Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Rival Sons (and Black Stone Cherry) Will Blow Your Mind | Concert Review (The Two-Headed Beast Tour 2024)

Not long after I bought tickets for the Iron Maiden show at the Michelob ULTRA Arena, in Mandalay Bay, Rival Sons posted on their social media that they were coming back to Las Vegas for their Two-Headed Beast tour with stoner rock band Clutch. Perfectly enough, the Iron Maiden show and Rival Sons show were only five days apart! The latter concert would take place on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at the Brooklyn Bowl, located in the LINQ Promenade. It was a no-brainer that I had to see Rival Sons again because they were freaking amazing when I saw them in August 2023 for the Darkfighter tour. Of course, it meant that my mom and I had to plan a trip that lasted longer than five days, but we survived. The lineup was southern rock band Black Stone Cherry as the opening band, and Clutch and Rival Sons as the co-headliners. Now, you’re probably wondering why Clutch isn’t in the blog post title. Well, I’ll get to that later.

I was extremely paranoid about showing up early to get a good spot at the show because we had general admission, in other words, first come first serve. I also bought “pass the line” tickets for us, so that we’d have top priority over the other concertgoers, which helped a lot. On a sunny, late afternoon, I got in line at 4:00 p.m., while my mom patiently waited on the side for the line to get longer, as there were only three people ahead and no one behind me, at the time. The doors opened at 6:00 p.m., we got our bags checked, picked our spots in front of the stage, and I left to get merch while my mom held our spots. Ironically enough, AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” started playing through the speakers at 6:58 p.m. I say “ironically” because that song also played through the speakers at the Iron Maiden show.

Finally, Black Stone Cherry kicked off the show with “Me and Mary Jane” and from there, it was banger after banger after banger. I only have their Screamin’ at the Sky (2023) album, which I dig a lot, but seeing them perform live was enough to flip the switch in me to become a Black Stone Cherry fan. Their set was only 40 minutes, from 7:00 to 7:40 p.m., but they packed in as much adrenaline and headbanging as they possibly could. Highlights include “Again,” “When the Pain Comes,” “White Trash Millionaire,” and “Blame It On the Boom Boom.”

Also, I gotta give props to guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Steve Jewell Jr. for running around and switching sides on stage, so that I could get fantastic pictures of them. Jewell Jr. is the new guy of the band, as he’s only been with them for a few years, but already he’s developed a close bond with them that’s impossible to ignore. Wells and Jewell Jr. looked like they were besties for life. Those guys are quite characters too. Wells was constantly headbanging like he drank too much coffee or something. Jewell Jr. was showing off his mischievous sense of humor by flirting with the blonde lady that was behind me. Well, she was behind me during the Black Stone Cherry set, but again, I’ll get to that later.

Because I was disappointed about not catching Rich Robinson’s guitar pick at the Black Crowes show this past February, my mom tried her hardest to help me catch some sort of memorabilia from the stage. Therefore, when Jewell Jr. was about to toss the last drumstick, she told me to show interest and act like my life depended on catching that drumstick! Thankfully, he saw me and tossed the drumstick to me. I missed it because I suck at catching things, but thankfully, a nice concertgoer picked up the drumstick and gave it to me. As a bonus, I also got the band’s printed setlist they taped down to the stage, which the same concertgoer helped me grab, as well (either it was her or one of the roadies). Black Stone Cherry, if you’re reading this, thanks so much for the drumstick and setlist; you guys rock!

Clutch went on at 8:04 p.m. and finished at 9:15 p.m. Now, I want to make myself clear, I don’t think Clutch are a terrible band; they’re just not for me. The musicianship was tight and there was a lot of groove going on during their entire set. The drummer, Jean-Paul Gaster, even gave me Phil Rudd vibes because of how he marks time with his mouth. Just to be clear, both drummers have completely different drumming styles. Bassist Dan Maines was great too with his thumping bass lines. However, not to be superficial, it’s hard to follow-up young and hungry wild animals with a bunch of old dinosaurs. Black Stone Cherry were more lively and energetic, while Clutch looked like normal dads who formed a rock band for fun. 

Vocalist Neil Fallon did his best to entertain the crowd by walking all over the stage and making eye contact with everyone, but I wasn’t impressed. Speaking of Fallon, I’m not a fan of his vocals; it sounded like he was shouting more than singing. To make things worse, the blonde lady who was supposedly behind me ended up squeezing her way to the front, unapologetically. I guess Black Stone Cherry weren’t her thing. It wasn’t worth starting a fight with her, though, because I am a mature adult and we were both there to enjoy the music, so I let her go. On a more positive note, I admire that Clutch stuck to their word about playing mostly stuff from Blast Tyrant (2004), which I actually think is a dope album! 

