The Revivalists - Van Ghost -- The Hamilton - Nov 14 2012

Van Ghost - From Chicago comes this tight little rock outfit, replete with two guitars, one of whom handles the lead vocals, a rhythm section, and a woman assisting on vocals and a bit of trumpet. Their 44 minute set is smooth bluesy rock with plenty of roots showing. There is not much out of the ordinary here, but occasionally there is a sparkle. The crowd was still filing in, so it was a bit more quiet than usual (although this is a quieter club anyway). The guitar tones had a breathy quality that was interesting. I wish they would have let Jennifer Hartswick cut loose a bit more on trumpet as that was a highlight. Solid, but unspectacular.

The Revivalists - Now where have I seen this New Orleans band before? Oh yes, they blasted away in a brilliant set at the Velvet Lounge. I concluded that review by not seeing any way they could fail to build an audience. And I am happy to see that tonight, in only four months time, they proved all of that and more tonight. They drew a fair crowd for this large space and had an enthusiastic dance floor filled at all times. They have that magical mixed style gumbo of sound that is par for the New Orleans course, as they hail from one of my favorite cities. Hard charging R&B would be the simplest way to describe this, yet the two guitars can absolutely roar over the steady drums and funky bass. There are guitar and keyboard solos with good vocal work throughout and those magical undulating rhythms that originate only from the sharpest of bands who can feed off each other like they've been doing this their whole life. They brought Jennifer back out to do her trumpet magic to match up with their sax player. So if you want to find a funky band that tear the house down and roar like Mastodon, check these guys out. There is little stopping this band from continuing on to great success. This is one fast moving train, watch your step.

No quotes tonight caught my ear, so I'll leave you with their music...