Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

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gbruin
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by gbruin »

Great info, abw! That was totally worth the risk of missing the possible early birth of your first child!! ;)

But did no one have the common decency to ask Mark or Myles or Tim when AB will play in Denver, at what venue, and at what time the M&G will be? Damn, do I have to do everything myself? :P

You must not deny the bionic laser bees - the main chorus lyric from MK's solo #2.5


Seriously, I'm glad everyone had such a great time and great experiences. I'm still kicking myself for not being able to go and see some great friends and hear my favorite band, but life gets complicated. Next time...

Bring on October 18th!!
Last edited by gbruin on Fri Sep 20, 2019 2:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
Another photobucket casualty... :(
As your courage crashes down before your eyes, don't lay down and die

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by Blackbirddd »

AB23 wrote:This is around the time frame that iTunes previews from an obscure country's iTunes begin to get posted for the new album. Be alert.
I can't wait for that

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by abw1987 »

We missed you Greg! And yes, totally worth it. My wife is 35 weeks tomorrow, and we were told I should plan to stay local starting around 36 weeks... so definitely down to the wire :lol.
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by Kreuger »

abw1987 wrote: I didn't pick up on any back-and-forth like in "The Last Hero", for example. It was tough to even discern who plays each solo with how loud it was in the room, but I assume Mark plays both. The first one is shorter, and the second a bit longer but mixed in with some vocal harmonies, so it's not as if the song is some deliberate showcase for guitar leads.
That's rather disappointing.
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28th March, 2014 at The Opera House in Toronto

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by abw1987 »

Okay folks, time for part II: the experience.

Pre-show and listening party

This time around I only flew down to Orlando for the listening party itself. As mentioned elsewhere, my wife is very pregnant and I was not inclined to spend any more time than necessary away from home. So, I did not attend the pre-party, the Great Sam Ash Cluster Swarm Of 2019, etc.

I got into town around 3:00 and met up with folks shortly thereafter. A few destination AB event veterans were missing (Greg, Cameron, Ashlee, Stijn, etc.), but it was great catching up with everyone else. I finally got to meet Roel! After the show I also got to catch up with Tim for the first time in a while – great seeing you!

Given the length of the line outside the venue, we didn't head over until well after 6pm. Although the doors opened at 5pm, we knew the photo session lasted until 7pm. Security was as tight as it's been. Previously we've been allowed to carry poster tubes (in which to store our souvenir posters) into the venue, but this time I had to check mine at the door.

From the get-go this party felt a bit more like a regular show than a special event, when compared to previous listening parties. There was a merch stand right at the entrance. The photo op was very clinical – I scarcely had time to congratulate the guys on the new album before they were facing the camera to complete the photo. (That's not a complaint – with how late I got there, they were probably 450 photos deep, and just trying to get through the last stragglers so they could prepare for the show.) And it felt like there were more people there as well, but it's tough to be sure. Either way, still a special and unique event, but maybe it felt a bit more routine as my 5th listening party—between Tremonti and AB.

The album started playing when I was in line for merch. Luckily the PA was loud enough that I had no trouble hearing. Plus, the first song was just the short intro track, and the next two we've all heard already. I've already posted my thoughts on the songs so I won't rehash that here, but it was met with great enthusiasm by the audience. 30 minutes after the album finished, the show started.

Live concert

As soon as the lights went down, the place went wild with cheering. Most AB shows start with some atmospheric instrumental audio, and at first this one seemed to as well, but it actually turned out to be "One Life" played over the PA. Keeping with the album order, the band kicked off the show with "Wouldn't You Rather", which translated well live, coming off very similar to "Addicted to Pain". I thought they played it well, given it was their first time, with Mark even nailing the three-string sweeps at the end of the solo. The audience showed their support for the new album with a grand applause.

Not to lose any momentum, "Isolation" followed – always a live favorite. Then I was delighted to hear them pull "Buried Alive" out of cold storage. The crowd lit up upon hearing Myles play those recognizable first few notes of the intro. I've missed hearing that song live!

