Rival Sons: Toronto
July 11 2014 – On Thursday July 3, 2014 one of T-Mak World’s favourite bands of the last 20 years, Rival Sons, graced the stage at the Mod Club in support of their new 4th studio album, Great Western Valkyrie.
The band opened the show with a well-known western theme (The Good, Bad and the Ugly) as the lights were low to set a great ambience and build the anticipation. The scene was reminiscent of the start of a Tarantino movie. As the theme faded, a few riffs by guitarist Scott Holiday blasted into Electric Man, which is the first song on the new album and a great song to set the tone for what was to come.
The set was biased towards the new album as the first 5 songs were from the new album. The one of the best songs on the new album and arguably of the night was Secret which is a very hard rocking bluesy song that is destined to be a classic, with a great intro, great lyrics, hard driving guitars and a great chorus.
The first song not from the new album was Torture from their 2011 EP. Torture is a great showcase of Jay’s blues heritage and his ability to caress and inspire a crowd. Unfortunately early on, the audience gave more of an impression that they were in the box seats at a Toronto Maple Leafs game and definitely not at a rock concert. Toronto let me tell you a secret, Rival Sons is one rocking band that deserves more when they’re in the house. This high energy show deserved more and the energy in T.O. was not as good as the energy we saw in previous show and the energy we saw in Barrie the following night.
Following Gypsy Heart was Jordan, an old school ballad that had about 6 people off their smartphones to pull out their lighters. 20 or 30 years ago the Mod Club would have been a sea of lighters.
Great Western Valkyrie is the first album with new bass player David Beste who replaced Robin Everhart in 2013. As expected Beste looked a lot more comfortable compared to the tour late last year when the Rival Sons played the Phoenix.
An unexpected bonus was Rival Sons added a fifth musician for this tour, Todd Ögren-Brooks, who accompanied the band on keyboards.
The only disappointment in a Rival Sons show is we would love to see Jay talk more between songs, such as the winter 2013 tour when he discussed the environmental aspects of the Idle No More movement. His lyrics are so good and his short stories before a few songs leaving you wanting more. He is the modern day collection of Plant and Morrison. Of course, in lieu of more talk we would definitely take more music especially if that means extended versions of their classic songs, which is another request.
One example of Jay’s stories was for the song Rich and The Poor, about a young man and a young woman and how you grow up you get the curiosity. Jay went on to say the girl was from a high class family and the boy was not. One wonders if an autobiographic story (hmm) or maybe what the inspiration.
The encore consisted of four oldies including Manifest Destiny Pt 1, their classic from Head Down, with an out of this world guitar solo, though it did lack some of the groove of prior performances. Scott Holiday is a virtuoso and this is his Mona Lisa. This is a must at any Rival Sons show.
Next up was Pressure and Time which had the most energy of the night, it was almost like the Toronto crowd heard T-Mak World and showcased drummer Michael Miley with a drum solo at the end. You cannot have a rock show without a drum solo especially in the “Land of Peart”.
The next to final song was Keep on Swinging and the show finished with Face of Light. T-Mak World looks forward to seeing the band return to the Toronto area after spending the summer chillin to their new album.
Opening for the Rival Sons was The Balconies who toured Canada with Rival Sons in 2013. The Balconies are a Ottawa-based band popular band in the Toronto scene and it’s easy to see from their show at the Mod Club why their audience continues to grow.
Barrie – T-MAK World’s Punishment; a Rival Sons 4th of July Tea Party
T-Mak World couldn’t get enough of Rival Sons so made the trip up the 400 to Barrie to catch Rival Sons open for The Tea Party at a huge country bar called The Ranch. The Rival Sons show was similar to the show in Toronto at the Mod Club, however the show was shorter as they were second up on a triple bill that had Punishment up first, Rival Sons second and The Tea Party as the headliner.
The Friday night crowd was more into the party mood than what we saw in Toronto a night earlier. Punishment warmed up the crowd and during the set lead singer Bradd Searl noted that he was originally from Barrie. Love when a home towner is back in their hood. Their bluesy, heavy metal sound was well suited as an opener for this bill.
It was the Rival Sons first visit to Barrie. They played a shorter set of ten songs and much like e show in Toronto started out with the western theme and played a set loaded with the new stuff. For more details see the show in Toronto. The only disappointment was no Manifest Destiny but to be expected when they are not the headliner. Hopefully the next time the band is back in Barrie it will be as a headliner.
Set List
1. Electric Man 2. Secret 3. Play The Fool 4. Torture 5. Tell Me Something 6. Jordan 7. Open My Eyes 8. Pressure and Time 9. Keep On Swinging 10. Face of Light
Tea Party
Review by Michael Litt, Photos by Michael Litt and Steve Mallinson
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