The Rivals at Cake Shop

Last night The Rivals had a nice crowd turn out for their last-ever show in their present incarnation. The gig got off to an odd start. The soundcheck ran way over (mics weren't on, everything kept feeding back, the usual), so by the time they were wrapping up, much of the crowd had already gathered.

I stopped by their rehearsal yesterday and they spent a lot of the time going through Gene Clark's Elevator Operator, which they were going to play for the first time and were a little nervous. So at the tail end of the sound check, they ran through a fast, shortened version of the song (just to make sure they were ready to use it later in their "real" set). But it went over so well, the crowd gave them a big cheer! Which put the group in the odd position of (a) telling the crowd the "real" gig was starting in 20 minutes, and (b) foreclosing them from playing Elevator Operator again that night. Frankly, the loose version they played without the soloing was as good if not better than any I heard them play in rehearsal, so no worries.

Once the set started it was all good. The sound of the room was pretty warm, so most of the songs were a pleasant melange of trebly guitars and high harmonies. Nothing precise, but the effect was good.
They played one other new song, Santa Fe, but I'm not sure how many people in the audience realized that it was being played 2 and 1/2 times it's "proper" tempo. No harm done, and the gig finished off strong. Fare well, you Rivals. We'll see most of you again in a couple of weeks!