Rival Sons

Rival Sons at The Scala, London. I have been going to gigs since the tender age of 17, so it’s fair to say that over the years, I have been to quite a few. Yet, only a handful have left a significant imprint in my memory. Rival Sons at The Scala is already one of these, the sort of gigs that make me feel really grateful that I have the love of music in my life. Although the band have been around since 2008, I have only recently discovered them. When I did, I got so excited about the music, my expectations for their upcoming gig were high… and boy did they exceed them in every possible way!
The minute Jay Buchanan walked on stage, I was mesmerized. The man has incredible stage presence and a quirky persona complete with his own strut and stage antics… and then he starts singing and one gets totally lost in that powerful soulful voice of his. I focus on him because he is so striking, but his performance could not be complete without the input of the rest of the band, especially Scott Holiday, an exceptional guitarist and a playful character, whose rapport with Buchanan is obvious.
Rival Sons have been compared to Led Zeppelin and I totally get why: the classic rock and vocals are reminiscent of theirs. But this is not the only reason. Having seen them live, I realise that they follow in the tradition of all the great 70s rock bands (Led Zep but also The Rolling Stones or the Who), where a front man with great stage presence is key, but so are musicians at the top of their game and a great vibe between band members. Rival Sons definitely have all of the above and it comes through in their performance.
They played plenty of songs from their excellent new album Great Western Valkyrie as well as what I now understand to be their classics like “Keep On Swinging” and “Torture," giving the audience an opportunity to join in and sing along. My personal highlights were their rendition of “Face of Light," a beautiful and emotional song about the love of a father for his son (Buchanan’s,) and the fact that Buchanan came to the front of the stage at the end, drenched in sweat and drunk from his performance to shake hands with a few lucky fans before exiting the stage.
I have seen so many bands play gigs “by the numbers” without displaying much emotion or truly ever engaging with their audience, so this was really refreshing and on reflection, as every gig should be. I left the venue feeling like I had just witnessed a great moment, as if I had just seen The Rolling Stones play a small venue in 1973. I felt truly privileged to have been there, and that is why I simply cannot wait to see them again when they return to London in December…