Golden Age rocking and Silver rolling
Silveroller – Backstage, Kinross, 19th September 2024
Silveroller – Backstage, Kinross, 19th September 2024
The quality of critically acclaimed debut EP At Dawn from vibrant, retro-styled up and comers Silveroller immediately made them "ones to watch," which included catching them as special guests to DeWolff on the latter’s last UK tour.
That said, a first headline UK tour with only an EP on offer may seem a little premature, but At Dawn says more across its six songs than many a similarly fashioned rock band show with a couple of albums under their belts.
As importantly, this is a band with not just the talent, but the right attitude; Silveroller are willing to work hard to become established, bolstered by a passion for their music while acknowledging the trip hazards along the way.
Such a trip hazard emerged not long before the tour was due to commence.
Three band members, including guitarist Aaron Keylock, left in short order (no falling outs; each simply had other reasons for not being able to commit 100% to the cause).
But engaging and personable front man Jonnie Hodson and the man in the engine room, Joe Major (a modern rock drummer with old-school influences) moved quickly to ensure Silveroller Mk 2 was ready to go for, first, their performance at Just Push Play, followed by their nine date headline tour.
To that effect, please welcome to the Silveroller fold eighteen year old Dylan Evans (a student of the bass, if you will), guitarist Joey Smith and Brazilian keys player Lucas Tadini (Smith and Tadini also support Jonnie Hodson on backing & harmony vocals).
Collectively, they also know how to make an entrance.
Walking on to the theme from 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' the ensuing ready-to-launch build up included blues guitar howls from Joey Smith and theremin wails from Lucas Tadini.
Joe Major and Dylan Evans then hit a groove to set up the southern-tinged, rock blues swagger of 'Other Side,' which delivered on its vocally focussed verses, infectious singalong chorus and some great blues slide from Joey Smith (the interpolation of Aerosmith’s 'Hangman Jury' as a bridge prior to Smith’s slide work was a nice touch).
The gritty and rambunctious 'Start Walkin’' then underlined that this is a band that can rock, while following number 'Nobody’s Business' (which included audience participation, led by Preacher Jonnie Hodson) emphasised the band’s soul-rock side.
The delicate and soulfully sung opening of 'Ways Of Saying' soon gave way to a full-bodied, power down chorus section that then dropped back to its softer, part-harmonised verses (this is a band with a good sense of dynamics).
The song then kicked back into its high-powered "I’ve found a way!" chorus cry, the vocal results of which instantly recalled Steve Marriott in his prime (Jonnie Hodson reminds of the late and great Marriott, not in vocal timbre but in passion and execution of delivery).
Indeed 'Ways Of Saying,' more than any other track, highlighted Silveroller's love of classic/ 70s era swaggering rock and roll (early Rod Stewart/ The Faces, Bad Company/ Free, touches of Zeppelin, are all part of their DNA, as are many others).
That said, a first headline UK tour with only an EP on offer may seem a little premature, but At Dawn says more across its six songs than many a similarly fashioned rock band show with a couple of albums under their belts.
As importantly, this is a band with not just the talent, but the right attitude; Silveroller are willing to work hard to become established, bolstered by a passion for their music while acknowledging the trip hazards along the way.
Such a trip hazard emerged not long before the tour was due to commence.
Three band members, including guitarist Aaron Keylock, left in short order (no falling outs; each simply had other reasons for not being able to commit 100% to the cause).
But engaging and personable front man Jonnie Hodson and the man in the engine room, Joe Major (a modern rock drummer with old-school influences) moved quickly to ensure Silveroller Mk 2 was ready to go for, first, their performance at Just Push Play, followed by their nine date headline tour.
To that effect, please welcome to the Silveroller fold eighteen year old Dylan Evans (a student of the bass, if you will), guitarist Joey Smith and Brazilian keys player Lucas Tadini (Smith and Tadini also support Jonnie Hodson on backing & harmony vocals).
Collectively, they also know how to make an entrance.
Walking on to the theme from 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' the ensuing ready-to-launch build up included blues guitar howls from Joey Smith and theremin wails from Lucas Tadini.
Joe Major and Dylan Evans then hit a groove to set up the southern-tinged, rock blues swagger of 'Other Side,' which delivered on its vocally focussed verses, infectious singalong chorus and some great blues slide from Joey Smith (the interpolation of Aerosmith’s 'Hangman Jury' as a bridge prior to Smith’s slide work was a nice touch).
The gritty and rambunctious 'Start Walkin’' then underlined that this is a band that can rock, while following number 'Nobody’s Business' (which included audience participation, led by Preacher Jonnie Hodson) emphasised the band’s soul-rock side.
The delicate and soulfully sung opening of 'Ways Of Saying' soon gave way to a full-bodied, power down chorus section that then dropped back to its softer, part-harmonised verses (this is a band with a good sense of dynamics).
The song then kicked back into its high-powered "I’ve found a way!" chorus cry, the vocal results of which instantly recalled Steve Marriott in his prime (Jonnie Hodson reminds of the late and great Marriott, not in vocal timbre but in passion and execution of delivery).
