Prague's Rock Café hosted on the evening of January 16th a concert as part of the European tour of American bands Rain City Drive and Honey Revenge, complemented by special guest Belmont. The club concert surprisingly attracted a large audience and confirmed that modern American pop-rock has its solid place in the Czech capital.
I arrived at Prague's Rock Café just before eight o'clock, which meant one thing: I unfortunately missed the first band of the evening, Belmont. This Chicago-based formation straddling pop-punk, emo, and modern rock thus remained shrouded in mystery for me. The club was pleasantly filled; the audience mainly consisted of young people, with plenty of couples and also many foreigners. I must admit that I slightly raised the average age. I was also surprised by an unusually high number of photographers, which is not common at club concerts and clearly indicated significant media interest in both bands.
Honey Revenge burst onto the stage like a hurricane. No lengthy warming up or looking around—just straight into full gear. The young, lively band immediately impressed me. Smiling, eternally grinning guitarist Donny Lloyd, energetic singer Devin Papadol, bassist and drummer managed to quickly engage fans in a spontaneous dance party.
Songs such as "Sensitive" were played along with newer pieces including the somewhat quirky "Poison Apple Baby". Devin mentioned between songs that after returning from their European tour, they would be releasing a new album—a fact met with loud cheers from fans. At one point, the singer even ventured among the crowd, prompting an explosion of enthusiasm.
Honestly? Although it may not be appropriate to say aloud, Honey Revengeimpacted me more than that evening's headliners. Their energy, joy, and spontaneity were infectious; clichés about “an electrifying atmosphere” here were not clichés but pure reality.
After this whirlwind came Rain City Drive. Singer Matt McAndrew thanked fans and mentioned that this is their first European tour where they are performing as headliners—a fact he finds personally very gratifying.
The band appeared confident, professional, and well-coordinated.
Musically there was nothing to criticize. Modern hard rock/pop-rock, strong melodies, well-sung emotional songs with content were presented perfectly. They performed break-up song “Wish You the Best”, personal tune “Neverbloom", which Matt spoke about regarding his father and energetic tracks like “Medicate Me" or "Cutting It Close”. During the latter one could spot brave crowd surfersemerging from within—the adrenaline-inducing discipline in a small club with low ceilings since fans end up right on stage! However, the organizing team handled it smoothly; it clearly wasn’t anything that startled them.
Following Honey Revenge’s visual and energetic whirlwind—Rain City Drive’s stage presence felt decidedly more restrained—perhaps even slightly static. Great music; perfect voice; but that spark which previously ignited the entire club simply wasn’t present here anymore.
Overall though it was a very successful evening: modern young pop-rock that has something to say and can find its audience. And most importantly—it’s wonderful that Rock for People continues to enrich Czech lands with bands from various corners of the world—both lesser known and fresh sounds deserving attention. That kind of music belongs in clubs!
Text and photo by Lenka Machuldová