Sonic Rampage Reviewed by: Jenny Stepp Alter Bridge/Silvertide/Submersed February 4, 2005 The Rave, Milwaukee, WI Submersed Seizing the stage at 8:10 p.m. was Texas based rock band Submersed. Lead singer Donald Carpenter entered announcing, “We came here to rock this place and that’s what we’re gonna do.” As the near full house, all ages crowd threw their arms up in delight, Submersed dove into their first song “Divide The Hate”. The most prominent characteristic of the band seemed to be Carpenter himself. The delivery of his smooth, powerful voice looks virtually effortless as he hardly opens his mouth at all. Even when his voice digs into throaty screams, he doesn’t so much as wince in effort. While it impressed me that such output appeared to be so easy for him, it took a little away from the performance because it didn’t look like he was feeling the music. Carpenter maintained a cool, aloof appearance on stage, pacing slowly, occasionally bobbing his head. The rest of the group, however, were impressively driven by the music, jamming hard and moving at all times. As entertainers, I have to give this group credit – Carpenter clearly stated every song title, took time out to introduce the rest of the band and even gave them an entire instrumental song to strut their stuff despite their short set. Submersed also sounded very similar live to their recorded material on their newest release, In Due Time. I wasn’t the only one thoroughly enjoying myself; the audience seemed quite taken with them too as a few disappointed grumblings erupted when Carpenter announced that they only had two songs left. Closing with radio release “Hollow”, everyone chimed in to sing along making it clear this was an opener not to be missed. Silvertide By 9:05 p.m., the Philadelphia based band Silvertide came out to keep things moving – which just happens to be their specialty. These guys are a distinct combination of jazzy blues and 80’s-early 90’s rock that ends up producing their own spin on rock and roll. The show is a treat, as they appear to have an endless energy reserve at their beck and call, as they all constantly move about jumping, head banging, or pacing the stage, despite looking a bit burned out from tour frazzle. The general response to them appeared to be either love or hate – but even if you hated the music, you had to give them credit for having fun on stage. Lead singer Walt Lafty, layered in black from head to toe looked like he stepped out of West Side Story. Also adding to the creative look was lead guitarist Nick Perri with his long straight early 90s blonde hair, a bandana folded around his forehead, and hipster flare jeans. Despite the different style of music, the masses still seemed fueled by Silvertide’s infectious enthusiasm. Closing with their single “I Ain’t Comin Home”, all in attendance joined with Lafty to sing it loud and clear as he dragged out the song a bit to initiate a sing back. ALTER BRIDGE Bringing the night to a close was Alter Bridge. Comprised of the Creed’s former instrumentalists plus vocalist Myles Kennedy (formerly of the Mayfield Four), this was a top-notch performance I’d highly recommend. Guitarist Mark Tremonti provided smooth back up vocals and played lead guitar with an almost biting, edgy, but playful style, moving himself all over the stage. I found it amusing to watch how he also would mouth out the guitar sounds as he played. Brian Marshall on bass seemed a bit calmer, but had no less fun as you could see his smile widen as the crowd responded to the music. Thundering drummer Scott Phillips also seemed to be at ease. I think Kennedy, however, best demonstrated the entire bands’ demeanor. Every song, every fan, every moment appeared to be a cherished gift for him. His eyes sparkled and a radiating smile lit up his face as he would scan the crowd taking in the fists pumping, bodies bouncing, and reverberating singing and cheering. Rather than flip off the fans, he would raise the occasional thumbs up, wave, or lean down to shake some hands. He took the time to share a story about how they had been out of the bus before doors opened, greeting the die hard fans who had shown up early, and how one woman had given a ticket to another who wanted badly to see the band but couldn’t afford it. *(This was "aerocreed", who posts here occassionally). He dedicated “Broken Wings” to acts such as those. Polite, respectful, and appreciative, Alter Bridge is one show that parents don’t need to worry about allowing their teens to go see. About the most “offensive” thing said was when Kennedy took time out to say “Thank you Milwaukee for kicking our asses!”