The Revivalists at The Saenger Theatre

The Revivalists opened for Gov’t Mule on February 15 at the Saenger Theatre for the last show of their tour before going home to New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Over seven days they played in Athens, Nashville, Aspen, Denver, and the Aura Music Festival in Florida. Winter and snow made it a cold week in the van, but The Revivalists played every show with a hot, intense energy that sparks each other and ignites the crowd.

David Shaw    Photo by Michelle Stancil

Lead singer David Shaw constantly broke the invisible fourth wall of the theatre to get closer to the audience. He grabbed his green bullet mic, jumped over the amps, walked back and forth across the edge of the stage, then sat down, long legs dangling over the side, singing to the audience eye-to-eye.  By the time he got to “shake, shake, shake, shake your pretty thing” he was on the floor dancing with girls on the front row, high-fiving and hugging as he made his way around the first section of the theatre. The audience was on their feet and Mardi Gras beads shined and shook along with them.

Zack Feinberg, Rob Ingraham and Michael Girardot

Photo by Michelle Stancil

While Shaw was in constant motion and rarely in one place, the members of the band were as powerful in their own space. As the music builds, Ed Williams stood and tilted the pedal steel guitar (he often climbs on top of it but he didn’t that night). Zack Feinberg and Shaw played guitar together like a conversation. Keyboardist Michael Girardot ofen jumped to trumpet and Rob Ingraham switched between his three saxophones and singing harmonies. George Gekas on bass and Andrew Campanelli on drums pushed the music forward. The band gave each other room for solos, appreciating the music of that moment as if they were hearing it for the first time. They had fun together on stage and played little games like tossing around the shaker until Girardot dropped it and had to climb over his keyboard to get it back,

During a short break for Mardi Gras, The Revivalists are re-releasing City of Sound on March 4 with a second disk of live recordings.  They have also been in the studio recording their next album and will tour with Moon Taxi in April.  Shaw and Feinberg are headlining the Jef Bonds Annual Art Party in Pensacola on March 29 that benefits A HERO Foundation.