Rogue Wave Ride Into Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop at SXSW

Posted on Mar 19th 2010 2:05AM by Mike Ayers
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In the second of four Spinner secret SXSW pop-up shows, Rogue Wave rode through an eight-song set at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop for hundreds of lucky fans who queued up down the block earlier in the afternoon. "We missed SXSW last year, and we were just asked if we came for the industry," guitarist/vocalist Zach Rogue told the crowd. "No, we came for the fans."

As expected, Rogue Wave's latest record, 'Permalight,' was heavily tapped for most of the set: new songs such as 'Stars and Stripes,' 'Sleepwalker' and 'Solitary Gun' set the bar for a summery feel, as Rogue mostly favored the acoustic guitar to complement the harder guitar rock his backing band provides. Standouts included 'Good Morning (The Future)' and 'Lake,' which both featured Rogue's nasaly, Neil Young-like vocals in a fast, flowing form.

In a recent interview with Spinner, Rogue told us about the paralysis that he recently had to overcome, which nearly derailed the band's career, so above all, it was good to see them having fun and remaining as tight as they were before Zach's health issues.

But the set wasn't relegated to just new material: crowd favorite 'Publish My Love' from 2005's 'Descended Like Vultures' made for a nice treat for the hardcore Roguers. As the set concluded, Zach's shirt was heavily drenched in sweat as he and his band had done the fans -- and, of course, the bikers -- proud.

Watch Rogue Wave on Spinner's Special 'Live From Austin' Interface