Page 47 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 98

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TREMONTI / THE FALLEN STATE - BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 30.06.18
When Tremonti comes to town, you can always guarantee that the show will be a scorcher. As Tremonti’s ‘A Dying Machine’ tour stops off in Birm-
ingham, on what has to be one of the hottest weekends we’ve had so far this year, tonight’s show turns out to be a sizzler in more ways than one.
Unless lucky enough to secure a place underneath the air conditioning units, the Institute is sweltering. Thankfully, throughout the evening the venue
staff hand out plenty of water so that the audience are still able to get their rock on!
The heat doesn’t stop UK five-piece The Fallen State from giving the performance of their lives. ‘Hope In Revival’ is a great track to kick-start the
set, filled with energy and fervour. Having spent the past few years getting their name out there, opening for the likes of Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry,
3 Doors Down and Trapt, The Fallen State have honed their live performance and deliver a set that caters for both those who like some heaviness, as
well as those who prefer softer rock. The crowd respond well to ballad ‘Nova’, which then makes singer Ben Stenning’s request for the crowd to help
him out with some ‘woah oh oh oh’s’ during ‘Burn It To The Ground’ plain sailing. Closing their set with the vigorous ‘You Want It’, it’s fair to say that
the crowd is left suitably impressed by The Fallen State.
Headliners Tremonti do not mess around. Diving straight into the newer material, ‘Throw Them To The Lions’ offers a frantic, hard-hitting start to
the set. What a way to let the crowd know ‘We’re back!’ Combining their musical talents together onstage, Mark Tremonti (vocals/guitar), Eric Friedman
(guitar), Garrett Whitlock (drums) and touring bassist Tanner Keegan sound first-rate. With four albums’ worth of material under their belt, when it
comes to choosing what songs to include in the show it’s not going to be easy to meet the expectations of every ticket holder. Judging by the crowd
reaction as each song comes into play, Tremonti still manage to accomplish it.
The set showcases
a sizeable amount of
songs from the latest
album - ‘A Dying Ma-
chine’ - including,
‘Traipse’ and ‘As The Si-
lence Becomes Me’;
both are softer, flowing
numbers which build in
momentum as they hit
the chorus. The crowd’s
joyous display during the
upbeat ‘Take You With
Me’ leads Mark to com-
ment afterwards, “It’s
funny how the happiest
song I have written has
the biggest mosh pit -
who’d have thought it?”
he laughs.
While Tremonti do
well at incorporating
melodies into their
sound, a dose of aggres-
sive speed metal is
never too far away. ‘Cau-
terize’, ‘You Waste Your
Time’, ‘Betray Me’ and
‘Radical Change’ cer-
tainly keep the sweat
pouring. Slowing things
down a little towards the
end of the set, mobile
phone torches light up
the venue during the
soaring ‘Dust’; an inti-
mate moment, a beauti-
ful sight.
Not ones for doing
encores, Tremonti prefer
to stay onstage and play
rather than disappear
side stage wasting time.
This Birmingham crowd
would love nothing more
than the band to con-
tinue on and play all
night but, alas, there’s a
curfew and the band
have a 10.30pm bus
call. So, the final song of
the evening is the thun-
dering live favourite
‘Wish You Well’. We
wish the show didn’t
have to end. Come back
soon Tremonti, come
back soon!
YYYY
Penny Gower
Mark Tremonti Photo By Sam
Gower

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