Ride came to Interplay at House Of Blues with Rocket
Oxford, England’s Ride once again demonstrated their prowess in sculpting soundscapes at San Diego’s House Of Blues, reaffirming their position as shoegaze pioneers while showcasing their continued evolution in their incredibly prolific and successful second iteration. Reuniting in 2014 (after a 20 year hiatus which saw Andy Bell join Oasis, drummer Loz Colbert join The Jesus And Mary Chain, and Mark Gardener pursue a solo career), Ride has achieved Top Ten success again with their latest album Interplay. Their performance at the House Of Blues proved to be a positive tour de force, providing one of their most inspiring and engaging sets seen in Southern California in the last several years.
As the show’s opener, LA’s Rocket set just the right ethereal tone for a night of shoegaze bliss. Determined not to be deterred even though Alithea Tuttle had lost her voice rendering her unable to provide vocals, the band let their music carry their message instead. With Alithea still holding down the low end on bass and Cooper Ladomade on drums, the uncustomary lack of vocals allowed Baron Rinzler and Desi Scaglione to build sonic walls of sound with their guitar work. Given the depth of the band’s sound when deprived of the human voice, we’re certainly hoping they return to San Diego soon with vocal chords intact!
Ride took to the stage right away after only the briefest of changeovers, launching into their crowd-pleasing set featuring slightly more than half classic tracks from the 90s alongside lots of new material from Interplay. The fans were there for it, singing along to old and new favorites and showing their peace signs as requested! By embracing their past while pushing forward with new material, Ride’s journey is far from over and the multigenerational audience indicates the band’s longevity pairs perfectly with the timelessness of their tracks. With a bit of luck, their winter shows will continue in 2025 here at House of Blues, though globetrotters will have the chance to see Ride on tour in Europe in April and May, at least until Andy Bell (allegedly) joins the Oasis reunion next summer!
