Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

September 25th, 2023 by andynathan

In the fast rising career of Brave Rival this was a significant milestone for the South Coast-based band. As part of their heavy touring schedule they had played support slots at the 100 Club before, but this was their first Central London headliner, as part of the monthly blues club at this prestigious location which always features three bands on a Tuesday night.

The first such were the clumsily titled Thr3e from Bedfordshire, a band who it is fair to say are not in the first flush of youth, and boasting a pair of guitarists and co lead singers in Steve Woodward and Carlos Linnett. They wear their classic influences on their sleeves from sixties R and B to Stax soul (‘Woke Up Tired’) to early ZZ Top on the intro to ‘Just a Matter of Time’, and a homage to Free and Bad Company in ‘Slow Songs’. The most striking song was ‘Picket Fence’, delivered in an exaggerated southern drawl and similar to Sons of Liberty’s material. It may not have been original but as it wore on, theirs was a highly enjoyable set.

Main support came from Big River, all the way from the Medway Delta! This was my first sighting of them although I am sure I have heard friends singing their praises (though that may have been other similarly named bands). A four piece but with Damo Fawsett on guitar covering every bit of ground imaginable to create a full sound, they opened with ‘Mama’, and ‘Slow Burn’ from their most recent EP and ‘Why Should I’ further showed off a taut but heavy blues rock sound.

The powerful throaty voice of hirsute and personable singer Adam Barron had something of the young Steve Marriott to it. However jaws dropped when he donned a ukulele for ‘Don’t Hold Out’, and yet it worked very well, especially in tandem with Damo’s guitar. They then pulled off a coup when Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine from Brave Rival made an unscheduled early appearance to make it a vocal trio on Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ (or ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ as I always think of it).

After some rockers in ‘The Long Way’ and ‘Hometown Hustler’ the moody ‘Beautiful Trauma’ showed an unexpected side but the best was left to last with ‘Wings’. Again the ukulele gave it a folkily country rock feel, but as the song rocked up the way Damo went into guitar overdrive was almost Skynyrd-esque.

Big River had been a revelation and set the bar high, but having seen Brave Rival earlier in the year I was confident they could match it. They made a storming start with perhaps my favourite song of theirs ‘Run And Hide’, both singers simultaneously really attacking a song with an air of those feisty nineties stars like Alanis Morrissette and Meredith Brooks. Indeed ‘Bad Choices’ and ‘Guilty Love’ completed an opening trio of hard driving straight ahead rock that gave a lie to any pure blues pigeonhole.

But ‘Stars Upon My Scars’, one of many new songs intended for a second album whose Kickstarter campaign they were promoting, was slower and bluesier with guitarist Ed ‘the shred’ Clarke showing the other, more delicate, side of his repertoire accordingly. ‘Sink Or Swim’ featured some powerful drumming from Donna Peters, while on ‘Thin Ice’ Lindsey and Chloe led the crowd almost cabaret style in a singalong to the chorus line ‘you’re no good for me…you’re temporary’.

The twin lead singers have slightly different voices but they blend seamlessly, while one of their hallmarks is a chatty confessional style that takes into their confidence their loyal fans (there were a few ‘Bravians’ present who took their enthusiasm to extreme levels). Chloe gave one such insight into past struggles with mental health before her showpiece ‘Insane’. Their pride in getting such a good turnout for their headline show was also heartwarming and details such as signing every single gig ticket build up goodwill.

The Etta James cover ‘Damn Your Eyes’ was a vehicle for an extended and soulful approach with long epic solos from Ed, while the more direct ‘Secret’ and ‘Heart Attack’ both had a real groove to them, helped by some bottom end bass work by Billy Dedman, sporting some very fine facial topiary.

‘Fairytale’ saw those devoted fans singing along to the ‘deeper…down the rabbit hole’ chorus before a set that had flown by ended with another of their slower and bluesier numbers in ‘Come Down’. However there was time for a lively encore ‘What’s Your Name Again’, featuring some marvellously dirty sounding slide guitar from Ed.

They are continuing that extensive touring schedule- indeed as they mingled with fans afterwards there was an announcement from the stage of another London show shortly at 229 Club. Greater things await for a band who defy pigeonholing and are deliciously different to the norm.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
RIOGHAN Hands (Inverse Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)