Review: Revival Tour at the Academy

The Revival Tour, The Academy, 29th September 2011

Photos: Yan Bourke
Review by Oisin Tormey

The saying of never judging a book by its cover summed up how this gig would surprise me, twice. Being aware of Dan Andriano’s band Alkaline Trio, and being a fan of Brian Fallon’s Gaslight Anthem, at first I was expecting a punky super-group who would bring a high-energetic electric set upon their visit to The Academy. Then going on YouTube, I was surprised to find an alt-country collaboration between the band, which had me wondering whether Converse or cowboy boots would be the more appropriate attire for the show. What the gig actually became was an acoustic showcasing of each member of the band’s respective music, with Jon Gaunt and Joe Ginsberg there to accompany each of them on violin and double bass. A grown-up version of the ‘Bowling for Soup’ acoustic gig I had the pleasure of reviewing a few months back. There was no opening act; they were the focus of the entire night, playing close to fifty songs over an almost-three hour period which couldn’t have felt shorter out of enjoyment if it tried.

Opening the show, the band all came out together to give a brief introduction to the night. After this there was the odd bit of usual small talk throughout the gig, but for the most part the band let their music do all the talking for them. No big impressive wall hanging behind them to distract from performance; just the artists and their music. The first chapter of the night consisted of the entire band out on stage for the first four songs, with each band member represented by one song each. After this, it was Dave Hause’s turn to have the first solo set of the night, and set the acoustic-folk tone which ultimately was the backbone of the night. Being unaware of any of Hause’s previous work in a band called ‘The Loved Ones’, I was unsure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at what was his acoustic solo songs, but underwhelmed with ‘The Loved Ones’ tracks he performed. His solo work is so good however it’s hard to hold it against his set. Songs like ‘Time Will Tell’ and ‘C’mon Kid’ are so mesmerizing and downbeat that it never feels like the worst was put out first. A cover of Joe Strummer’s ‘Coma Girl’ alongside Andriano is scowled out with more menace than the original that it sounds like it’s his own. Leaving the stage to loud applause, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who will be scouring his back catalogue, and looking forward to more of the same.

Next came a slight bit more familiarity, as Chuck Ragan (who supported The Gaslight Anthem on their last European tour) came out for his solo leg of the gig. With the look and sound of a Spartan Springsteen, Ragan stole the solo show for me. His gruff voice is another which I was unaware of, and was simultaneously blown away by. Anyone who is in need of another singer-songwriter from the Springsteen file should look no further. For all the songs of his own that he did the standout part of his set was all down to a Dubliner. Introducing Brian Brody to the stage, the two men with the backing band lashed out a foot-stamping, hand-clapping version of ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’, which changed my hoe-down perception at the start of the night into a mini mental céilí. At around €30 a ticket, I was beginning to think this gig was the bargain of the century. Brian Fallon also joined up with Ragan towards the end of the set, to play ‘Meet You in the Middle’ a collaboration of theirs from his last solo album. It sounds like it could be from ‘The Seeger Sessions’ and the first reappearance of Fallon to the stage is greeted with loud cheering from the crowd who have mostly come to see him. As good as Hause was before him, Ragan had more of a stage presence, better songs and endeared himself to the audience a lot more. If (or hopefully when) he comes back to Ireland, I would happily pay the full ticket price from this gig to see him in his own spotlight.

A quick goodbye from Ragan before Dan Andriano took to the stage, wasting little time before beginning into a set comprising with a majority of his lesser known solo album, a Ryan Adams cover, and four Alkaline Trio songs stripped down to their core. His solo album is one full of tender and personal songs, and you can see he has a lot of passion for his second career in music. ‘From This Oil Can’, his favourite song off the solo album and dedicated to his daughter, is the highlight of a surprisingly quiet set from a man more associated with playing at a faster pace. A folked-up version of Adams’ ‘Dear Candy’ is a welcome surprise in the middle of his set. Dave Hause joins up with Andriano to sing it, and give the song a much rawer sound than its studio counterpart. Their harmonies compliment each other so well, that it offers more of an incentive to stick around for the last part of the show, when the whole band will come out and perform once again.

Before any of that can happen, there’s the small matter of Brian Fallon’s solo set. The majority of the people in The Academy tonight have come mainly on the basis that he would be here, and so his reappearance for the fourth time of the night is greeted with great enthusiasm and singalongs galore. His set has a bluesy/country feel to it, beginning with a fiddle-laden ‘Goodnight Irene’ alongside Chuck Ragan. Again, the joint harmonies are phenomenal; how this is only a side project for all the guys in the band is a testament to how talented they all are. Next, Fallon is joined onstage by Ian Perkins, the second half of his side project The Horrible Crowes. Together, they do two songs from the album released less than a month ago. It’s quieter than compared to his Gaslight Anthem work, but tonight that’s to be expected. The atmospheric ‘Ladykiller’ from the album becomes much more intense than the studio version ever could be, and is up there with Fallon’s more well-known songs as one of the best he has composed. As good as they are, everyone’s waiting for some Gaslight Anthem songs and Fallon happily delivers. ‘Old White Lincoln’ is next, with help from the crowd who loudly sing along with every word. A couple more follow, but it’s not until the whole band rejoins together on stage when the best part of the night has finally arrived.

A country-tinged version of ‘American Slang’ begins the final chapter of the gig, and the venue has transformed into a communal sing-along, complete with a bouzouki solo. After this, the proper hoe-down begins. ‘California Burritos’, (not the most country sounding name you will ever hear) has the smell of silage and the notion of cousins marrying flowing through Abbey Street. Interrupting this chain of events is a change in tempo to a more natural New Jersey sound for the group. A hymn-like version of ‘The ’59 Sound’ is sung in unison by both band and crowd, and was the best part of an already-memorable night. The night then finishes the way I imagined it would be like throughout, with Chuck Ragan taking over the vocals for the country/folk song ‘Revival Road’. As much as I had dreaded this before the night even began, it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of the night and really ends the gig on a high. For a gig which I didn’t hold out much hope for, it turned out to be one of the best I’ve been to in a long time. I guess the old saying is true.

[Opening Set with everybody]
Me and Denver
Nomad By Fate
Great Expectations]
Prague

[Dave Hause]
Time Will Tell
Living Will
Melanin
Coma Girl (Joe Strummer Cover)
Pray For Tucson
Jane
C’mon Kid
Pretty Good Year
Worry

[Chuck Ragan]
Rotterdam
Nothing Left To Prove
You Get What You Give
For Broken Ears
Rocky Road to Dublin
Coal Tattoo
Meet You In The Middle
The Boat

[Dan Andriano]
Hurricane Season
Hollow Sounds
Blue Carolina
It’s Gonna Rain
This Light
Dear Candy (Ryan Adams Cover)
Emma
Crawl
Enjoy Your Day
Oil Can

[Brian Fallon]
Goodnight Irene
No Weather
Ladykiller
Cherry Blossom
Old White Lincoln
Navesink Banks
Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts

[Ending Set with Everybody]
American Slang
On The Boat
Resolution
Let Me In
California Burritos
59 Sound
Revival Road