Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

When there is a return to the stage in the offering of a former set of princes, you have to also watch who they surround themselves with to get the full picture of the expectation attached.

Supporting a band like Rain is not easy, in many ways it could be said that being support to legends such as Space, Amsterdam or The Icicle Works would be an easier task despite their longevity and huge modern following; in Rain, to know where to start is complicated and yet the night was made easy by the overflowing of love that had been storing up for a quarter of a century, for that Midland’s band Roseville made quite an impression and it was one that can only grow itself in anticipation as well.

What made Roseville’s set even more enlightening was the addition of Tommy Cox to the line up, a shared vocal between four of the six members that worked well, the music uninterrupted, the pleasure of seeing a good band work their way into the crowd’s affections despite the nerves of the audience playing jumping beans as they waited for the return of princes to the Liverpool throne.

It is in belief that a band can rise to the task, a group that can take on the prospect of what lays ahead is to be liked, to be admired and Roseville made it easy to be liked.

With December settling in to bring freezing cold weather, Roseville kicked off the evening with a set of songs that would have warmed any cold heart, one by one, each song was delivered and with raising grace, the harmonies well considered and played with passion.

With Waiting For, Change Your Mind and Sunshine opening up the set, Roseville set their own bar very high and the night was theirs to own, the audience understandably keeping back from the front of the stage, a new act in town never truly getting the fulsome rewards they could be due, but as the band played songs such as the superb Conflict, Waiting To Be Found and the set closer of Small Town all pointing a way to a future return to the city, Roseville entertained beautifully.

It is a hard ask to open the night when expectations for the main band are so high but Roseville pulled it off with great aplomb.

Ian D. Hall