diff --git a/cmd/rqbench/http.go b/cmd/rqbench/http.go
index b1b6b759..cb00a709 100644
--- a/cmd/rqbench/http.go
+++ b/cmd/rqbench/http.go
@@ -5,11 +5,21 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"net/http"
 	"time"
 )
 
+// Result represents a single result from a test request.
+type Result struct {
+	Error string `json:"error,omitempty"`
+	Rest  json.RawMessage
+}
+
+// Response represents a response from a test request.
+type Response struct {
+	Results []Result `json:"results"`
+}
+
 // HTTPTester represents an HTTP transport tester.
 type HTTPTester struct {
 	client http.Client
@@ -61,13 +71,22 @@ func (h *HTTPTester) Once() (time.Duration, error) {
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
-	_, err = ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("received %s", resp.Status)
+	}
+
+	r := Response{}
+	err = json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&r)
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
-
-	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("received %s", resp.Status)
+	if len(r.Results) == 0 {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("expected at least 1 result, got %d", len(r.Results))
+	}
+	for _, res := range r.Results {
+		if res.Error != "" {
+			return 0, fmt.Errorf("received error: %s", res.Error)
+		}
 	}
 	dur := time.Since(start)
 
diff --git a/cmd/rqbench/simple_load.sh b/cmd/rqbench/simple_load.sh
index 78719c1e..34857469 100755
--- a/cmd/rqbench/simple_load.sh
+++ b/cmd/rqbench/simple_load.sh
@@ -1,10 +1,28 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-EXECUTE_HOST=localhost:4001
+if [[ -z "$EXECUTE_HOST" ]]; then
+  EXECUTE_HOST=localhost:4001
+fi
 
-$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE foo (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, surname TEXT)' -m 100 -n 1500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO foo(name) VALUES("fiona")' &
-$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE bar (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, surname TEXT)' -m 100 -n 1500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO bar(name, surname) VALUES("fiona", "OTOOLE")' &
-$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE qux (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)' -m 100 -n 1500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO qux(name) VALUES("fionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafiona")' &
+if [[ -z "$RQBENCH" ]]; then
+  RQBENCH="./rqbench"
+fi
+
+handle_ctrl_c() {
+    echo "Killing all load testing..."
+    killall rqbench
+    exit 1
+}
+
+trap 'handle_ctrl_c' SIGINT
+
+
+$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE foo (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, surname TEXT)' -m 100 -n 500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO foo(name) VALUES("fiona")' &
+$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE bar (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, surname TEXT)' -m 100 -n 500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO bar(name, surname) VALUES("fiona", "OTOOLE")' &
+$RQBENCH -o 'CREATE TABLE qux (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)' -m 100 -n 500000 -a $EXECUTE_HOST 'INSERT INTO qux(name) VALUES("fionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafionafiona")' &
+
+echo "Waiting for tables to be created before starting queries"
+sleep 5
 
 $RQBENCH -p "/db/query" -n 150000000 -m 1000 "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM foo" &
 $RQBENCH -p "/db/query" -n 150000000 -m 1000 "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM bar" &