Fatiniza-Riff Raff review by Oliver Ephgrave:
Last week’s show to promote Riff Raff’s new album ‘By the seat of Our Pants’ attracted a buzzing crowd to the neon lights of Greenbelt Lounge.
Pint-sized Columbian singer Fatiniza got the night off to a sassy start, with her brand of sexy chick pop-rock. It’s clear that the hard work has paid off for the band, with a tight backbone stemming from drummer Francy Taborda and bassist Bachir Habib.
Fatiniza’s vocals were particularly strong on this occasion and she was much more interactive with the audience. Unfortunately, the usually powerful guitars were somewhat lost in a slightly bass-heavy sound.
After an interim set from impressive Syrian metallers Hourglass, the men of the hour, Riff Raff, took to the stage.
It wasn’t long before the crowd was on its feet and grooving to the band’s up-tempo retro rock. Frontman Ray Fahy was infectiously energetic and the riffs from his SG helped to induce air guitar solos across the dancefloor.
With an Eddy Vedder meets Jack White vocal style, Ray’s larynx went through a lot of punishment but remarkably managed to hold up till the end. Special mention should also go to drummer Johnny Francis for his solid and powerful playing which maintained the band’s energy into the early hours of the morning.
The Hourglass Set Review – Jannie Botha:
On the 26th of June, even though they couldn’t open for Jon Oliva due to an unfortunate cancellation of his show, The Hourglass played in front of a fist pumping crowd at the Greenbelt lounge in Dubai.
The venue was great, providing the band with great sound, and ample space for some very happy metal heads to jump around to the sick riffs provided by Rawad Massih, and Abdel Mallouhi. It was especially awesome when they slipped some Slayer in, and shredded it to pieces.
Needless to say, the vocals from Bassem Deaibess hit every note perfectly, and nearly blew the brains right out of my skull. I was lucky enough to meet some of the guys after the show, and they were very friendly, and all round nice guys. All in all it was a fantastic performance, there was a great stage presence by all the musicians, and everyone had a fun experience.
It is great to see such talent in the Middle East. I for one will be going and head banging till my brain bleeds when they play again. Where can I get my hands on a CD?
Download Riff Raff’s album ‘By the Seat of our Pants’ here:
