few familiar faces including Tracy and Renee, and even Erik from Austria, whom I had previously met at the listening party in Orlando. I met some new folks as well, including three brothers from Brooklyn whose names regrettably escape me. The venue is right across the street from Chelsea market, which is honestly perfect. They have public restrooms, and some of the best food in New York. For dinner I grabbed probably the best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had from a restaurant called Nom Pang.
Doors opened right on time at 7:00, and I secured a spot one row back from the rail. The rock started at 8:00. The first opener was The Only Weapon, whose bassist (Donny) I've known for many years. For those unaware, he's the guy who proposed to his now-fiance on stage at the Alter Bridge show in Orlando. I really enjoyed their set. They were surprisingly tight, and individually shone as musicians. I was mesmerized by the drummer in particular. I'm generally not a fan of screaming vocals, but it all worked well together as a package. They all looked like they were having fun, and I think that rubbed off on the audience.
The second opener was a southern rock band called Shaman's Harvest. They had more of a Monster Truck or Taddy Porter vibe, and the crowd received them equally well. Their songs offered a formidable contrast between pulled-back blues and classic rock n' roll. Really enjoyable. I was really happy with both openers. Oftentimes I wish the openers would hurry up and finish, but these bands were rock solid.
Tremonti went on around 9:45, and kicked off their set with "Leave it Alone" and "All That I Got". I was psyched to hear the latter, as was the rest of the audience. (You know it'll be a good show when everyone knows the words to the b-side.) Next, they offered up their first new song, "Cauterize". The crowd was less familiar with this, but I saw a few people singing along. The band rounded out the first portion of their set with "All I Was" and "You Waste Your Time", both of which garnered enthusiastic audience participation.
In a major twist, Mark introduced the band's first live cover, "Prayer" by Big Wreck. This one was much tamer, but it gave everyone a good chance to rest up for the second half of the main set. Mark's a funny guy -- he's gotten better at talking to the audience, and part of that comes from his self-awareness. After "Prayer", he humbly thanked everyone for listening, and explained that "see, we bring you down so we can bring you back up." Later, he introduced the encore break by saying "after this is where we go off stage, and then we come back out." Cracks me up.
After reigniting the energy with "So You're Afraid", the band played their second new cut, "Flying Monkeys". Again, the crows as a whole was less comfortable with this one, but I saw plenty of folks singing along to parts of it. The song has an infectious groove that got the audience moving. The vocals definitely push the edge of Mark's upper range, but he knows his limits and handles it well. Next up was another crowd favorite, "The Things I've Seen". This was highlighted by Erock's improv guitar solos, and the audience sang every word.
Tremonti rounded out their main set with a trio of hard songs, starting with "Giving Up". It was here that the moshing began. This was surprising -- I figured you'd only see moshing in Europe where Tremonti's fans are more metal-oriented. Here in the US there are more crossover fans from the Creed era, etc. But last night, the crowd was there to rock. This was even more evident during "Brains", which was likely received with the most energy of the night. The main set closed with "Another Heart". Despite its youth, everyone knew it.
The band left the stage, but the crowd was still hungry. We all chanted "Tre-mon-ti! Tre-mon-ti!" until they came back out on stage for two more songs. The moshing picked right back up during "Decay". During the bridge, Mark led his now-standard call-and-response. They ended with "Wish You Well", ending on a high.
These guys have come a long way since I first saw them at the Social in Orlando before All I Was came out. They're very tight as a band, and Mark continues to develop his frontman skills. Erock and Garrett played with as much skill and energy as ever. I missed Wolfgang, but Tanner filled in seamlessly. The venue was pretty cool too. The perimeter was lined with leather booths offering a full dinner menu. The stage was flanked by a LED screen wall, which the band made good use of by displaying the Tremonti/All I Was logo and cycling through various visual effects.
In the end, I came away very inspired. The last time I saw Tremonti in the Northeast, it was in Lancaster where the crowd was dead. But last night in New York, rock n' roll was alive and well. And that's a good feeling.