Next up was "Pay No Mind", which I was very eager to hear. For this one, Mark's guitar tech played a keyboard mounted on the top of Mark's cabs. The synthesizer sounds were quite prominent in the mix, which will definitely take some getting used to! This was an audience favorite – especially the "last! man! falls!" and "call! you! out!" parts, which just beg to be sung along with. And of course everyone knew to clap along during the pre-bridge breakdown. Following that we were treated to a rare mid-show rendition of "Rise Today" – another great singalong.

For "Take the Crown", Myles tried to switch to a Tele, but due to technical difficulties went back to his PRS. Is it just me or does Myles always have bad luck when introducing new guitars? (I'm thinking about that Dean Z-series he pulled out in '06 :lol). This song came off great live – I especially liked the chorus with Mark harmonizing over Myles. Note: they did not sing the "like we've always done before" line; hey, a guy's gotta breathe! I also seem to recall cryo jets during this song, which Myles was eyeing with hilarious suspicion :lol.

They kept the show going with "Addicted to Pain", then rolled out the final new track, "In the Deep". I think this one was either the most or second-most well received WTS song by the crowd. Despite the synths in the album version, I didn't see anyone on keys for this one during the show. No matter, I think it came off very well and will prove to be a favorite throughout the tour.

"Cry of Achilles" was awesome of course, with great crowd participation. Next up was "Blackbird", this time without Myles' usual rendition of the homonymous Beatles song. Instead, I was over the moon to hear Mark kick it off with clean tones for the fingerpicked intro! I didn't see any Fender Twins on stage so I'm not sure what amp he was using for this, but whatever it was, it worked. Sadly this did not continue for his fingerpicked part of the bridge, but I think the cleans are less important there since he's mixing in with the rest of the band there anyway.

Finally, they closed with "Open Your Eyes". We all know how that one goes, and predictably for this type of event attended by die-hard fans, the bridge singalong was sublime. Overall it was a quick set, but highly enjoyable due to the enthusiastic fan base – if perhaps not quite as fervent as the TLH listening party. I'm sure it fired up the band for the tour!
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by tblock96 »

First time attending a listening party. What an awesome experience! I live in Tampa so I didn’t have to drive too far. Godspeed was the tune that really caught my ear. I’m leaving for basic training in a week, so unfortunately I won’t have another chance to listen to the album until around Thanksgiving. So the listening party was just a big tease :facepalm

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by AB23 »

Did any of the chorus melodies remind you guys of any other songs you can compare to?
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by abw1987 »

AB23 wrote:Did any of the chorus melodies remind you guys of any other songs you can compare to?
None that stood out to me.
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by One Drew Remains »

That's a good thing
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

Watching that, I don't mind Elvis directing-producing them... I just wish he wasn't mixing-producing them, or arranging-producing them (nothing in post, basically lol).

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by Blackbirddd »

MuffinMcFluffin wrote:Watching that, I don't mind Elvis directing-producing them... I just wish he wasn't mixing-producing them, or arranging-producing them (nothing in post, basically lol).
Yeah, I think many of us can appreciate more what elvis does watching videos like that

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by chtimixeur »

Same here.
If they need a coach to guide them, they can keep him for that job only.
The guy doesn't know how to properly record and mix songs, and they can keep denying it as much as they want, that is a problem.

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by Ubik »

They like the sounds he gets, they've said this multiple times.
For all of the hope that it brings...

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by anguyen92 »

All right, the time is now. I’ve put this off way too long and I certainly want to say my story before Walk the Sky is out. The time for me to tell my stories of my 3.5 days trip to the East Coast. Be forewarn, this is not really much about a story about how the band played or how the Walk the Sky album sounds as it is more details about my trip and meeting the people around me and the background that comes with it. This will be split in a fair number of posts that I will post every few days or so.

Before that, I would like to give a big thank you to Alter Bridge, Tim Tournier and Janus Music Management, for making these shows happen and last but certainly not least, the Alter Bridge fans that I have met in the two events in Orlando and Raleigh for making this trip beyond what I have expected.

