May 5, 2026 – Alter Bridge at Steelhouse (5/2/26)

I have time to write this quick blog entry, and then I’m heading out to Kansas City to see David Byrne tonight.

So, as I detailed in the last entry, I bought a last minute ticket to see Alter Bridge at the Steelhouse in downtown Omaha. I paid extra to sit up in the balcony in a reserved seat, so I had a nice view of the stage. I went in nearly cold, apart from knowing a few songs, but despite this being a tour to promote a new album, the first thing that struck me was the almost complete lack of music for sale at the merch stand. I only saw the new album available on vinyl, and then T-shirts, T-shirts, and more T-shirts. In particular, I was hoping to find a CD of Mark Tremonti’s Frank Sinatra cover album. I learned about that project when I watched part of his interview with Rick Beato on YouTube. I dialed up his cover of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and was blown away by how well he nailed the vocals. I’ll have to look for that album elsewhere.

I took full advantage of the relaxed concert-going experience in Omaha and didn’t arrive at the venue until exactly 8PM, when the band Filter were finishing their opening set. I took a glance around the lobby and can confirm that the audience was overwhelmingly young-looking, an observation Tremonti pointed out to Rick Beato. That was exciting to see, and definitely different from the usual concert crowd I sit amongst.

So, about the show overall, I’ll confess that, while the performance was good and displayed no shortage of energy, I didn’t find myself completely moved by all of the songs, even at times feeling as though some of the songs sounded similar in key, tempo, and musicality. I don’t consider my lack of familiarity with the band’s material as a reason for this, because there have been plenty of times where I have walked away more than impressed after watching a band that was completely new to me (EX: Marillion and Primus).

That said, I did observe the crowd at this show and was happy to see them overall engaged with the performance, rather than spending the bulk of the time with their phones in the air. With their being so much concern voiced about audiences and phone use during shows, it was nice to see an audience willing to put the screens down without the influence of camera police or Yondr pouches. I even took a quick photo so you can see for yourself:

So, while this show didn’t make me a diehard fan, I am glad that I went, and would not discourage others from checking them out, especially if you’re drawn to alternative acts that came out of the 90s and early 2000s.