Coming Up Roses

pic: jESiO

Rose Hill Drive opened for STP last week and killed it. I learned last time they were in town it was opening for Government Mule, who are quite the departure from Stone Temp, so I was intrigued. The NorVa was packed. Making my way to the front row, a'ha moments were popping up on the faces I passed. No longer were they patiently waiting for the headliner, tolerating these unknown rock-n-rollers; instead they were really digging it.

From Boulder, these dudes have been compared to Zeppelin and Cream a lot. They've definitely got a psychedelic seventies thing going on, but it's definitively American, with it's straightforward riffing and metal harmonies. If I had to compare, I'd actually say Soundgarden meets KOL. Bands crop up like this from time to time (remember Wolfmother?), gain a bunch of buzz, and often are recycled into nostalgic one-hit wonderville. I don't see this for Rose Hill Drive, as they seem quite content to maintain solid tours and festival gigs (they've done Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Warped Tour and others.) They're definitely a buzz band if nothing else (though they have been for five years, being named a band to watch by Rolling Stone in 2007), though I've been buzzing for nearly a week on them and they were the opener. It's so rad when that happens.