Background of how the trip came to, trip to the airport, Flight to Atlanta to Orlando, and seeing the scenery of Downtown Orlando
All right, as some may know, I haven’t flown in a plane in 17 years. Last plane trip I took was to Sacramento on a school field trip in the 4th grade. Don’t know why it has taken this long. Mainly because there was just no reason for me to travel outside of Southern California since a lot of bands I like would naturally play in Southern California (whether it is LA or Anaheim or anywhere around that area in the OC) for their shows. Of course, that changed back in February when AB announced their bundles listed for presale for the Walk the Sky album and of course, like in The Last Hero cycle and other Tremonti albums, there was a $250.00 VIP listening party where you get a photo with the band, get to hear the album before it is out in stores and elsewhere, and see a brief live set. I thought to myself that I haven’t seen the band in five years prior to this. Saw them in the last show of the Fortress tour in LA. I would have liked to see them in early 2017 when they were on The Last Hero tour, but sadly, I had to move to the OC that weekend. This time I thought, I’m not missing this opportunity to hear the new album and see the band, especially since I have a decent paying job and some cash saved up to do this trip. I budgeted $1,000.00 for this trip and thankfully, I spent around $900.00 including flights, hotel stay, Uber/Lyft, food, and merchandise. Not too shabby for a 3.5 days trip outside of Southern California.

Anyway, when I bought the VIP Album Listening Party Pass, they stated that they will do the event around September. By then, I have already purchased tickets to see Iron Maiden, the Saturday the week of the listening party, and Breaking Benjamin, the Monday of, so I thought if the listening party lands on the weekend after or even before, I’m golden to see them all. Sadly, the event was on the day after Breaking Benjamin. At first, I thought I could see Breaking Benjamin, catch a late flight to Orlando, and off we go, but I knew that with TSA and how long it takes to board the plane and load the luggage and the time to get to Orlando, get to the hotel room to check in and get in line to get a good spot, it was just not going to be feasible. As a result, I relisted the Breaking Benjamin ticket on Stubhub for $40.00, the person that bought it paid like $48.00 and I get $34.00 back. Basically, I made the money I paid for the ticket on Groupon back, so that’s nice. That stated, the rule of equivalent exchange applies here as when you give something, you can get something in return. Around July, AB then announced their two standalone shows in the Carolinas before they go on their tour with Skillet and one of them was two days after the listening party. Initially, I thought I want to go home on Thursday, but with this show in Raleigh on Thursday, I might as well make the trip more worthwhile to go to that show as well. So I bought the ticket and bought the Fastlane pass, which totals $53.00, to ensure that I have a great chance to get a rail spot. Lose a concert, get a concert. I say that's a nice tradeoff, but what a tradeoff to see an AB show in all GA since I was in the seats when I saw them in 2014.

So we approach Monday evening, September 16th. I had my parents drop me off of John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana at around 7:15 PM, after trying to figure out where to check in, I managed to clear TSA and there were no lines at all at 7:30 PM and waited another 90 minutes before boarding the plane. In the meanwhile, I walked around to see what stores are still opened. Good tip when eating at an airport, don’t eat at the McDonalds there. It’s way too expensive than what they normally would charge you at your local McDonalds and that you would probably find somewhere else in an airport restaurant more fulfilling for the same price as a Big Mac Meal (which was around $11.00 tax included). I also found an area at the airport where they had a small collection of all the Anaheim Ducks jerseys and the description of that particular jersey over the years as a hockey franchise…… That was quite awkward for me to see as a Kings fan and I better hope LAX has something like that for the Kings (and they better include the Burger King jersey, go look it up on Google LA Burger King Jersey. It was a horrendous design that I feel that no respectable hockey franchise should wear…..) or I will be very disappointed.

