Oct 29, 2013 – The saviours of Rock’n’Roll, as the Rival Sons are widely considered, returned to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on October 24th, a show that was presented by 94.9 The Rock. It seems so long ago now, but it was just 8 months ago that we drove to London in a snowstorm to see the band at Norma Jean’s after they sold out Lee’s Palace. Aside from a short break back home in Long Beach, California, they’ve been on tour ever since.
The Rival Sons are the most important band to come along in a generation. Perhaps their name should be the Revival Sons. For years, mediocre band after mediocre band came and went. Most did everything they could to sound exactly the same as whatever was topping the charts at any given time. It could be argued that things began to change with the breakthrough of The Black Keys. Suddenly there was a rush to “roots” rock which started a whole new trend.
We often talk about “classic rock”. Of course, with the exception of an assortment of prog exceptions, like Yes, Genesis, ELP, Kansas, Rush, etc, etc., virtually all the rest of classic rock/southern rock is really derived blues rock. Cream, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Sabbath, Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Black Crowes, the list is endless. It is the heart of the sound that some of us grew up with and others learned about through their parents record collection. The majority of those bands were born in the 60’s or early seventies and leaned heavily on Chicago, Texas or Delta blues of earlier eras.
What came later was a generation of bands that were more inspired by those early rock icons. Hair bands like Motley Crue, Ratt and Twisted Sister that put style ahead of substance. For rock fans uninterested in costumes and hairspray, they finally found solace in the next generation of Alternative “grunge” bands, led primarily the Seattle bands of Nirvava, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. No one in those days missed the old bands like Zeppelin, the Stones, etc. Those fossils had had their day and the sounds were new and refreshing, the songs were more meaningful and finally had some depth of feeling. With a handful of exceptions, what followed those pioneering grunge bands is decades of mostly bland generic rock so much so that it became the new normal and Rock itself was severely on the decline. In Toronto, there is one radio station exclusively focused on nostalgia rock and great though it once was, they ain’t making any more of it and for the most part, there’s no life left in it. There’s another station dedicated to the trend of the month and fill its airways with every folk rocker they can find. Next year at this time, they won’t remember three quarters of the bands they played this year. In the GTA, only 94.9 is dedicated to rock today.
Enter the Rival Sons, a band not interested in copying what’s currently topping the charts, they likely couldn’t even tell you. They took what The Black Keys started and went back to first principles, that great blues rock is more than just cool blues inspired riffs, it’s raw emotion and passion, it’s mystical and may be somewhat ominous. It has charisma and sex appeal. While the Rival Sons are frequently compared to the Black Crowes or Led Zeppelin, they are uniquely themselves and those comparisons becomes less and less frequent with each passing show. For those that somehow may still not know the Rival Sons, they are Jay Buchanan on vocals, Scott Holiday on guitar and Mike Miley on drums. Up until recently, their bassist was Robin Everhart. But years of non-stop touring took its toll and Everhart had to part ways with the band. On tour, he has been capably replaced by David Beste. It remains to be seen if Beste remains as the full time bass player in the band.
Buchanan is in a class of frontmen from another era that would include Messrs Plant, Daltry, Jagger and Morrison and he’s the biggest differentiator between the Rival Sons and the other notable blues rockers, The Black Keys. Few, if any, today perform with the passion for the music as much as Buchanan as he writhes his way all over the stage. Few, if any, put as much intensity into the vocals as Buchanan. Intense singing is an extremely physical activity. When you see Shane Volk of One Bad Son singing, bent over, putting every single ounce of effort into a song, it’s because Volk knows that to do it right, that’s what it takes and it’s that sort of performance that differentiate Volk and Jay Buchanan, from all the others not named Plant or Daltrey. And where Holiday brings the blues, Buchanan brings the soul, with thought provoking and spiritual lyrics.
Speaking of Holiday, it’s those heavy duty riffs from The FuzzMaster General that really drive the band. That incredible guitar tone, those incredible grooves. The amazing homage to those early rock guitarists. He’s often compared to Page, but listening to songs like Soul, the purity in his blues playing is far more Hendrix than Page. Holiday is a big believer that rock should be fresh and vibrant, not refined endlessly until there’s no life left in it. When they recorded the epic masterpiece Manifest Destiny Part 1, possibly the greatest rock song of the last decade or more, with a long instrumental mid-section, the song was recorded on the first take. Holiday has his own unique style, playing some slide guitar on almost every song with an unusual device called a JetSlide that he wears on his ring finger. He can be playing slide then almost instantly, he can flip it out of the way to fret the strings conventionally.
The Rival Sons have a long history in Toronto, having played Cherry Colas several times, the Horseshoe Tavern and Lee’s Palace. Buchanan commented during the show that nowhere is a home away from home, but this was his favourite playhouse to play in. And certainly Toronto reciprocates and loves and supports the Rival Sons. The Rival Sons are also huge in Europe and they have built a strong fan base there and are perpetually touring. One hopes however that they can find the time to slow down and take a break longer than just a couple weeks to recharge their batteries. Buchanan’s voice was noticeably raspier than February and the road has already caused them to lose Everhart. As much as we all want to see them live, we don’t want to see this band dissolve before its time.
Verdict: 4 out of 5. This is the best band around bar none and always a Must See. As such, certainly one of the highlights of the year.
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