Mammoth WVH opening for Alter Bridge at 713 Music Hall in Houston, Texas felt bigger than the venue itself.
Mammoth WVH opened with the song “Mammoth” which Wolf has said best describes the sound of the band- and it totally does. Wolfgang assembled the perfect collection of musicians for his sound. Garrett Whitlock, who previously played with Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti in his namesake band, Tremonti, beat the drums as if they owed him money. He plays hard, fast, and loud. And of course, there’s Frank Sidoris, guitarist most known for playing in Slash’s side piece band, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. Frank is the coolest guy in every room. He’s classic rock and roll in any era. Frank has chops for days and he let them roll out seemingly effortlessly.
Wolfgang Van Halen is as advertised. The musical lineage is evident. Wolf showed last night that he can make the guitar do anything he wants it to. He uses it more as a melodic instrument than a tool for shredding and it shows. Wolf also picked up his father’s knack for instrument design and improvement and is working on his own signature guitar, a semi-acoustic for the EVH by Fender line, founded by Eddie Van Halen.
Alter Bridge is entirely too polished, too smooth, and well, too good to be playing in smaller venues so this show felt like a treat and the audience definitely seemed to take it that way. What can you say about Mark Tremonti? He’s been deemed guitarist of the decade by various guitar magazines and if he’s not a legitimate guitar legend yet, he’s very close. From shredding on “Pawns and Kings” to the soulful picking on “Watch Over You” and all the bits in between, Mark Tremonti is as good as anybody in the business. By the end of the night, everyone in the building was either dancing or crying with Alter Bridge.
What can you say about Myles Kennedy? He is arguably the best vocalist working in Rock right now. He just doesn’t miss notes.
Seeing Mammoth WVH and Alter Bridge play in a 5,000-seat venue felt out of place only because the show was so big. There was a lot of star power on the stage and everybody left it on the floor. Everybody left feeling like they got their money’s worth for sure.
Review and Photos by Victoria Paige Flournoy
