Brave Rival were loving performing and Newbury was loving them back
Brave Rival, with support Revenant
at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore
on Saturday, May 24
Review and pictures by BRIAN HARRINGTON
I FIRST saw Brave Rival at the 100 Club in London where they were supporting my friend Corky Laing of Mountain. I was impressed by them then and they have come a long way since, headlining their own shows and going forward as a four- piece, rather than a five-piece.
I saw local outfit Revenant, when they won the Rising Stars Showcase at Arlington Arts in April 2024 – they too have gone from strength to strength since then.
Revenant came on stage 15 minutes early, which took the near-capacity audience by surprise, but gave them a 45-minute show, which set the scene for tonight superbly and was deservedly well received.
Tracks included The Healer (which they dedicated to the late Matt Long of Catfish), Runaway Rage, Coming Back To Life, Least I Can Do and a wonderful mash-up medley including bits originally by AC/DC, Black Sabbath,Queen and Led Zeppelin.
A rockin’ good start to the night.
Brave Rival built on the success of their performance at Arlington Arts in November 2023 and brought a sizable contingent of ‘Bravians’ (the name for their ever-growing band of followers) with them.
They too paid tribute to Matt Long in the form of a cover of Up In Smoke and included a second cover, Cheryl Crow’s Run Baby Run, in their blazing hot set of otherwise self-penned songs.
Stand Up, Bad Choices, Fight or Flight (the title of the current tour and latest album) and Seventeen all highlight the riff-laden style of the band and showed why they are gaining in popularity all the time.
The combination of soaring, powerful female vocals with intense and complex guitar shredding and a tight, potent rhythm section is irresistible.
Brave Rival were loving performing, and the audience loved them back. They’d have carried on all night given half a chance.
As it was they settled for the anthemic Stand Up and a final, extended encore of Heavy.
Fantastic.