Indeed 'Ways Of Saying,' more than any other track, highlighted Silveroller's love of classic/ 70s era swaggering rock and roll (early Rod Stewart/ The Faces, Bad Company/ Free, touches of Zeppelin, are all part of their DNA, as are many others).
The Silveroller (re)shuffle - new recruits Joey Smith (guitars), Dylan Evans (bass) and Lucas Tadini (keys)
After a short break for band & audience to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Anna Major (wife of drummer Joe, Anna is the sixth member of the band, from keeping them on the road to designing and selling the merch, and all points in between) the band kicked into 'The Weight' by The Band.
A perfect fit for Silveroller’s musical modus operandi, 'The Weight' also provided the chance for Lucas Tadini to shine on organ and piano keys.
The rugged 'Trouble Follows Me,' featuring Jonnie Hodson on blues harp, was a rootsy, blues rockin' winner, but song of the night was the down tempo and soulful 'Come On, Come In.'
From softer-shaded beginnings, the song morphs into a southern-edged, heavy soul ballad, one where Joey Smith’s solo dovetailed perfectly with Jonnie Hodson’s impassioned vocal.
Turning the amps and rock quotient back up was the riff-driven 'Higher Power;' a song brought to the band by Joey Smith (who had a great, deep 'n' dirty guitar tone on this one), it has now been fully Silveroller’d.
The Marriott/ Faces influence then returned on melodic mid-tempo number 'Turn To Gold.'
That the cleverly arranged song, which closed out the main set, featured a little country rock within its framework as well as a Who-esque rock outro, further reinforced just how good a song this is.
Two At Dawn nuggets made for a hi-energy encore finale.
'Black Crow,' which opened with a huge keyboard swell and more theremin treatments, typifies the band’s rock and roll swagger.
Straight out of the best the early 70s had to offer, the riff-driven 'Black Crow' boogied on down atop a solid rhythm before 'Hold' stepped up to the plate.
Delivering on another of the band’s defining traits (rallying cries for freedom and all-for-one solidarity) 'Hold,' extended to allow for band intros, is a big-beat, organ backed rock and raucous roller of a song – "I believe, that freedom, has got a hold on me!" declared Preacher Jonnie Hodson in emphatic, show closing fashion.
While the band got the ovation they deserved, there were a few folks querying a set that was just over an hour long (given there was no support, you can understand some paying punters feeling they may have been short changed; it was a similar story at Aberdeen the night before).
But what you heard, outside of another couple of covers in their repertoire, was all the band currently have in their locker; and given how quickly the band had to reorganise personnel, with limited rehearsal time (which you wouldn’t know from how good they were, and are) sixty-five minutes of Golden age influenced rocking and Silver Rolling outweighs ninety minutes of many other bands (especially those who pad sets with classic covers we’ve heard all too often).
Or, to summarise, every crowd (watching a shorter set) has a silveroller lining.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Photo Credit: Anna Major (all images)
https://www.handofglorymedia.com/bandphotography/
A perfect fit for Silveroller’s musical modus operandi, 'The Weight' also provided the chance for Lucas Tadini to shine on organ and piano keys.
The rugged 'Trouble Follows Me,' featuring Jonnie Hodson on blues harp, was a rootsy, blues rockin' winner, but song of the night was the down tempo and soulful 'Come On, Come In.'
From softer-shaded beginnings, the song morphs into a southern-edged, heavy soul ballad, one where Joey Smith’s solo dovetailed perfectly with Jonnie Hodson’s impassioned vocal.
Turning the amps and rock quotient back up was the riff-driven 'Higher Power;' a song brought to the band by Joey Smith (who had a great, deep 'n' dirty guitar tone on this one), it has now been fully Silveroller’d.
The Marriott/ Faces influence then returned on melodic mid-tempo number 'Turn To Gold.'
That the cleverly arranged song, which closed out the main set, featured a little country rock within its framework as well as a Who-esque rock outro, further reinforced just how good a song this is.
Two At Dawn nuggets made for a hi-energy encore finale.
'Black Crow,' which opened with a huge keyboard swell and more theremin treatments, typifies the band’s rock and roll swagger.
Straight out of the best the early 70s had to offer, the riff-driven 'Black Crow' boogied on down atop a solid rhythm before 'Hold' stepped up to the plate.
Delivering on another of the band’s defining traits (rallying cries for freedom and all-for-one solidarity) 'Hold,' extended to allow for band intros, is a big-beat, organ backed rock and raucous roller of a song – "I believe, that freedom, has got a hold on me!" declared Preacher Jonnie Hodson in emphatic, show closing fashion.
While the band got the ovation they deserved, there were a few folks querying a set that was just over an hour long (given there was no support, you can understand some paying punters feeling they may have been short changed; it was a similar story at Aberdeen the night before).
But what you heard, outside of another couple of covers in their repertoire, was all the band currently have in their locker; and given how quickly the band had to reorganise personnel, with limited rehearsal time (which you wouldn’t know from how good they were, and are) sixty-five minutes of Golden age influenced rocking and Silver Rolling outweighs ninety minutes of many other bands (especially those who pad sets with classic covers we’ve heard all too often).
Or, to summarise, every crowd (watching a shorter set) has a silveroller lining.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Photo Credit: Anna Major (all images)
https://www.handofglorymedia.com/bandphotography/