9:30 PM PST hits and off I go flying to Atlanta. I actually found myself having a hard time getting some shut-eye until like an hour into the flight, but at least, they gave me complementary juice and snacks and I finally fell asleep after running through the various random thoughts in my head. Got to the airport in Atlanta at around 5:00 AM EST with about a two hour layover before getting to Orlando. There wasn’t a lot of shops opened around that time and after doing a brief research on my phone, I had to travel across two terminals and back to get some breakfast. A sizable breakfast burrito and a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. For $12.00, that’s pretty all right for the price. Got to the plane at 7:00 AM and landed in Orlando at around 9:00 AM. I booked a Lyft ride and went to the rideshare area. However, the driver opted to park in the floor above me where passengers would normally be dropped off and when I realized it, the guy was gone and I charged a $5.00 fee. Booked another Lyft ride and that went more smoothly and got to the Eo Inn at around 10:00 AM and the ride set me back $31.00. Checked in the Inn and opted to take like a two hour nap before getting ready to get in line at the Beacham. Walked to the Beacham, took me 15 minutes, but Lake Eola looks cool and there were a lot of ducks and people riding in boats on it and opted to take a few photos shown below (I’m not the greatest photo capturer so deal with it).

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Anyway, Downtown Orlando looks busy in afternoons with all kinds of various bars and restaurants to ensure that not a quiet moment will happen in downtown Orlando going in the late night and we made sure that on that night, it won't be a quiet one.

More to come soon..........

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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by abw1987 »

The anticipation is killing me bro!

Sounds like it all worked out for you regarding the ticket swap...
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by anguyen92 »

All right, Part II of my trip. I think I will divide this whole thing up into five parts, so here we go. This is a really long post.

Waiting in line, getting the picture, listening to the album and seeing the set
Got in line at 1:00 PM and I was like the 10th person in line. Some people were even there since like 7:00 AM for this event. Never ever underestimate how much AB fans are willing to go through for an AB spot on the rail. Met a lot of nice people and saw Maggie Wright (big AB fan from the UK that I heard organized a pre-event party in Orlando the day before) in front of me. She had all kinds of stuff with her like AB stickers, masks of Mark’s face that she handed to people in line, and some scrapbooks of various AB-related photos throughout the 15 years of the band being together. Sometimes, I wish I can put this much dedication of being a long-time fan.

As the hours tick by and people were lining up, you see a lot of people wearing various AB-related shirts ranging from Year of the Tiger shirts, A Dying Machine shirts, people wearing The Last Hero t-shirts, and everything in between. I also saw a guy sporting a Slash t-shirt and a denim jacket with various band logos on it (now, in my times of going to concerts, I despise that look so much, especially at metal shows. A person wearing denim jackets or vests and having so many logos of metal bands and that look was really apparent at the Iron Maiden show I was at prior to this. I found that look very gaudy. Sometimes, wearing a plain t-shirt of your favorite band is all you need. Works for me. I’ve worn the same AB t-shirt that I got in the Royal Albert Hall bundle for 20+ straight shows.) Now, with the whole no cell phones policy, I was hoping we can just drop off our phones at the front of the venue and then pick them up after the event is over. Nope, the venue really enforced the “leave your phones in your car or your home” or you are not getting in, period, no exceptions. Therefore, I had to walk the 30 minutes total front and back to drop my phone off at around 2:00 PM and luckily, the people in front of me saved my spot.

Somewhere in that waiting period, AB did a soundcheck alone and we can hear them play a lot of songs outside. We heard the four songs from Walk the Sky, Blackbird, Cry of Achilles, Isolation and they sounded fine. They sounded like a band that’s ready to get back in the fray of things after not touring in about two years. Funny note, I took a restroom break while they were doing their soundcheck, and I asked people what song I missed and they told me they played Buried Alive and I was like “Oh, that’s funny. When I was thinking about the potential songs they could bring back, I thought it’s time for Buried Alive to make its return after 8 years of them not playing it.” Also, during that restroom break I got Subway. I think I had a footlong chicken sandwich that set me back $8.00. Oh well, it was across the street from the venue and I’m probably not going to find anywhere else to snack on for cheaper that's close enough and get my food faster.

