Myles Kennedy (supported by Cardinal Black) 03 Dec 21, O2 Academy Bristol.
The queues stretch down the street from the O2 Academy on a cold rainy night. There is always a level of acceptance when it comes to Myles Kennedy; an almost given expectation that what you are about to witness is true quality.
The support are the Cardiff based Cardinal Black featuring the world renowned guitarist Chris Buck. In fact a distinctive number of Welsh accents can be heard bouncing off the walls.
Opening for Myles Kennedy on tour would be an honour for any musician and it must be said that the band put their heart and soul into the performance. Chris Buck is flawless and spends the set with his eyes closed, immersed in the sound. There are some fascinating moments as lead singer Tom Hollister watches and smiles as Chris throws out some spine tingling solos In Tell me how it Feels. The crowd join in on the soulful Where do you go and the band finish on Tied up in Blue with yet another astonishing solo from Chris. All in all an appealing performance from a band cementing their position in the rock world.
Myles comes bounding on and dives straight into Wake me when it’s Over which is foot stomping, riff filled and rolling. Haunted by Design, a fan favourite from the last album goes down well. What seems like the whole crowd sing along when the high note hits in The Great Beyond and Year of the Tiger with its dark undertones are obviously both well known.
But it’s the new tracks that are the most interesting to note. Moonshot may be mistaken for just another ballad but this is the area in which Myles excels. It’s beautiful, moving and entrancing. Tell it how It Is ramps the gears back up with a definite taste of country with some great licks and hooks . The title track Get Along hardly concerns deep material but it’s hard not to love.
During a break, Myles chats casually and is very animated in the manner in which he converses. The crowd spontaneously sing Happy Birthday to him which is received gratefully.
In a surreal fashion a slow version of World on Fire is played. It works but it seems a bit out of place with respect to the rest of the set.
Myles seals the set with the lovely rocky little number In Stride; ‘Cool down baby ya know
You’re gonna burn out in time‘ and it seems to be the biggest reaction of the night.
In conclusion not quite mind blowing but there cannot be any complaints for Myles Kennedy; his enthusiasm, vocals and performance are hard to match.
Pics and Review by Si Morgan
