Review by Angelina Pelova
The first time I saw Myles Kennedy live was six years ago at the London Palladium as part of his Year of The Tiger tour. Those times marked the beginnings of his solo career, so years on, it’s interesting to observe that not much has changed for him, and yet a lot has. Much like then, this time around the celebration of his third album, The Art Of Letting Go, happened at a fairly small and intimate venue: the O2 Academy in Birmingham (a place with a marginally larger capacity than the Palladium). Despite its size, though, the concert felt like a massive success. Evidently, Myles Kennedy was already well known then through headlining Alter Bridge and singing for Slash, yet he is now at the peak of his career to date. A factor to be reckoned with, too, is the huge PR campaign supporting the album release worldwide, which added to the keen anticipation of the UK leg of the tour, plus the ongoing support the musician has by Planet Rock who started airing the first singles from the new album as soon as they got out. He is, truly, one of their, and the rock audience’s, favourite nowadays: a completely earned and immensely deserved status.
We are lucky to have Myles visit the UK fairly frequently, whether with his own band, Slash or Alter Bridge, or for a brief acoustic session at the radio station, and all that does help keep him well in the spotlight. It was only in March that he frontlined at arenas nationwide, so those who didn’t know much about his solo works might have naturally become mildly curious watching him on stage with Slash. And so, here he is now sweeping the UK in full gear.
Another apparent change from those first steps in his solo career is his oozing confidence and calm sense of self worth. It is his quietly and effortlessly charming personality that helps him connect with journalists and fans easily, regardless of the band he’s in or the size of the crowd/venue. Back at the Palladium, he came across as this sweet, humble and a bit shy guy telling us the story of how he started up together with his highschool friend Zia Uddin in their garage, dreaming of the times when they’d become famous – and how they never thought they’d actually get there. Little could you associate his modesty with being a fully blown rock celebrity (which by then he surely was). He did, actually, briefly mention this time around that he’s been with Zia since high school when introducing his band members, so he does remember his humble beginnings still.
One thing that is striking about Myles is what a beautiful human being he is, and those who’ve listened to his interviews will know exactly what I mean. He is not the kind of a rock star who relies on profanity to establish rapport with the crowd either. There is none of that, which is why it felt a bit of a shame that his support act, Devin Townsend, did use some of that to heat things up a bit – totally unnecessary, as his music was otherwise in tune with Myles’ stylistics, so was the perfect introduction to the main act, bar some use of profanity not quite matching the kind of gig he was supporting.
Anyway, the concert did not boast a lavish light show; no theatrics or massive screen displays either. It was kept fairly minimal as far as lighting and effects were concerned, which took the attention away from the visuals and naturally placed the focus on the music, Myles’ amazing 4-octave voice, and the atmosphere which got warmer by the minute. With just two other members of his band, it is amazing how three people can produce so much noise, and such a great one, too. There were plentiful displays of musicians’ mastership, and Myles on numerous occasions demonstrated his serious guitar skills, making sure he announced which song was his favourite: ‘Behind The Veil’. Why his favourite? Because of the “self indulging” guitar solos, as he explained in his naturally humorous, slightly self-deprecating, but mostly humble, narration.
From the word go, they dove straight into their new music with the most energetic rock songs from the album, and kept the pace with various moods and rhythm. It was obvious that the crowd loved Myles, knew every song and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the experience. He had us wrapped around his finger, had us singing along and dancing. Tribute was also paid to some of Myles’ most iconic tracks, like ‘Love Can Only Heal’, ‘Year Of The Tiger’ and ‘In Stride’. Towards the end, the entire place was one huge pulsing ball of energy, in well deserved appreciation of a big heart and talent.
Setlist:
The Art of Letting Go
Nothing More to Gain
Devil on the Wall
A Thousand Words
Mr. Downside
Blind Faith
Saving Face
Behind the Veil
White Flag (Mayfield Four cover)
All Ends Well (Alter Bridge cover)
Love Can Only Heal
Miss You When You’re Gone
Year of the Tiger
Get Along
In Stride
Encore:
Say What You Will
