Boston Herald Sox stars pinch hit at Alter Bridge gig By Linda Laban Sunday, October 10, 2004 So what did several Red Sox players do Friday evening, following the mighty triumph at Fenway? Head across the street to Avalon to rock, of course. At that club, new name but old face Alter Bridge, which includes three-quarters of defunct rockers Creed, had packed the place, but until the encore, few knew of several special fans lurking backstage. By the time Johnny Damon and Bronson Arroyo led a handful of Sox players, including Trot Nixon and Kevin Millar, onstage, the enthusiastic Boston crowd had already lapped up and savored every note Alter Bridge played from its just-released, Billboard Top 10 debut, ``One Day Remains.'' Fronted by ex-Mayfield 4 singer and guitarist Myles Kennedy, the band puts its every note on display as it ran through the entire album, Kennedy's throaty and considerable wail channeled into power ballads and grunge-like rockers. Kennedy had no problem sidestepping Creed icon Scott Stapp's shadow. The Weymouth-born, Washington state-raised singer had a considered, emotive delivery, but was no seriously broody Stapp. However, if this show was a love-in - with the crowd singing along to the pomp grunge, handing Kennedy a beer and throwing him a Sox hat - the singer hinted that things had been rough the last couple of days. They had had issues, he said, and the Boston crowd's warmth was ``healing our inner children,'' he half-joked. Alter Bridge's brilliantly rocked-up cover of Deep Purple's ``Highway Star'' saw Kennedy and guitarist Mark Tremonti hitting up knock-out riffs, but the finale sealed this show as an ``I was there'' moment. The final song was the debut's standout tune, the big-melodied anthem ``Open Your Eyes,'' and saw half the Red Sox team performing as back-up singers. Fun, but, hey guys, don't give up your day jobs.