Rationale in San Francisco – A Concert Review

     Rationale turned the attitude 180 degrees. During the drive to Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, there was a sympathy for Rationale. He traveled from London for his first visit to San Francisco, and it turns out that it's the same night as an NBA Finals home game across the Bay, as well as the day between two Stanley Cup home games in the Bay Area. But during the drive from the performance, the sympathy was for the Bay Area residents who missed an opportunity to see Rationale.

     Rationale was highly charged from the first song (“Blood and Sand”) until the final note of “Fuel to the Fire.” The attendees responded. At one point, he asked for the vocal assistance from the crowd, since he shared the plane from London with someone who put only minimal effort into preventing the sharing of cold germs. There were two reasons why Rationale's request wasn’t necessary. First, Rickshaw Stop was populated by fans who knew the songs well and did not shy away from participating. Second, three of the members of his band contribute to the vocals. The members on guitar and keys have voices that can comfortably reside in the falsetto range when the song requires.

      Truthfully, we went to his appearance thinking that if Rationale nailed the performance of “Something for Nothing,” everything else would be a bonus. The song was certainly “nailed.” But before the song was reached on the setlist (second to last), it was “Something for Nothing” that had turned into the bonus.

     We don’t have a video from his visit to San Francisco, so here is “Fast Lane (Live from Village Underground).”