Myles Kennedy
- Review by Cassie Hughes
Myles Kennedy – Tuesday March 20th – The Garage, Glasgow
Myles Kennedy hit Glasgow town this week as part of his world tour for “Year of the Tiger”, his first solo album. It’s no secret that fans have been waiting some years for Myles’ solo foray, he has been teasing the idea for long enough and just as we were on the cusp of receiving this holy sacrament several years ago, Kennedy took his solo project into another direction. “Year of the Tiger” delves into his own experiences and loss of faith after the death of his father in 1974 and was well received by critics and fans of the man himself.
Taking place in the 700 capacity venue, The Garage, Myles stated during his performance that the set was a “retrospective of 20 years of music”. His acoustic set kicked off with “Devil on the Wall”, a track from YoTG before diving into Slash “Standing in the Sun”. Thus followed the epic one-hour-and-forty-five-minute performance that, if it wasn’t done already, cemented Myles Kennedy as one of the best performers this spectator has ever seen live.
Mixing in Alter Bridge anthems such as “Open Your Eyes” and “Watch Over You”, and his inaugural track with Slash, “Starlight”, only further demonstrated his wide vocal range and the excellent guitar arrangements for each song. Included in his set were two songs by the Mayfield Four, Kennedy’s first band who kicked off his twenty year performance history and it’s likely that many fans will not have heard these ever performed live out-with the life span of that band.
“Eden (Turn The Page)” and “Mars Hotel” were welcomed by the crowd like a soldier returning from war, the venue erupted and a visibly stunned Kennedy later remarked that it was unbelievable how well the crowd knew the Mayfield Four.
Crowd interaction was brilliant, with a decent bit of back and forth afforded by the intimate setting and Kennedy regaling us with tales of times past such as the cringe worthy lyrics of “Mars Hotel” and the tale of teen angst with a trumpet-playing Myles being heckled by the “jocks” chanting “cut your f******g hair!”
The highlight of the evening personally was the stripped back performance of “Blind Faith”. Another track off the new album performed on the steel guitar with lots of slick sounding slides, bluesy tones and a deep resonance that would make a nun blush.
The overall effect of the gig left you wanting more and in complete awe of Kennedy, who normally flanked by band members, delivered a solo performance that exceeds any prior Alter Bridge performances I have seen. He looks comfortable and confident on stage himself and he brought a larger than life atmosphere that makes you forget you aren’t standing in The Hydro.
If you have the chance to see him, take it. The experience was stylistically simple but the pared back approach pays off with an acoustic gig that was in a word – spectacular.
*Myles is currently touring the UK and Europe, and will be returning in the Autumn with Slash and the Conspirators for their third album.
