Young Rival Rocks a Capacity Crowd at The Dakota Tavern

Date of show: April 14, 2011

Unsurprisingly, Young Rival packed The Dakota Tavern – in fact, the venue was at capacity with latecomers being turned away at the door. They haven’t played in Toronto since the fall and the band has just hit the one-year anniversary of their self-titled debut album. Certainly a reason to celebrate, this drew musician friends to their show, including the likes of Hollerado, Free Energy and The Sheepdogs, all who were playing in Toronto the following night, as well as Born Ruffians (recent tour mates) and Cuff The Duke. But their musician friends were not just there as friends but also as fans, as they were singing along with the rest of the crowd.

As a three-piece, made up of Aron D’Alesio (vocals, guitar), John Smith (bass, vocals) and Noah Fralick (drums, vocals), they’ve all mastered their instruments to create their heavily 60s sounding rock and roll. Young Rival’s music is a bit of a time warp to the past, but it’s a natural nod. You won’t find laptops or keyboards on stage, or even elaborate pedal boards. Young Rival aims to simply deliver rock and roll in its purist form. With D’Alesio’s 60s-esque vocals and solid guitar work, Fralick’s badass drumming and Smith’s booming bass lines, there’s no doubt that the members of Young Rival are good at what they do.

Young Rival kicked off their set with “T-Shirt and Shorts” and then powered through a set playing favourites from both their self-titled EP and album. The band also treated the crowd to three new songs, seemingly leaving the crowd anxious to hear more new material. Before ending their set with “Authentic,” Fralick took the lead for his usual badass cover of The Stooges’ “Search and Destroy,” which was certainly a highlight of the night. After screams and clapping from the crowd, Young Rival reappeared on stage to cover Teenage Head’s “Let’s Shake,” a fine ending to one hell of a night.

Setlist:
T-Shirt and Shorts
Another Nobody
Poisonous Moves
The Ocean
Ghost In The Park
Got What You Need
– New Song –
Your Island
– New Song –
Modern Life
4:15
– New Song –
Search and Destroy
Authentic

Encore:
Let’s Shake

Wildlife

Toronto-based Wildlife kicked off the night. The five-piece is comprised of Dean Povinsky (vocals, guitar), Graham Plant (guitar, vocals), Tim Daugulis (keys, vocals), Derek Bosomworth (bass, vocals) and Dwayne Christie (drums). With an infectious energy, the stage was far too small Wildlife’s rocking out. Povinsky and co. were sweaty right from the start, delivering catchy tunes and epic build-ups with group chant-like vocals that had the crowd energized. It was a great way to start off the night. Announcing that they only had 10 copies left of their debut CD, Strike Hard, Young Diamond, Wildlife seems set to only gain more and more fans with their killer live show.