I thought so far so good, me and the first 10 people or so in line, should be guaranteed a rail spot. Then 4:00 PM and that’s when that idea went down the tubes. For some reason, the venue insisted on having a second line and decided to keep the first 20-30 people in the original line and then let everyone else behind us get on the new line and they told us that they were letting both lines in at the same time. Now that was a BS thing for the venue to pull as we got people in line since 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM, but the venue security wasn’t having it. In fact, they honestly thought that this was a free event or something with regular GA or something like that and we were like no, everyone here paid the same price ($250.00) and therefore the people that got here early should get first priority of getting in first. Venue security would not give a f*** about that. In all fairness, if they had to do a second line, I would have it set up where it’s like first five people stay in this line, next five people get in this new line, following five stay in line, next five get in the other line and so on until a certain point, just to make things fair for the people standing in line for hours hoping for a rail spot. It was just so dumb for the venue to pull something like that and not reward the people that got there early to get a better chance at the rail.

5:00 PM finally hits and the two lines were going to get inside and then after like 10 people each line got inside, the venue security decided to literally close the door on me and will open when the people inside have already checked in and got their photo with the band. I honestly think that the particular venue security guard was giving us spite for talking down on them after we (rightfully!!!!) argue that we should have gotten in first. Now for me, I didn't actually say anything. I was naturally agreed with what other people in line next to me are saying and those people were pissed off as hell. I was mad, but opted not to be visually be upset about it. After all we went through regarding that BS with the venue security, that was just another slap in the face. Anyway, I finally got in, checked in, shook the band’s hands and say hey to everyone, took the photo and that was that, I was running to get a close spot. I got the photo below, but man I look pretty terrible there. My hair looked out of place. My hand when trying to pose with the horns looks like it was at a wrong angle. Not the greatest picture that I am going to be a part of. Thankfully, this would actually not be the last picture with an AB member that I was in on this trip, but more on that in the next part.

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Overall, I would say that the meet and greet the band wasn’t all great. Just say hey to the guys, take the photo and that was that. I understand that with 500 people buying this thing and everyone needs to get their pictures with the band that having a decent conversation with the band would not happen. In fact, I heard someone in the back said that even Mark asked if they can slow things down to try to get a proper conversation with their fans, but the venue organizer wouldn’t even say yes to that for the band (which I get because the album is supposed to be played at 7:00 and the show is at 9:00). No matter, I got myself a spot in the center at the 2nd or 3rd row which is the closest I have ever gotten for an AB related show. I was in the nosebleeds of the theaters when I saw Slash/Myles/Conspirators and AB in 2014 and I was in the 5th row for Myles’ solo show last year. Of course, that would be topped in two days, but I will get to that later.

The Walk the Sky album didn’t get played until 7:30 PM and that’s when Supa Dave (DJ from the main rock station in Orlando) came out and got us ready with the whole “15 Years of this band” and listed all five albums one by one with applause from the crowd in between before saying “are you ready to Walk the Sky?” and off we go to listening to the album. Sadly, I cannot remember every song detail by detail like ABW or Snowman did and I don’t know if this would be recent bias kicking in, but overall I felt like I had a more of good feeling about Walk the Sky than I did with The Last Hero, especially on songs like Native Son, Forever Falling, Clear Horizon, Walking on the Sky, and Dying Light. I remember not being too keen on Godspeed. I don’t know if this was my hearing getting the point of fatigue listening on the house speakers or focusing on my feet having major sores, but I couldn’t recall Mark’s vocals in Forever Falling. I did recall Myles using his upper range more in Tear Us Apart. I also do know that Myles used part of his lower range that sounds creepy. Think the “you don’t belong here” in Slip to the Void. I think he used that part of his range in various parts of songs. Also, about the whole Mark masks that Maggie Wright brought? Well, people in the front rail was wearing them to the point where Supa obviously had to notice it and even sported it himself for a brief moment in the album walkthrough and the crowd cheered for that. What an enthusiastic and humorous fanbase that we found ourselves in.

