Over the last weekend I went to Luxembourg to see Alter Bridge, Daughtry, and Sevendust. We got VIP tickets to meet Alter Bridge, but it ultimately didn't seem worth the money. All in all, it was still a great experience and a cool show to see.
This was my first trek to Luxembourg, and perhaps I'd rather give it a go in summer, because it was cold as hell and we didn't really go out much. All I saw were tons of roundabouts and road construction that kept confusing the GPS and getting us lost. And everything is closed early and closed entirely on Sundays. Even many restaurants seemed to not be open on Sunday, which is super lame, if you ask me.
We arrived early to make sure we weren't a burden on the VIP experience, as they adamantly suggested being late was not going to go well for us. So guess what? They were extremely late letting us in and we were all standing in the cold, waiting… and waiting… and waiting. We finally get in and get the spiel about how things will go down. They had a Q&A session listed on the website when we paid for the package, but then it disappeared. Still, they said there'd be some time to stand around and mingle, so okay.
We were told we'd soon go inside to see the sound check for about 5 songs, and maybe a little banter, then do the photos and mingle, and then get a chance to buy merch without standing in line. Well, in reality, the sound check was a few partial songs - one they did twice - and really no interaction with us at all. But they're working, so that's fine. Then we got herded into another room for the photos, and told to line up and keep it moving super quick. Only fist bumps. I get it, they don't want to get sick. But at least some chit-chat would've been nice. After that, the band scurried off and that was it.
Although when we went up for our photo, my autism kicked in and instead of looking anyone in the eye, I stared at their fists as I bumped them. Then, as Mark Tremonti leaned in to look at my NIN Local Crew shirt (long story) and said “Wow! That's a cool shirt!” I noticed that Myles Kennedy had his fist out at me, and I realized I left him hanging, so I never even acknowledged Mark. I kind of wanted to ask Myles about living in Spokane, as I'm from Tacoma - we're both Washington boys - but fucking autism won that day. Oh well.
The show was pretty sweet, although I was disappointed that Sevendust was the opener and not Daughtry. I really enjoyed their energy and Lajon was visibly and audibly emotional about the energy of the crowd and having their first concert in Luxembourg. Daughtry seemed full of himself and I didn't know a single song; I never really paid any attention to him in the last twenty years, but I thought I'd at least recognize one song of his (besides his cover of Separate Ways by Journey, which was actually decent). He's a good singer, just no real soul to the voice.
Alter Bridge put on a great show, even if not overly theatrical or laden with pyro or massive visuals. Myles has a great natural voice and Mark sings pretty good, too, actually. If I'm being honest, it was a little underwhelming at times, but that could be from a standpoint of me being purely exhausted from being on my feet several hours in boots, having neuropathy and all…
I often watch concerts and think about how I would like to someday do some live performances of my music, but as of yet, I still have not. Maybe someday I'll make that happen.