Written by:	Ivor
Published:	October 20, 2012
Event:	Rival Sons (Website)
Location:	Rock Café, Tallinn, Estonia
Organizer:	Promoter OÜ
Galleries:	Rival Sons - Rock Café, Tallinn, Estonia, 09.10.2012 by Ivor (32)

Led Zeppelin is in the air tonight. Well, not literally. And no, I don't mean the band either. At least not literally. Let's put it this way, the seventies are back in town. A modern reincarnation of the era, a kind of vintage bluesy hard rock that is Rival Sons have come back to Tallinn barely 11 months after their last gig here. I think they are trying to say something to me. I think they are insisting that I come visit their show after missing out on it a year ago. Well, let's see now how it goes.





One thing Rival Sons insisted on this time around was the support act. It appears Dramamama did such a good job a year ago that the guys from Rival Sons decided they needed them to share the stage with again. No wonder really. Some of the guys have been known to deliver quality rock music around here for years. I personally have liked Mikk Tammepõld's voice for a while now, since first seeing his previous band Brides In Bloom. To some extent, this experience was the basis of my expectations regarding Dramamama.





I don't know, maybe I raised the bar too high for Dramamama for they failed to impress me really. It was all right but I can't say Dramamama owned the stage. Nowhere near to that. Maybe it was the lack of pace, or maybe it was just that I was really hearing them for the first time. I was watching the band perform the lazy kind of blues rock and I felt my mind wandering around, drifting away, losing focus of the show. And that is not a particularly good sign. I did feel chilled out and relaxed, though. At least they've got that much going for them.





Rival Sons on the other hand were the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the masterful impersonation of the dinosaurs long gone. They've got the looks, they've got the moves, and they've got the sounds and the vibes. In a nutshell, for a person who's too young to have seen Led Zeppelin but who has seen the authentic Robert Plant perform in his advanced years, Rival Sons were on a roll. Big time.

Their albums may not be of particular interest to me in my everyday mood, but on occasions when I'd like to listen to something classic that's, well, not classic as such, this looks like a good deal. Live, however, there's no real point on missing out on them. I'm sure you could do with some chunky guitars, some wailing, and a proper juicy beat. Or a good ballad for a change. The singer's even got a tambourine and - wait for it - yes, on a rare occasion a harmonica. This is the real deal, I tell you.





Set list
1. Keep On Swinging (Head Down)
2. Torture (Rival Sons EP)
3. Tell Me Something (Before The Fire)
4. Wild Animal (Head Down)
5. You Want To (Head Down)
6. On My Way (Before The Fire)
7. Burn Down Los Angeles (Pressure And Time)
8. Run From Revelation (Head Down)
9. All Over The Road (Pressure And Time)
10. Young Love (Pressure And Time)
11. The Heist (Head Down)
12. Jordan (Head Down)
13. Until The Sun Comes (Head Down)
14. Memphis Sun (Before The Fire)
15. Get What's Coming (Rival Sons EP)
16. Pressure And Time (Pressure And Time)
Encore
17. Face Of Light (Pressure And Time)
18. Manifest Destiny Pt. 1 (Head Down)
19. Manifest Destiny Pt. 2 (Head Down)





As can be seen from the set list, Rival Sons delivered quite a substantial part of their latest album. Which is no surprise. However, they seem to vary the set list quite a bit from show to show. Keeping it interesting for themselves, I guess. Anyway, Rival Sons are definitely worth seeing live. They may not be anything original but what they do, they do well. Question now remains, when's the next gig in Tallinn going to be because as rumour has it, the band's got personal ties here going beyond mere good gigs.