Another Round Bar and Grill – Richmond, VA

Friday night, cold weather, BBQ mac n cheese, and three hours of cover tunes. That was Another Round on February 16, 2024. There is something soothing about hearing the hits from over 30 years of radio and arena rock that is comforting. Another Round gives you things like this. They do tribute bands, local heavy metal bands, comedy, trivia, etc. Follow their social media to know what’s coming up. There will be something you want to see. They also have two pool tables and a DAMN good cook on staff. It’s not typical bar fare, either. It’s a great place for a night out.

Riott

Band Members:

  • Brien Straub – Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitars
  • Dave Morgan – Lead Guitars
  • Bill Hawkins – Bass
  • Joey Rawls – Drums

Set One:

  1. American Band (The Guess Who)
  2. Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots)
  3. Cumbersome (Seven Mary Three)
  4. Kryptonite (Three Doors Down)
  5. Shine (Collective Soul)
  6. Plowed (Sponge)
  7. Remedy (The Black Crowes)
  8. Low (Cracker)
  9. Bound For The Floor (Local H)
  10. Creep (Radiohead)
  11. My Hero (Foo Fighters)
  12. Black (Pearl Jam)

Set Two:

  1. The Middle (Jimmy Eats World)
  2. Basket Case (Green Day)
  3. My Own Worst Enemy (Lit)
  4. Good (Better Than Ezra)
  5. Hash Pipe (Weezer)
  6. Song 2 (Blur)
  7. Plush (Stone Temple Pilots)
  8. Mississippi Queen (Mountain)
  9. Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix)
  10. Purple Rain (Prince)
  11. In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins)

Set Three:

  1. Eruption/You Really Got Me (Van Halen)
  2. Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
  3. LaGrange (ZZ Top)
  4. Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh)
  5. Gimme Three Steps (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
  6. Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
  7. Keep Your Hands To Yourself (Georgia Satellites)
  8. Blue On Black (Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
  9. Killing In The Name (Rage Against The Machine)
  10. Sober (Tool)
  11. Enter Sandman (Metallica)

This was the first show Riott played in this venue. To let you know how seriously they took the gig, they brought their own lighting rig and probably half the fans. I rarely go see cover or tribute bands, but since this was a mixture of songs from different musical eras, I thought, “Let’s see what they got.” As you can see from the setlists above, they cover a lot of ground, from Classic Rock to Thrash Metal. Playing three one-hour sets, it is no wonder they shied away from the Hair/Glam Metal of the mid-80s. The singer needed to try and save his voice.

The first set had one ’70s classic and one ’80s staple. The rest were from the 90s and beyond and would cater to the younger part of any crowd and those who listened to a lot of radio from 1995-2005. All those songs had heavy airplay rotation and are the “signature” songs that many fans associate with each of the bands. The Riott versions of those songs are immediately recognizable. You know the guitar riffs and many, if not all, of the lyrics.

Set two was still heavy into the 90s but featured a wider selection of songs from different eras. There were two Classic Rock songs from the 70s and three tracks from the 80s. One of those, “In The Air Tonight” is the only song I know of that has what is effectively a drum intro over halfway through the song. How did Phil Collins even manage that??? Throwing a Prince song in the mix was a bold move. That is a tough vocal ask, especially almost two hours in and the 22nd song sung.

Set three got a little tough and the backing/other vocalists did have to step in and assist. I mean, your voice would be worn out, too. Imagine trying to rip through “Killing In The Name” as the 31st song you did for the night. Then trying to hit “Sober” immediately after that. It was brave and with the help of the drummer and guitarist, they got through the set. Never once did they even consider stopping. Like true professionals, they had a plan in place to make sure they gave the crowd everything they wanted… well, except they didn’t take my request for F’ING SLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not that I blame them. That really isn’t their wheelhouse.

The key takeaway from this show is that Riott is a killer cover band and will play a ton of songs you recognize and want to groove along with. If they play near you, go check them out. They will have you feeling nostalgic and remembering your youth; you know, back when you could dance freely without worrying about your knees or back. So get out there and catch a set, relive your glory days, and annoy your kids by making them listen to you sing along. You’ll thank me for it later.