RIVAL SONS - GREAT WESTERN TOUR TRIFECTA - ORANGE COUNTY, LA & VEGAS - PHOTOS, VIDEOS AND SETLISTS

We have never been shy about our love for the Long Beach band Rival Sons. We have written about them on this blog more than any other artist. Their new album "Great Western Valkyrie" was released back on June 10th in the US and since then we have been waiting patiently for an American tour. Once the dates went on sale we decided to see as many shows as possible. Here's a recap of the three shows that we were lucky enough to catch. 

The Observatory - Orange County, CA - 9/19/2014

The first stop on the west coast tour was at The Observatory in Orange County, California. The 500 capacity venue sold out the night of the event with all the walk up patrons. The opening acts for all the west coast dates were the rock duo Sir Madam and San Francisco psychedelic rockers The Soft White Sixties. Check out the videos that we shot of The Soft White Sixties and Rival Sons rocking the OC. It was a really unforgettable night.

SIR MADAM

THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES

 Singer Octavio Genera of The Soft White Sixties


RIVAL SONS

Jay Buchanan of Rival Sons

Jay and Scott of Rival Sons

Rival Sons - Orange County Set List

The Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA - 9/26/2014
The legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood hosted the sold out Rival Sons show exactly a week after the Orange County show. The enthusiastic audience was unlike anything that we've seen at an LA concert. The Los Angeles crowds are generally very reserved until they see something that really impresses them. Tonight's show gave them exactly what they had been dying to see. Please check out the video below of the unreal performance of "Burn Down Los Angeles." 

Marquee Outside The Troubadour

Rival Sons Rocking LA

Dave, Mike and Jay

Jay on stage in LA

Los Angeles Set List

Electric Man

Good Luck

Secret

Play The Fool

Good Things

Torture

Jordan

Manifest Destiny Part 1

Burn Down Los Angeles

Tell Me Something

Get What's Coming

Rich and the Poor

Face of Light

Open My Eyes

Pressure and Time

(Drum Solo)

Keep On Swinging

Vinyl - Hard Rock Hotel - Las Vegas, NV - 9/27/2014
Just one day after the Troubadour show, the band crossed the desert to play in Las Vegas at the iconic Hard Rock Hotel. This was the third time that the band has played at Vinyl, the hotel's newest concert venue. Check out the video we shot below of their ballad Jordan.

Standee Outside Vinyl in Las Vegas

Jay and Scott

Dave and Mike at Vinyl

Rival Sons on stage in Vegas

Vinyl - Las Vegas Set List

Rival Sons Live Concert Footage at Vinyl, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas 12-28-13

Since we've written about Rival Sons on many previous posts, we simply wanted to share video of their Saturday, December 28th show at the Vinyl Venue inside the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. This marks the 5th and most soul scorching and epic Rival Son's show we've witnessed to date. 

 

 

 

 

 

During the show, Rival Sons shared the news of their return to the recording studio next week to lay down tracks for the next album.

Although we often post set lists, this time we were unable to obtain one. Listed is what we can remember, in no particular order, other than the first 6 songs include the video footage for this post:

You Want To

Get What's Coming

Tell Me Something

Until the Sun Comes Down

All Over the Road

Young Love

Manifest Destiny Part I

Keep On Swinging

Wild Animal

Jordan

Soul

Torture

Memphis Sun

We anxiously await the sixth show, New Year's Eve in our hometown of Long Beach. 

RIVAL SONS - Fingerprints Records In-Store Concert - Long Beach, CA-3/14/2013

Rival Sons played a special homecoming show at Fingerprints Records in Long Beach to celebrate the US release of their Head Down record. We've already written extensively about the band's incredible live shows, so instead we would like to just share photos of Jay Buchanan on vocals, Scott Holiday on lead guitar, Michael Miley on drums and Robin Everhart on bass. We've also included some live footage for your enjoyment.

 

 

As a special treat for their hometown, Fingerprints had a photographer on hand to take "awkward family" type photos of Rival Sons posing with their fans. Here's our photo complete with ugly sweaters that were part of the fun!

Set List:

Pressure and Time

Burn Down Los Angeles

Gypsy Heart

Wild Animal

You Want To

Jordan

All The Way

Manifest Destiny Pt. 1

Face of Light

Keep on Swinging

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