Riverside & Votum (Live)

So, after a great trip Stateside (more of that to come soon) we came home feeling a little deflated but knew that we had a triple dose of delectable Polish rockers Riverside to help soften the blow. Then, a couple of days before it was all due to kick off, I opened an e-mail that I had to read twice before letting out a small fan-girl squeal. Now, this kind of thing never happens to me but someone (I’d like to whole-heartedly thank that person) hadn’t responded to the fact that they’d won a meet’n’greet with the band (competition run by PlanetMosh and promoter Ridgeback Rock) and I was next in line. Could things get any better?

Well, yes. The first date in Liverpool allowed us to re-aquaint our selves with the majesty of Riverside in a live setting. If you’ve never had the pleasure, please feel free to check them out here. Incidentally, the first track is the opener from their magnificent debut album ‘Out of Myself’ and a sign of things to come. If you like it, please remember to buy their entire back catalogue, not forgetting the ep’s and the live dvd that this is taken from. You won’t be disappointed.

As it turns out, not only are they super talented, but a really nice bunch of people too (a special mention for their hero of a sound engineer who seems able to squeeze out every last drop for the crowd no matter what’s thrown at him). So much so that after meeting them in Manchester, we got to do it all again when they visited Edinburgh later that same week. They also brought us Votum…

Now, Votum I had heard of but hadn’t got round to checking out properly so it was lovely to find out that they were in keeping with the down-to-earth-yet-extremely-talented theme. After three gigs, I had begun to recognise songs and noted that they were just as likely to serenade you with an acoustic guitar as melt your face off with some serious shredding and shouting. You can sample the beauty of their variety here & here

If you missed all of this, don’t worry as they had such a good reception that they have both vowed to be back with new albums. In the meantime, you know what to do…

https://www.riversideband.pl/en & https://www.votumband.pl/en