Let me explain further. For the Two-Headed Beast tour, Clutch were supposed to focus on Blast Tyrant and Rival Sons were supposed to focus on Great Western Valkyrie (2014); at least that’s what the social media post said. The former were consistent in playing tracks from Blast Tyrant throughout the entire tour. Rival Sons played five-six songs from Great Western Valkyrie at the beginning of the tour, however, by the end of it, they were only playing two songs from that album, which is a shame because I really wanted to hear “Belle Starr” live. At least Clutch had the balls to play the entire Blast Tyrant album live, except for “WYSIWYG,” which is an instrumental. There were technical difficulties during “The Regulator,” where the sound gave out during the chorus, but I loved it because it added to the live experience! Interestingly enough, Fallon said that was the first time there were technical difficulties on the entire tour, therefore, my mom and I witnessed rock history! 

Clutch didn’t blow me away, but I had fun headbanging to “Cypress Grove,” “Subtle Hustle,” “Worm Drink,” and “X-Ray Visions,” the latter being from Psychic Warfare (2015). Too bad they didn’t play “Decapitation Blues,” another banger from that album, but you can’t please everyone, unfortunately. It’s safe to say I like some of Clutch’s music and their vibe, but I wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan of theirs.

Rival Sons closed the show with a bang, of course! Their set was from 9:45 to 11:00 p.m. As mentioned earlier, I was disappointed that they didn’t play enough stuff from the Great Western Valkyrie album, but little surprises they threw into the set made up for it. For one, they played “Tied Up,” my favorite song from Hollow Bones (2016). And live, that song grooves hard! Two, they played “Mosaic,” one of my favorites from Lightbringer (2023). When I saw Rival Sons last year, the latter hadn’t been released yet, so I was worried I’d never get to hear them play anything from that album. Thankfully, they proved me wrong and that performance was absolutely beautiful!

The band was on fire! Guitarist Scott Holiday looked sharp and played like a boss (as usual), drummer Michael Miley played like his life depended on it, bassist Dave Beste delivered fine bass lines while looking calm and collected, and vocalist Jay Buchanan knocked me off my feet with his charm and charisma. My mom loves how appreciative and kind he is towards everyone. Like the previous year I saw Rival Sons, Buchanan thanked the audience for supporting live music, which bravo to him for that. In a world where not many people are buying physical albums currently, musicians get their income solely from merch and live music, which is really sad. Buchanan’s vocals were top notch; his angelic pipes keep getting better and better. Besides “Tied Up” and “Mosaic,” my favorite performance from Rival Sons’ set was the opening number, “Shooting Stars,” my favorite song from Feral Roots (2019). It was Buchanan in his all-black outfit with an acoustic guitar and the spotlight on him; chef’s kiss!

Overall, the Two-Headed Beast tour was amazing and worth standing up for seven hours straight (again, I got in line at 4:00 p.m. and the show ended at 11:00 p.m.). Even though I wasn’t blown away by Clutch, I still enjoyed their set. Black Stone Cherry definitely blew me away, however, and I would see them again in a heartbeat! Rival Sons, though I wanted to hear more Great Western Valkyrie songs, they still blew me away and seeing them twice does not do them justice. They’re one of those bands that I have to see again and again and again! If Rival Sons and Black Stone Cherry were to do another tour together, I would see that, for sure. Rock and roll is alive and well, thanks to these youngsters! 

Rival Sons, Clutch, and Black Stone Cherry, thank you for the perfect ending to my nine day Las Vegas trip! Can’t wait till we meet again in some way or form!

Black Stone Cherry Concert Setlist

1. Me and Mary Jane

2. Again

3. When the Pain Comes

4. Like I Roll

5. Out of Pocket

6. Screamin’ at the Sky

7. White Trash Millionaire

8. Blame It on the Boom Boom

9. Lonely Train

Clutch Concert Setlist

1. Mercury

2. Profits of Doom

3. The Mob Goes Wild

4. Cypress Grove

5. Promoter (of Earthbound Causes)

6. The Regulator

7. Worm Drink

8. Army of Bono

9. Spleen Merchant

10. (In the Wake of) The Swollen Goat

11. Weathermaker

12. Subtle Hustle

13. Ghost

14. (Notes from the Trial of) La Curandera

15. Nosferatu Madre

16. Walking in the Great Shining Path of Monster Trucks

17. Earth Rocker

18. Binge and Purge

19. X-Ray Visions

Rival Sons Concert Setlist

1. Shooting Stars

2. Mirrors

3. Nobody Wants to Die

4. Do Your Worst

5. Pressure and Time

6. Electric Man

7. Rapture

8. Darkside

9. Open My Eyes

10. Tied Up

11. Too Bad

12. Feral Roots

13. Mosaic

14. Keep On Swinging

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Lana