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What do you get when you put Jim Ward, Chad Price, Frank Turner, Jon Snodgrass, Audra Mae, Chuck Ragan, Jon Gaunt, and Digger Barnes all on the same stage?  The answer is the line up for 2009’s Revival Tour.  Chuck Ragan (pictured), of Hot Water Music, founded the tour two years ago to rousing success.  The tour headline on their website proudly states it is “an acoustic collaborative event.”  I personally could not sum it up any more precisely.

Ragan has tapped in to and brought forth an amazing idea.  Last year’s tour saw the likes of Tom Gabel, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Ragan, and a few others.  This year’s tour added significantly to the lineups with some artists playing relatively exclusively to all dates and other special appearances during other dates.  Chuck Ragan, Digger Barnes on upright bass, and Jon Gaunt on fiddle were the only ones that were on the last tour that came back to Little Rock this year, and it was strikingly obvious that over a year later, they are playing as tight with each other as one could hope for. 

The show started off with every artist on stage playing and singing along to a couple of songs.  Obviously that would be too much of a mess for the whole night, so the show was further broken down in to solo sets with backup from fiddle, upright bass, or another one of the musicians on tour. That way there is something for everyone in the audience, especially if someone really likes that one guy from that one band.  I commend Ragan for organizing it this way, because where else would I get to see all of these living legends play on one stage. 

I’d like to say my favorite set of the night was by an up and coming man named Frank Turner.  At first glance, this English man didn’t seem like a formidable force with his boyish good looks and his “oops, I was drunk…” Texas tattoo, but I was blown away with how great his music and demeanor was.  He sings of friends & enemies, booze, and general other trials of life but with a zest and charm that one cannot keep their eyes off of him.  He entertained us with several stories from here and there, which only made him even more likeable. 

Like a lot of the other Revival members, he had been doing his punk rock thing before and not making it as far as he would have liked to.  However, he dropped his band, started doing solo shows, and relentlessly toured.  People started to take notice of his new brand of punk tinged, acoustic folk and he has steadily gained popularity in his home country and now in the US.  This man is literally an entity not to be reckoned with.  That being said, if you get a chance, I highly suggest you check out his music.  

Jim Ward, of Sparta, At The Drive In, and Sleepercar, put on one hell of a show.  Really, I could say that about every last one of the musicians up there.  Ward in particular was able to emote his feelings to a tee where you were completely in line with them.  It certainly takes an awfully talented person to do that.  I’ve listened to Sleepercar for a bit now and never had any good reason to check who was in it, but I’m glad Ward ended up being on those credits.

I was also highly looking forward to Chad Price & Jon Snodgrass.  In the last year or so, I’ve gotten really in to Drag The River, and since their untimely break up a couple years back, I was wondering if I’d ever get to see them.  I knew DTR had been through Little Rock several times prior, but I was unfortunately not old enough to go or familiar with them.  So, in seeing them it made one of my small wishes come true.  I personally wished they’d played a longer set, but a handful of songs were better than none. 

The show was a success even if it was for only a crowd of twenty people give or take a few.  I personally liked the fact that it was so intimate, even though that definitely hurt the money intake to keep the tour on the road for the rest of its dates.  One of the few things that was really touching and just all around bad ass was that one of the guys wandered off stage, grabbed a huge bottle of Jameson’s whiskey, and passed out shots to those who wanted them.  Little things like that don’t happen during huge shows, or at least not to the same effect.  Even though the audience was already united in thought and passions for the show, that simple gesture just made us even closer.  I can say that only a handful of shows have ever done that, and this just felt like we were one big family.

Ragan has done a magnificent job of bringing his show on the road and touching people’s lives.  I wish him and whichever musicians choose to be part of his group of troubadours the best of luck for the future.  I’ve seen  the first and second year of The Revival Tour and can only hope to see many more in the future.

 

-L

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The Revival Tour hit Little Rock and hit it hard.  Four talented main acts and several other gifted musicians took the stage at Juanita’s by storm.

I got to the venue early to ensure a good spot, but quickly had to leave because security said there were no cameras allowed.  I got back to the stage area quickly, with a 24oz Pabst Blue Ribbon in hand, and anxiously awaited the start of the show.   The venue quickly filled up, and the show started very near on time, which I still find unusual for most places.  However, that was fine by me.

Tom Gabel, of Against Me!, was first up to the microphone.  He walked up with an acoustic guitar and a swagger in his step and commenced to play.  As he started, nearly everyone in Juanita’s, who was standing in the vicinity of the stage, inched forward to get closer to Gabel.  His voice was kind of grating, but I expected that because I knew of his punk roots in Florida.  Nonetheless, he’s got a commanding presence on stage and the ability to play his heart out.  I was not necessarily there to see him, so I didn’t focus on his songs as much as I should have, but I am interested in his solo project, so I’m going to check it out in the near future.

After Gabel played for half an hour or so, Tim Barry, of the band Avail, came up to the stage.  With just an acoustic guitar in tow, Barry started singing about life.  He sang proudly of life and loss in between calling on the audience to raise their drinks.  He also encouraged everyone to live life to the fullest, because as cliché as it may sound, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.  He can’t be over 35 and he already seems like an old and wise soul, which I found really interesting.  Even though I had never heard of him, he left a great impression on me and kept my mind spinning all night about life in general.

Ben Nichols, of Lucero, took the stage next. He came up on stage and Todd Beene, who has been known to play with the likes of Glossary, Ghostfinger, and Lucero, also came up there.  Beene accompanied Nichols on the pedal steel, which was a nice departure from solely acoustic guitar.  As these guys started playing, there was another surge in the crowd to get to the front of the stage.  I feel like most people at the show were there to see Nichols & Gabel, which was made very apparent by the constantly changing crowd.  What can I say?  Nichols was Nichols.  He sang with his trademark gravelly voice, and had nothing but smiles for the audience.  He was on his best behavior because his parents made it out to the show.  He played several of the really popular Lucero songs and several songs off his solo album.  I even got a personal shout out because he wasn’t going to play the song I wanted to hear because the full band wasn’t there.  Needless to say, I was amused and all the Lucero fans in the audience were happy with what they heard.

Finally, Chuck Ragan, from Hot Water Music, had his solo shot for the night.  I wasn’t really paying my full attention to him, but he can sure play the harmonica.  When I was focused on him, and not talking to my friends, I was captivated by his charisma on stage. I left the venue for a couple minutes to grab my camera because everyone and their mom had one there.  I figured I would chance security so I could get some photos of everyone.  He’s a great singer-songwriter, and I can honestly say I wish I had paid a bit more attention to his set.

The night ended with a few more songs with everyone on stage.  All four guys, plus the accompaniment from the upright bassist, pedal steel player, and violinist rounded out the feel of the evening.  I was particularly thrilled when they broke in to Gabel’s cover of “Wagon Wheel.”  It’s a great song, and it united the crowd.  Overall, it didn’t matter who you were there to see, you were singing along to that song.  The show was worth the $15 cover charge, was most definitely one for the memory books, and I know I’m not the only one who left feeling that way.

-L

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