Overall, is this their best album ever? As I said in another forum, I don't want to feel like thinking that this is going to be their best album ever, because it's not fair to the other five great albums if it does succeed and it's not fair for Walk the Sky by itself to live up to expectations that it doesn’t need. I always look at the focus and the intent that these guys want to achieve in every album and see if they do it well and able to deliver their intent with their songs and give us great songs to listen to over and over again. When they said that this album was more enlightening than others, they meant every bit of it. Overall, I think they succeed in getting what they want out and it did felt like a more positive and cheery sounding album. Even though they cut down on the amount of the intricate instrumental sections in comparison to prior albums, the songs did feel more concise and I think it has a lot of replay value. I mean I’m certainly going to want to listen to it again and enjoy certain things on it that I couldn’t pick out in the album listening party.

All right, 9:00 PM hits, lights go down and as people probably would expect, even before the album listening party just because of the short length, One Life did get the nod as the playback track before going into the opening song. I sure hope this carries on throughout the entire Walk the Sky tour because it’s a pretty good short track and does its job of getting people excited and the texture of the instrumentals with Myles’ voice works well here. Afterwards, naturally, Wouldn’t You Rather is the opening track and off they go and I think it’s a great song to start the show off. Despite it being a radio single, it’s still a good paced song to get people amped. Second track was Isolation, which the order was quite surprising to me, because naturally, bands would normally put their more well-known songs near the end or at the end of the set, so that the crowd doesn’t tune itself out after the big songs get played. However, in front of this particular crowd and from this particular band, it’s not an issue at all. 3rd song was Buried Alive and I was intrigued to see how it would be played now that AB has considerably slowed themselves down since the last time they played it. Sure, you are not going to get that great pacing in Live From Amsterdam for these shows, but I think it worked out well for them and it’s a great song for them to bring back after 8 years. It’s pretty funny. When they kept playing it in the AB III tour, I was like man, “I kinda wish they can substitute it for something from AB III like Fallout, but they can still get the feel they got playing Buried Alive with the added benefit of playing a song from the new album.” After course, bringing it back 8 years later with a different tempo, it feels fresher again.

The second song they played from Walk the Sky was Pay No Mind, and they did bring out one of their techs to play the synths and quite frankly, I couldn’t hear it too much aside from it showing up here and there rarely in the performance which is odd, since I can hear just about everything from the band in the Orlando show, including Brian’s bass. Song #5 came and another surprise in the order, they opted to play Rise Today early which is a great sign since that’s been worn out to death at the closing song of the show and once again, people probably tune out after hearing a recognizable song if it is was an ordinary band, but for AB, that’s not going to be the case with this crowd. This crowd is probably the smallest crowd of all of the shows I’ve been to this year (although Adelitas Way might have been smaller when I saw them in Anaheim), but honestly, it’s not a surprise that this is the best crowd that I have been a part of this year. Everyone was singing along at the right cues and of course, people in the front row was wearing the Mark masks.

They played the two other songs from Walk the Sky, Take the Crown and In the Deep, with Addicted to Pain in between, and I really enjoyed Take the Crown the most out of the performances from the Walk the Sky songs. There’s a good aura about that song when it’s played I feel. They then are finishing the hour set with Cry of Achilles and Blackbird (in which they decided to start off with Mark's intro as oppose to Myles adding the Beatles' Blackbird intro at the beginning) which makes another solid placements for them. Putting their two most well-known long songs near the end back to back and of course, these songs were the best performances of the show. Sometimes, these shows are going to make or break based on how well the guys will play Cry of Achilles and Blackbird on that night and on this night, they hit every beat on the dot and the crowd reacted accordingly.

