KNAC.COM - Reviews - ALTER BRIDGE, MAMMOTH WVH In Houston, TX W/Photos!

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ALTER BRIDGE, MAMMOTH WVH In Houston, TX With Photos!

By Larry Petro, News Monkey
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 @ 10:44 AM

And Special Guest PISTOLS AT DAWN Rock The 713 Music Hall, March 17th

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All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography

Show #2 of 3 in a 5 day span for me was none other than the Mark Tremonti-led ALTER BRIDGE and along for the ride as Special Guests were none other than MAMMOTH WVH, featuring Wolfgang Van Halen, and PISTOLS AT DAWN. The tour actually arrived in Houston on an off-day the day before and the band spent the day playing golf and celebrating Wolfie's birthday with dinner in downtown. The next night they rocked the house at the newest Live Nation venue in town, 713 Music Hall.

Starting things of was Atlanta hard rockers PISTOLS AT DAWN who have been around for about 15 years now but have kinda flown under the radar. Supporting a new album Ascension that was released last August the five piece outfit got the party started with "Gauntlet", a track from the band's self-titled album from 2019. Their set was brief at just 5 songs (even though the setlist onstage showed 6), but they made the most of their time with high energy and other selections including "Fly", "Voices" and set closer "Under The Surface". Check 'em out if you get a chance and hopefully this tour will give them additional exposure.

Setlist:

"Gauntlet"

"Fly"

"Voices"

"The Truth"

"Under The Surface"

Next up was the one and only son of Eddie Van Halen, quite possibly the greatest guitarist who ever lived, and his band called MAMMOTH WVH. Making his way in the music has been a struggle at times and Wolfgang has had to endure quite a bit of unwarranted criticism that has come his way and he certainly has been a bit frustrated by it but when you have the kind of shoes to fill that were his dad's some is bound to come your way. Wolfie has soldiered through it all and continues to forge his own path through life and proves to audiences worldwide that he can and will prevail in his own right. He and his band, collectively known as MAMMOTH WVH provided the audience with a nice, solid set of tracks from their self-titled debut album, kicking things off with "Mammoth". It was obvious right from the start that he was in great spirits, oftentimes showing a smile and just generally having a great time as they played songs such as "Mr. Ed", "Epiphany", "Distance" (dedicated to his dad) and their finale, the hit single "Don't Back Down". His mother Valerie Bertinelli was also in attendance admiring her son's performance from an upper level and Wolfie could be seen looking her way from time to time and acknowledging her presence. At one point during the show while talking about celebrating his birthday the day before he quipped "I'm 32, now don't you feel old?" Old we are indeed if we can remember back to the time he was born.

Setlist:

"Mammoth"
"Mr. Ed"
"Epiphany"
"Stone"
"Think It Over"
"Distance"
"You're To Blame"
"Don't Back Down"

Finally it was time for some ALTER BRIDGE. For those unfamiliar with the band (and if you are unfamiliar then you should be smacked because we post news of theirs all the time on KNAC.COM lol), the band is essentially CREED with vocalist Myles Kennedy at the helm. Musically however, the band's material is light years away from the music of CREED, with one having to look no further than their most recent album, Pawns & Kings, which was released back in October. Touring in support of that opus the packed house was at a fever pitch as their heroes took the stage to one of the track from the LP, the fast driving "Silver Tongue". The fans were treated to a nice cross section of songs from the band's seven studio albums going all the way back to 2007's Blackbird for four of ALTER BRIDGE's 17 song, hour and a half set, "Watch Over You", "Come To Life", the title track "Blackbird" and final encore "Rise Today".

The new album also warranted 4 songs in the performance, the aforementioned show opener, "Holiday" (one of my personal favs from the new album), "Sin After Sin" and also the title track to this one. The band was super tight and in fine form. Vocalist Myles Kennedy sang his ass off when it was called for but could also bring things down when necessary, like for the 2 acoustic numbers including "In Loving Memory". Even the man himself, guitarist Mark Tremonti had his moment on the lead mic for "Burn It Down". And watching his facial expressions, which there seems to be no shortage of, everything from his boyish smile to his sneers and everything in between, you could tell he was having a blast.

The current tour runs through April 1st but fear not, the band recently announced a May run of headline dates with support from SEVENDUST so definitely check this tour out!

Tour Dates:

Mar 21 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Union Event Center #
Mar 23 – SEATTLE, WA – The Paramount Theatre #
Mar 25 – AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA – Northern Quest Resort & Casino ^
Mar 28 – ANAHEIM, CA – House Of Blues #
Mar 29 – TEMPE, AZ – Marquee Theatre #
Mar 31 – RENO, NV – Silver Legacy’s Grande Expo Hall #
Apr 1 – HIGHLAND, CA – Yaamava Theater at Yaamava Casino Resort ^

^ W/ MAMMOTH WVH
# W/ MAMMOTH WVH, PISTOLS AT DAWN

With SEVENDUST

May 6 – GREENSBORO, NC – Piedmont Hall
May 7 – MYRTLE BEACH, SC – House Of Blues
May 9 – CHARLOTTE, NC – The Fillmore
May 11 – LOUISVILLE, KY – Palace Theatre
May 13 – CHEROKEE, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee (No SEVENDUST)
May 14 – CHATTANOOGA, TN – The Signal
May 16 – PENSACOLA, FL – Saenger Theatre
May 17 – NEW ORLEANS, LA – The Fillmore
May 19 – DOTHAN, AL – The Plant
May 20 – DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Welcome To Rockville (ALTER BRIDGE Festival Appearance)