An early start for this musical adventure – I boarded the 09:42 train to Glasgow before catching a second train to Slateford in Edinburgh unchaperoned.

Yes- I was finally off on another solo adventure to Alter Bridge.

Ahead of their Download 2023 appearance, Alter Bridge were set to play Edinburgh’s O2 Academy (formerly The Corn Exchange). With a capacity of circa 2800 this was scheduled to be a rare “intimate” UK Alter Bridge show.

I had once again treated myself to the VIP upgrade for the show, hence the early start.

The VIP experience allows you to experience part of the band’s soundcheck before a Q&A with the band and a photo opportunity. Thanks to post-covid restrictions these “soundcheck hangs” are still socially distanced. I’ll live in hope of a return to the old style “meet & greet” for the next tour cycle. I love getting this behind-the-scenes glimpse into the workings of the show. There’s a different vibe to everything. This is the band’s “office,” and they are working rather than playing. Today there were gremlins in the works, and they were working hard.

Skipping forward a few hours, VIP also gets you early entry so at 6:45pm, security gave us the nod to enter the venue. Despite slow security checks, (what was it about Kleenex that they were so fascinated with?) I found myself in the ideal spot surrounded by “AB family” – centre front, right in front of Myles. Happy days!

There was only one support act for the evening – the mighty Mammoth WVH!

At 8pm, the lights dimmed, the crowd roared and in a shimmering haze of blue lights, Mammoth WVH opened their 45-minute set with Mammoth.

Mammoth (set opener) – Mammoth WVH @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

There were a few sound issues at the start of the set with Wolf’s vocals being drowned out by the drums, but these were swiftly resolved.

This was the third time I’d had the pleasure of seeing these guys play live and they just keep getting better and better. Flanked by livewire bassist Ronnie Ficarro and guitarists Jon Jourdan and Frank Sidoris, with drummer Garrett Whitlock behind, Wolfgang Van Halen simply and humbly shines. That boy just oozes talent!

In total we were treated to nine songs, including two from their forthcoming album Mammoth 2 which drops in August. Highlights for me were the gorgeous Distance and from the new record Another Celebration At The End Of The World.

Distance – Mammoth WVH @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

Mammoth WVH rounded things off with Don’t Back Down.

Awesome support slot…now how about a UK headline tour, Wolf?

At 9:10 pm the lights dimmed and amid chants of “Alter Bridge Alter Bridge Alter Bridge” the band’s intro played. A huge cheer went up from the crowd as the guys took to the stage to open their 16-song set with the powerful Silver Tongue, from their current album Pawns & Kings.

Oh, they were sounding so sweet!

Silver Tongue (set opener) – Alter Bridge @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

And, yes, for those who have been following the band online recently, Myles had those yellow shoes on! Guess he’s still paying the forfeit for losing that bet. (Would love to know the full story there.)

Silver Tongue was promptly followed by Addicted To Pain from Fortress and Ghost Of Days Gone By from AB III.

Already the atmosphere was electric. Things were hotting up- literally! It was roasting in the venue! On stage the band were all fired up, feeding off the crowd’s energy. This was shaping up to be something special.

I’ll admit to being more than a little biased here. I love Alter Bridge and I’d have been happy to listen to them play nursery rhymes all night! Each of them is incredibly talented. There’s a chemistry there that draws the best from each of them and on this occasion that chemistry was spot on perfect.

Next up was Holiday, the second song from Pawns & Kings to make the cut. The fans were lapping it up. And, for those who were concerned for Myles following a recent respiratory infection, you can relax. He was sounding awesome!

Holiday – Alter Bridge @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

In a change to printed set list, Alter Bridge added in Broken Wings next. Love this song. So much emotion in it. Breathtaking.

Myles addressed the fans after Broken Wings, explaining that they were about to play a song from AB III that they had kind of rediscovered recently. My heart soared! Finally, after ten years of waiting, I got to hear the beautiful Coeur D’Alene. It was worth the wait. Love love love this song!

Coeur D’Alene – Alter Bridge @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

Mark Tremonti took over the vocal chores for the next one- Burn It Down. Another song that never grows old.

With seven albums under their belts, Alter Bridge can’t play everything, but it wouldn’t be an Alter Bridge show without an acoustic interlude in the set.

Following Cry Of Achilles, Myles stepped out on stage alone with his Taylor acoustic and delighted the fans with beautiful and emotional Watch Over You. (Yes- I cried at this one)

A crew member brought out two stools and it was Mark’s turn to shine acoustically as together Myles and Mark delighted us with In Loving Memory. (Cue more tears.)

With Scott and Brian back on stage, Alter Bridge rounded out the “emotional” section of the set with the stunning Blackbird. (More tears.) That one keeps getting better and better. Awesomeness!

Time was passing far too fast here!

There was time for a third song from Pawns & Kings amid the usual set stalwarts and again the fans got the chance to hear Mark sing as they treated us to an epic rendition of Stay.

The main body of the set was brought to a close with the mighty Metalingus. Myles had that glint in her eyes, but the Scottish fans knew the drill. Without Myles having to prompt them, they crouched down low ready for the Metalingus Mosh. He held us down there a long time! Great fun way to close out the main set.

I could fan girl here about what incredible musicians the four members of the band are, what a talented vocalist Myles is etc, but I won’t. What was fabulous to see was the four members of the band having as much fun as the crowd were. The atmosphere and the connection with the fans in this more intimate setting was fantastic.

Curfew was looming meaning there was only time for one song in the encore. Open Your Eyes won the coin toss and had the honour of being the final song of the night.

Open Your Eyes – Alter Bridge @ O2 Academy Edinburgh 06/06/23 – YouTube

With a song in their hearts, the hot and sweaty fans headed off into the night…. til next time!