RIVAL SONS - Concert Review - Costa Mesa, CA & Las Vegas, NV- ROCK N' ROLL IS BACK!

Get ready America, 2013 is the year of Rival Sons. The Long Beach, California based band has been selling out large venues all over Europe and Canada the past few years. It was just a matter of time before US rock fans took notice of this incredibly talented group. Their most recent album Head Down will finally be available in the US on March 17th through a deal with Century Media Records. Before the album is released the band will perform live on the Jimmy Kimmel Show this Thursday, March 7th. If you are not familiar with the band this would be an awesome opportunity to see what all the hype is about.

We had the great pleasure of catching their opening and closing shows on the most recent North American tour. If you are a fan of straight forward, no holds barred rock n' roll then Rival Sons is the band for you. This marks the sixth time we have written about them on our blog. Yes, they are that good.  

Samueli Theatre - Costa Mesa - 1/22/13

It had been over a year since we had last seen Rival Sons play live at Fingerprints Record Store in Long Beach. That show made both of us fans for life. If they were rock stars then, tonight's Costa Mesa show was proof positive that they are now rock gods.

You could feel the excitement in the crowd when the band took the stage in Costa Mesa and ripped right into "Keep on Swinging" the first single from the new album Head Down. Guitarist Scott Holiday's kick ass opening riffs set the tone for what was to be an incredible evening of live rock n' roll.



Lead Singer Jay Buchanan on stage in Costa Mesa 

Tonight's show was sort of a homecoming for the band since they are based just a few miles from the venue. The overall vibe of the concert felt like they were playing a thank you gig for their friends and family who had supported them over the years. Lead singer Jay Buchanan actually took the opportunity to single out some of his family members in the crowd. It gave the concert a very personal ambiance.

Guitarist Scott Holiday and Singer Jay Buchanan of Rival Sons



The band played a mix of songs from both the Head Down and Pressure & Time records. The highlights of the show included the rocker "You Want To" as well as the soulful ballad "Jordan." As many times as we have seen lead singer Jay Buchanan perform live we are still blown away every time we hear his stunning vocals. He is truly in a class all by himself.

The talented quartet of Jay Buchanan on vocals, Scott Holiday on guitar, Robin Everhart on bass and Mike Miley on drums are individually all amazing musicians. What makes them great is the sum of all their parts. They feed off of each other and play like a band that has been together for 20 years.

Guitarist Scott Holiday on stage at the Samueli Theatre in Costa Mesa

  

Las Vegas - Hard Rock Hotel- Vinyl - 2/23/13

Promotional standee inside the Hard Rock Hotel

The only words that we needed to hear were Rival Sons and Las Vegas. We were in. The Hard Rock Hotel was the last stop on the band's tour that took them from the west coast, up through Canada and back down into the midwest with the final show in Sin City before they headed back to California. The hotel's newest concert hall, Vinyl, was a perfect venue to see the band. It's up close and personal. There's not a bad view in the house.



Lead Singer Jay Buchanan on stage in Vegas

The band opened the Vegas show with the song "Pressure and Time" the track from the 2011 album of the same name. They immediately went right into the song "Burn Down Los Angeles." With a one-two punch of these songs we knew we were in for something special tonight. 

Two highlights stuck with us from the Vegas show. First, the amazing extended guitar solo from Scott Holiday during the song "Manifest Destiny Pt. 1." He played a great solo in Costa Mesa but tonight's solo was just astonishing. We wouldn't be surprised if you see Scott gracing the covers of all the guitar magazines this year.

Guitarist Scott Holiday playing "Manifest Destiny Pt. 1" in Vegas

The other highlight of the Vegas show was when the band played a revved up cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well." The song didn't appear on their setlist and I don't think anyone in the crowd saw it coming. To say they made the song their own would be an understatement. The song fit seamlessly with their style and it sounded like it was written by them.

Rock n' Roll is back courtesy of Rival Sons!

Las Vegas Set List and Scott Holiday Guitar Pick



Drummer Mike Miley on stage in Las Vegas

Lead Singer Jay Buchanan in Las Vegas