Rose Hill Drive – Metro 2007

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impulse buy

It was November when American rockers Rose Hill Drive were last in England. That time they were opening a three-band bill below Roadstar and The Answer. This time the venue may be slightly smaller (Mean Fiddler in November) but the tightly-packed audience consisted almost entirely of Rose Hill Drive faithful, and the response the band received was immense.

Little-known openers Mars Bonfire made an enormous impression on everyone in the room. Their riff-heavy brand of grooving rock ‘n’ roll not only suited the RHD fans, but so was impressively executed by such a talented band, all of which clearly relished playing their instruments, that everyone in the building instantly took notice. Most akin to a heavy Black Crowes, the four-piece played a mixture of covers (including Jimi Hendrix‘s Red House sung passionately by bassist Karl Dixon) and originals from their self-titled debut EP. They were comfortably the most outstanding support band I’ve seen this year so far and I will definitely be seeing them again.

The kind of jam approach RHD take to classic rock harks back to the glory days of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, with touches of underground progressive ’70s behemoths like Captain Beyond, their exemplary musicianship and ever changing setlist provides endless entertainment for their devoted followers. Their raw, unrehearsed feel to proceedings, with their obvious love all things long-haired and rocking, gives them a certain charm that like minded listeners can instantly connect with. Small things like a roadie sporting an Amorican t-shirt (the name given to members of The Black Crowes’ fan club) and setlists handwritten on hotel room notepaper tell you you’re in the right place for rock ‘n’ roll in it’s purest form.

The band ambled onto the stage to a deafening roar, and then had to overcome the problem of their own deafening volume in order to be heard clearly. Although perfect for the type of laid-back jam style rock ‘n’ roll the band play, singer/bassist Jake Sproul’s voice is not the most powerful in the World, and to begin with he was almost completely drowned out by the instruments. I’m not sure if as the set went on this was fixed, or my ears got used to it, but after a couple of tracks it no longer seemed to be a problem.

Opening with new single Showdown and dropping in all the hard-rocking tracks from their debut self-titled album (the unplayed album tracks are almost all acoustic numbers) the band tore through every riff, solo and fill like they were playing them for the first time. It’s widely known, amongst those who know, that Rose Hill Drive’s version of Black Sabbath‘s Fairies Wear Boots is astonishing, and possibly a close rival for the original itself, and as such the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for its appearance half-way through the set. The only other covers played were the almost-ever-present Look On Yonder Wall by Elmore King and an impromptu rendition of Hendrix’s Power of Soul which the band dropped into the set when they realised they had some extra time on their hands.

RHD are one of the finest exponents of rock music still touring today and no matter what level of heaviness to appreciate rock music on, Boulder, CO’s finest should not be missed by anyone.

“ rock ‘n’ roll in it’s purest form ”

Setlist: Showdown / Cold Enough / Look On Yonder Wall / Cool Cody / Fairies Wear Boots / The Guru / Reptilian Blues / Cross The Line / Power of Soul / Raise Your Hands // Off To The Games

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Jam Bands, Rock, Mars Bonfire, Rose Hill Drive