I got to the venue at around 2:30. The weather was perfect -- warm enough to wear a t-shirt, but not brutally hot. In line I caught up with a few familiar faces including Tracy and Renee, and even Erik from Austria, whom I had previously met at the listening party in Orlando. I met some new folks as well, including three brothers from Brooklyn whose names regrettably escape me. The venue is right across the street from Chelsea market, which is honestly perfect. They have public restrooms, and some of the best food in New York. For dinner I grabbed probably the best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had from a restaurant called Nom Pang.
Doors opened right on time at 7:00, and I secured a spot one row back from the rail. The rock started at 8:00. The first opener was The Only Weapon, whose bassist (Donny) I've known for many years. For those unaware, he's the guy who proposed to his now-fiance on stage at the Alter Bridge show in Orlando. I really enjoyed their set. They were surprisingly tight, and individually shone as musicians. I was mesmerized by the drummer in particular. I'm generally not a fan of screaming vocals, but it all worked well together as a package. They all looked like they were having fun, and I think that rubbed off on the audience.
The second opener was a southern rock band called Shaman's Harvest. They had more of a Monster Truck or Taddy Porter vibe, and the crowd received them equally well. Their songs offered a formidable contrast between pulled-back blues and classic rock n' roll. Really enjoyable. I was really happy with both openers. Oftentimes I wish the openers would hurry up and finish, but these bands were rock solid.
Tremonti went on around 9:45, and kicked off their set with "Leave it Alone" and "All That I Got". I was psyched to hear the latter, as was the rest of the audience. (You know it'll be a good show when everyone knows the words to the b-side.) Next, they offered up their first new song, "Cauterize". The crowd was less familiar with this, but I saw a few people singing along. The band rounded out the first portion of their set with "All I Was" and "You Waste Your Time", both of which garnered enthusiastic audience participation.
In a major twist, Mark introduced the band's first live cover, "Prayer" by Big Wreck. This one was much tamer, but it gave everyone a good chance to rest up for the second half of the main set. Mark's a funny guy -- he's gotten better at talking to the audience, and part of that comes from his self-awareness. After "Prayer", he humbly thanked everyone for listening, and explained that "see, we bring you down so we can bring you back up." Later, he introduced the encore break by saying "after this is where we go off stage, and then we come back out." Cracks me up.
After reigniting the energy with "So You're Afraid", the band played their second new cut, "Flying Monkeys". Again, the crows as a whole was less comfortable with this one, but I saw plenty of folks singing along to parts of it. The song has an infectious groove that got the audience moving. The vocals definitely push the edge of Mark's upper range, but he knows his limits and handles it well. Next up was another crowd favorite, "The Things I've Seen". This was highlighted by Erock's improv guitar solos, and the audience sang every word.
Tremonti rounded out their main set with a trio of hard songs, starting with "Giving Up". It was here that the moshing began. This was surprising -- I figured you'd only see moshing in Europe where Tremonti's fans are more metal-oriented. Here in the US there are more crossover fans from the Creed era, etc. But last night, the crowd was there to rock. This was even more evident during "Brains", which was likely received with the most energy of the night. The main set closed with "Another Heart". Despite its youth, everyone knew it.
The band left the stage, but the crowd was still hungry. We all chanted "Tre-mon-ti! Tre-mon-ti!" until they came back out on stage for two more songs. The moshing picked right back up during "Decay". During the bridge, Mark led his now-standard call-and-response. They ended with "Wish You Well", ending on a high.
These guys have come a long way since I first saw them at the Social in Orlando before All I Was came out. They're very tight as a band, and Mark continues to develop his frontman skills. Erock and Garrett played with as much skill and energy as ever. I missed Wolfgang, but Tanner filled in seamlessly. The venue was pretty cool too. The perimeter was lined with leather booths offering a full dinner menu. The stage was flanked by a LED screen wall, which the band made good use of by displaying the Tremonti/All I Was logo and cycling through various visual effects.
In the end, I came away very inspired. The last time I saw Tremonti in the Northeast, it was in Lancaster where the crowd was dead. But last night in New York, rock n' roll was alive and well. And that's a good feeling.