REVIEW: The Revivalists at 9:30 Club
Having not heard too much from this band before attending at the recommendation of a friend, I was excited to see what the night had in store for me. I got a sneak peak of what the frontmen looked like when they appeared on the upstairs side balcony of the 9:30 Club to check out their opener, The Temperance Movement, who began to get the crowd excited with their eclectic and energetic performance. The frontmen looked fun to hang out with, were clearly supportive of other bands, and my friend mentioned her dad spoke to the lead singer, David Shaw, at a café in New Orleans once and he was extremely friendly. All indicators of a great performance ahead of me, right? Yep. The band’s friendly and welcoming vibes translated well onto the stage as they wasted little time making the audience wait for their entrance after TTM wrapped up. David Shaw continued to feed off the audience’s enthusiasm throughout the night, seemingly gaining energy from it and continuing to make each song more memorable than the last. Their songs have this strange way of making you feel like you’ve heard them before, even if it’s your very first time. Alternative, soulful and jazzy are all words I’d use to describe the band’s style. By the end of the night, I was singing along to several of the choruses.
The real treat, for me, came when the band came out for an encore. We didn’t necessarily deserve the several songs they provided us with, but boy was I glad we got them. It was almost a second show within itself as they belted out some of their more popular hits such as Soul Fight, which was embarrassingly close to moving me to tears, and, my personal favorite, Wish I Knew You—that music video, though. Gushing.
I don’t think I have a single complaint about the night…aside from the couple in front of me that was clearly not having a good time and blocked my view for half the show. Shaw is so interactive with the crowd that this could’ve seriously been a nuisance had they not left in the middle of the performance in the midst of some petty fight. Seriously, leave it at home, kids. Shaw and his crew have a few more tour dates lined up this year and if you have a chance I suggest you hit up one of their shows. You won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, you can check out more of their stuff through the links below.