A fairly energetic band called Weapons Of Anew hit the Rebel stage promptly at 7pm and if you have ever been at any show anywhere you know bands are very rarely on time for some reason or another. Hailing from New York, they started their 20 min set with quite a bit of energy. Looking around the room I could see plenty of people nodding their heads to the beat of the music rolling off the stage. I am glad I made the opening band, knowing nothing about them I am going to have to check them out when I get home.
This is the second time I have seen NonPoint, once at a different venue in NY, and I am impressed with the stage presence these guys have. They gave it their all at both shows I witnessed. It was great to see the crowd wave their fists in the air getting right into the music of NonPoint. This is quite the feat for any opening act because most people are there to see the headliner. I loved the fact the drummer was faced sideways on the stage. Normally we do not get to see the drummer because they are usually buried behind the kit, but Rob Rivera made a point of being noticed, getting up from behind the kit and making sure we knew he was there. NonPoint is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and I will always wonder why bands leave their home to go on tour to colder climates, don’t they know it is fairly cold here right now? That being said I hope these guys come back soon and I get the opportunity to see them again as you should. NonPoint has been around for quite some time and if you like an in your face, hard rock/heavy metal band with a whole lot of dreads, as well as, one who does a kick ass cover of “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Colins I may have found the band for you.
The crowd was ready for the headliner to hit the stage and take over Rebel and that is exactly what they did. Alter Bridge walked on stage and did what they do best, they played some great music and entertained an almost sold out venue. The night before they played in Niagara Falls NY, to a sold out venue which isn’t that far from this Rebel so there is definitely a ton of Alter Bridge fans out there including myself. Arms were waving in the air to every one of Alter Bridge’s songs from the very beginning of the night right to the end and not much coaxing was needed by these hard core fans in attendance. I always get a kick out of watching fans sing the lyrics of the songs back to the artist and Myles Kennedy seemed to be enjoying the same. During “Ghost Of Days Gone” the audience sang at the top of their lungs and I am assuming Myles loved it too because I watched a small smirk run across his face.
After a small hello, Myles stated the band wasn’t sure about how many people would be here due to it being a long time they have graced a Toronto stage and promptly as if on cue the fans chanted Alter Bridge, if that isn’t a cue to come back I don’t know what is. I was very thankful I didn’t have to wait till the end to hear my favourite songs by them “My Champion” and “The Other Side”.
There was one cool thing I noticed after the initial, wow it’s Alter Bridge in Toronto, from the crowd the phones seemed to slowly lower from the hands of the people in the audience and disappeared. The fans focused on the actual show and not through a tiny screen, they lived in the moment for most of the show. I do have to say though as soon as Myles came out with his acoustic guitar to sing “Watch Over You” the women in the crowd very quickly had their phones handy to record the moment. The mood at Rebel didn’t stay gushy for long though and the crowd was hopping again for “The Other Side” and for the rest of the evening the fans were singing along to every lyric.
Once again thanks to the crew because without them there is no show!
