google5fdb2843fc4f1b5b.html Rock Chic: Rival Sons - Birmingham O2 Academy, 5/02/19

Friday 8 February 2019

Rival Sons - Birmingham O2 Academy, 5/02/19


Photo credit: Cathy Evans
Words by Adrian Ball

Support tonight is from laid-back classic rocking Canadians Sheepdogs. The quirky, cool and old school group are performing to an expectant crowd and somehow, it all works for them as they are extremely well received with cheers and clapping from the crowd. The end of their set is pure class when the guitarists all join together at the front of the stage and stare jokingly into the crowd; a great opening act.

The stage is set for the Rival Sons to deliver their cool brand of blues-rock.  This is the first time they have visited Birmingham since they supported Black Sabbath on their 13-month world tour.  
The lights dim and the crowd are moving forward in anticipation.  The backdrop illuminates a skeleton of a dog with a beating heart and as the beat grows and grows the band stride out confidently, as is their wont. 
The whole set is a tremendous mix of tracks from the new album Feral Rootsand well thought out classics from the ever growing and impressive back catalogue.  The band has grown so much in confidence, feeding off the energy of the adoring fans and controlling the crowd participation with ease.  They’re always a band to be admired with beautifully crafted songs, but they have somehow managed to lift the performance to another level and it's so well deserved.  Vocals from Jay Buchanan cannot be rivalled (pardon the pun) tonight and blending with the cool style of Scott Holiday's guitars makes for sight to behold. One word for the gig; phenomenal.

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