By: David de Young
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Revolver at the Turf Club on 2/21/03 - click photo for larger version.
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I'd heard a buzz about Revolver, primarily that they were quite good; but even after hearing a preview copy of their 3 song EP I was unprepared for what I saw and heard Thursday night at the Uptown Bar.
Revolver's soon to be released EP (street date approximately March 1st) is impressive, and not just a little ambitious as a debut despite its brevity. My first reaction was that Revolver has this early Bowie meets early Church thing going on, a kind of "less is more" minimalism that reminds me of the Clash, The Buzzcocks and Joy Division simultaneously. Also, in a weird way, their music seems to have come unstuck in time (apologies to Kurt Vonnegut and Billy Pilgrim). I'm betting I could take their debut CD and convince a semi-musically knowledgeable friend that what they were hearing was some lost album by a band from New Zealand released in 1979.
Revolver has a fresh retro sound, and somehow they manage to reproduce it live. Sure, the sound check was an excruciatingly long 30 minutes, but they got that hollow, echoey, achy vocal effect just right. Live, I realized that it reminded me of the early 80's band The Brains ("Money Changes Everything," "Gold Dust Kids.")
Revolver took the stage about 11:40 p.m. and took us on nothing short of a passionate, over the top, nutzo, 45 minute trip through an always interesting rock and roll landscape. Allow me to repeat the word passionate. Halfway the set I was already a fan and found myself buying a beer for lead singer Ehsan Alam to lay in tribute at his feet. (And on my strict budget, this means something.)
Revolver seems to be the real deal, the full package. Alam is tall, dark and handsome, and spent a good portion of the set flailing on the floor like the reincarnation of Ian Curtis in the midst of an epileptic fit. (Contrast that with the fact that he's such a polite and nice guy offstage he borrowed a dollar from a friend to make sure he tipped the bartender even while using his drink ticket.) Revolver at times sounds like the perfect fusion of Joy Division and the Doors, although the Doors influence is not one Alam likes, that doesn't mean it's not there. And Ian Curtis and Jim Morrison are in many minds forever bedfellows in their respective poets' graves.
Although Revolver is definitely a band that emphasizes the music, they pay no less attention to assembling an entertaining and engaging stage show. Guitarist Michael Arnold, looking like a cross between a young Aidan Quinn and RFK threw cutout photocopied heart shaped photographs of James Dean into the crowd before the start of the night's sole cover, "Suedehead" by Morrissey. The band also ran a contest to see if anyone knew James Dean's birthplace (Marion, Indiana, incidentally.) I won that contest, but only after cheating with the help of my internet ready phone.
After seeing them only once, Revolver has already jumped straight onto my short list of the best live bands in town. They blew my mind in totally unexpected ways. And I hazard to guess they are probably still not what you think they are, not even after reading this review. You will be pleasantly surprised if you see them, and you'll most likely be left feeling anxious to see them again.
Location Info:
Uptown Bar and Café
Artist Info: Revolver Modele
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