By: David de Young
 Revolver on the First Avenue Main Room Stage - Photo by Anna Lee (click for larger version) |
Official Website: http://www.revolvermpls.com Review of Revolver's February 13th gig at the Uptown Bar |
The transition to the Main Room stage from the likes of the Uptown's, the Turf Club's or the 400 Bar's can be a trick for some bands. Although Revolver didn't quite look like they were born there, they definitely looked like they'd started moving in, and undoutedly held their own there for the duration of their 45-minute set on Tuesday.
As the First Avenue screen/curtain rose to the first strains of Michael Arnold's guitar on the song "Silhouettes" (featured on their debut EP) Revolver took over the main room like a moody, sonic storm. As evidence of their growing popularity nearly 200 people had made the effort to show up early enough on a bill headlined by New York's The Rapture to see the band who had just been named "Best New Band" of 2003 by the City Pages.
With the help of First Avenue's sound system, Ehsan Alam' voice finally equaled in actual sonic magnitude the hugeness it takes on in my own mind when I listen to Revolver recordings or when I've heard them at smaller venues. From the first few words he sang it was clear that he and the band were more than ready for this. (And so were we, as most of us moved up as close as possible to the stage to show our support: fans, friends, and more.)
As the show wore on, we were treated to many of the same stage showmanship that makes Revolver such a thrill to watch at the many other venues where I've seen them. Mike Arnold climbed on his amp, or anything he could get up on. Alam shook his ass like Elvis on speed metal on some songs. He clutched the monitors on others as if he were drowning in the water off a rocky beach and they were the only things to hold onto to keep him from being swept out into the ocean. (Although one thing I wish he'd done was to claim more of the width of the stage physically by moving around more, especially to stage right where the Nun (Natasha Hasset) was holding her own on the bass with fashionable, stoic, steadfastness.
Arnold did most of the talking between songs throughout the night. At one point, during an extended break between the 5th and 6th songs, he let us in on a secret that it was once his ambition just to play the neighboring 7th St. Entry so you could imagine the treat this was. (This was something I'd somehow guessed, but I'm glad he shared this.)
That extended break was forgivable as the sixth song was an incredibly powerful rendition of "Shake Me Gently, I'm Still Breathing" (also from the debut EP.) I don't think I've ever heard this song performed quite this way before or caught the beauty of the lyric "it's the part of the show that if you cry maybe I will wipe your eyes." Not intentionally funny, I'm sure, but it struck me as such as Arnold lit a cigarette and sucked on a Heineken in silhouette at one point while Alam sang the lyric was "it's part of the show."
The direction that Revolver is taking as they evolve both excites and scares me. But it scares me in a good way, even though while watching them Tuesday my Joy Division flashbacks were more recurrent than usual. If you've ever listened to any of the live concerts Joy Division left behind (or are old enough to have actually seen them, they more frequently than not sucked live, something Revolver, fully do not.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Revolver Modele
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