Concert Review: Rock Revival Rivals

Rival Sons @ Deluxe at Old National Centre — Indianapolis, August 27th, 2013

The temperature outside was a miserable 95 degrees with oppressive humidity and as rock fans of all ages strolled into the cool darkness of Deluxe at Indy’s Old National Center, you could tell that they were ready to shake off the weather and enjoy heat of an entirely different kind. Many of them wore vintage rock and roll t-shirts and I spotted an abundance of Led Zeppelin tattoos; often a reasonable barometer of what the tone of the night will be. The stage and lighting were stripped down to the bare minimum, also a fair indicator that the music will hold its own without visual assistance. Deluxe, itself, gives one the feeling that any minute, something great is about to happen. The signs were all there; we were in for one hell of a night.

Lead singer Jay Buchanan, bassist Dave Beste, guitarist Scott Holiday, and drummer Mike Miley strode on stage to enthusiastic applause and promptly jumped feet first into You Want To, followed by Tell Me Something and Get What’s Coming. All three tunes provided a kick to the gut that makes one wonder if they might have somehow wandered into a time machine.

Possibly sensing the need to give us a chance to catch our breath, things slowed down only slightly with the deeply blues based Memphis Sun, a delicious throwback to the days of Led Zeppelin and a huge crowd pleaser. The rest of the set was fleshed out with still more stripped down rock, punctuated by a showcase of Scott Holiday’s meticulous guitar mastery. A much desired encore was not to come and the only disappointment of the evening.

Long Beach, California’s Rival Sons present an eclectic image interlaced with a seasoned cohesion one would expect from a band that has been around far longer than just 5 years, especially having recently parted ways with original bassist, Robin Everhart.

Buchanan is a mesmerizing chameleon, channeling the stage presence and sounds of Robert Plant, Eddie Vedder, Jim Morrison, a pinch of Sebastian Bach and even a hint of Janis Joplin. Closely touching upon the mannerisms and style of some of the greatest frontmen in history, he never directly copies the originals but rather draws from each to create an engaging persona of his own.

Holiday and Beste are more subdued in personality, seldom engaging directly with their audience but remaining likeable and focused on giving us what we came to hear. Mike Miley simply gets down to the business of providing the drum skills needed to round out the whole package. No frills required.

Listening to conversations of patrons as they left the venue, it was clear that Rival Sons is capable of keeping old school rock fans very happy and they are in a perfect place to educate a whole new generation on a sound that we hear far too little of in new music. If this is who they are at 5 years, I can’t wait to see them in 10 or 20.

Opening act, Stone Senate, was a delightful surprise and the perfect complement to our headliners. Describing themselves as a progressive southern rock group, they were anything but. Based on their appearance and billing, I was waiting for perhaps a Skynard or harder Molly Hatchet sound but what we got was straight up, rock and roll with just a nuance of the South. Lead vocalist, Clint Woolsey, commanded the stage with his blues tinged vocals and 6’7″ frame, while guitarists Marcus Brown and Mike Thompson entertained us with riffs that their rock forefathers would be proud of. By the huge grins on their faces much of the time, it’s clear that they love what they do and they do it well.

The band expressed their humble gratitude in being there to play for us, met with fans after their set, and mingled with the crowd for the remainder of the night. I’m certain that Indy will welcome them back with open arms.

The Good: Bluesy, down and dirty rock and roll the way it was intended to be.

The Bad: No encore. The crowd was undeservedly small and a bit reserved about showing their appreciation. Then again; this is Indy, land of the concert “golf clap”.