They closed the set with Open Your Eyes with its rightful spot the closing song of the show and of course, the crowd was at its best with the singalong in the bridge. Overall, I think this was a really good setlist. Four songs, out of 11 songs played in the set, off the new album. They didn’t play songs that I thought they would normally play (Come to Life, Ties That Bind, Farther than the Sun, etc.), but nothing was really lost. Sure, they didn’t play anything from The Last Hero, but again, I don’t think I would feasibly trade off any of these songs for the sake of having a song from The Last Hero. If they had to, I would want either Crows on a Wire or Island of Fools. I wished they played for more than an hour. I think everyone in that crowd wouldn’t mind it if they played more, but I think this was a very satisfying set to put the exclamation point that screams, “Alter Bridge is back and they are ready to go for this next chapter of the band.”

Another note about the crowd, I think this is probably the best crowd that AB is going to have all tour. I’m dead serious. This is only 500 people in a show in the states and I don’t see any crowd be better than the crowd I was a part of at the Beacham. You can take your arena shows in England and in the London O2 Arena. You can take your shows in Amsterdam in the venue formally known as the Heineken Music Hall. You can say all of that blah blah blah about the bigger crowds in Europe and elsewhere. You can have around 60,000-80,000 people show up for their set at Download where probably the majority of them are intrigued of AB, but I would take a guess and say that the majority of those festival crowds wouldn’t be as passionate as fans for AB as this crowd in Orlando would be. This is 500 people of some of the most die-hard Alter Bridge fans that you are going to find. One of them flew in from South America and brought some custom-made shoes for Myles that the fan created himself back home and this was not the only time he did that and those were some fine looking shoes. Those would be shoes that Myles would wear and has worn.

My point is that yes, I’m proud of us as Alter Bridge fans that were able to make it to Orlando to all congregate and celebrate the history and the songs and everything that goes with it in the 15 years of this band. Various strangers probably gave us the weird look outside and question what the heck is going on and what event is happening and wouldn’t know who Alter Bridge is. I didn’t care at what they think. I was having the time of my life inside with great people and the greatest fan base I can ever be a part of. After the show ended, I wanted to get some new t-shirts and AB always has some cool designs, obviously some shirts had some bird motifs to it. I got myself two shirts at $25.00 each, a Walk the Sky album cover shirt with the tour dates of their Fall US tour on the back (which I ran into an issue of, but I’ll get to that later) and one design that I absolutely needed to get. It was a shirt that had them look like they were samurais or warriors or ninjas or whatnot topped off with symbols (yes, I am that uncultured as an Asian person that I couldn’t tell what the symbols were on it or what they mean). Now I don’t know who their right mind came up with that shirt design, but I was glad as hell that they did it. That’s a shirt design that you would never think a band like AB would do. Here’s what it looks like below in addition to the album cover shirt.

Image

Image

Image

Afterwards, I walked across the street to a bar called The Lodge where I heard that’s where AB was after the listening party for The Last Hero. Maybe, I thought if I wait a couple of minutes the band would walk in there, I wait a few minutes and get a couple more words of thanks and everything. Didn’t drink anything, talked to a few fans that were at the show and I was around that area for like 5-10 minutes and decided that, “My feet is too sore, I may miss out talking to the guys in AB now, but maybe I may get lucky talking to them after their show in Raleigh.” and walked back to the hotel room and got there at around 10:45 and called it a day at around 11:00. Yeah, that was a pretty fun day to say the least and there's a lot more to come.
Last edited by anguyen92 on Fri Oct 11, 2019 1:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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MidnightToker
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by MidnightToker »

anguyen92 wrote: Image
Whoa, this is official band merchandise? I never would have imagined they'd do a shirt like this. I like it, but very surprising.

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anguyen92
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by anguyen92 »

Yeah, I'm shocked as much as well when I first saw that shirt. It's like instant purchase after the show was done. I also like the little touches on Mark's outfit with the Fret12 logo (you can't see it more clearly, since I'm not a great picture taker) and the birds.

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Ubik
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

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This is good shit, Kev! This is your opus.
For all of the hope that it brings...

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RevenantGB
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Re: Listening party thread (Walk the Sky edition)

Post by RevenantGB »

edit: accidentally posted in the wrong thread my bad
Let this be an exercise in how to face your fears
Step into the realm of madness if you dare, my dear

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