An Intimate Evening with Myles Kennedy

As the frontman of rock band, Alter Bridge, his earlier band, The Mayfield Four, and the voice of Slash’s solo band, you might think you’ve seen all Myles Kennedy has to offer. And that’s quite a lot. But Myles is ready to show the world something quite different with his newly released album “Year of the Tiger”. And Cape Town had the pleasure to experience a stripped down show first, before his world tour promoting his most recent offering.

Shortly after 8 pm Myles Kennedy walks onto the stage dressed in a dark velvety jacket, blue check shirt and jeans. It’s love at first sight for the seated crowd as they jump up in excitement. We’ve all been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Myles is genuine and charming. He jokes about himself, his music and life in general between songs. He also seems shy and nervous. I wonder how someone who has been in the industry for so long and has performed with so many big names, can still get nervous on stage. But then again, this is his first solo performance ahead of his new album launch and world tour. And it’s a big deal to him. After all, this is a deeply personal album. “Year of the Tiger” is the first time he has dealt directly in his songwriting with the death of his father in 1974, the year of the tiger on the Chinese calendar, when Myles was very young.

In the middle of a circle formed by his guitars, he takes us on a journey through songs; old and new; original work and legendary covers. It’s been a rough journey for him to finally get to our shores, with his flights being cancelled and rescheduled. But he is here and it is beautiful and it is all that matters right now for him and the full Grand West arena. He looks genuinely grateful.

Something about him seems vulnerable. But his voice gives absolutely nothing away. In fact, I didn’t expect it to be this flawless. I try to find something wrong, but fail miserably. It’s so damn perfect. He looks relieved when his manager and long-time friend, Tim Tournier, joins him for a song or two. Relieving the vulnerability of being alone on stage for a moment.

The lighting complements every song magnificently. It really creates an intimate atmosphere. Alter Bridge’s ‘Watch Over You’ and ‘Open Your Eyes’ and his new single, ‘Year of the Tiger’ are crowd favourites, and here and there small groups of people can’t contain themselves sitting down and get up to clap or dance.

Myles ends of the show with a beautiful encore of Elton John’s “Levon” and Alter Bridge’s “Rise Today”, and fittingly everyone stands up to applause his musical genius. A perfect end to a magical evening.

Thank you to AMP Events for bringing Myles Kennedy to South Africa and creating an amazing, intimate event!

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