Photos: The Revivalists’ co-headlining tour with The Head and the Heart worth braving the heat

July 3, 2023

Chris Ortiz,

The Revivalists. // photo by Chris Ortiz

The Revivalists & The Head and the Heart
with Jaime Wyatt
Starlight Theater
Friday, June 30

On Friday, June 30, Starlight Theater saw temperatures in the lower 100s by the start of the evening, and a severe thunderstorm threatening the end of the night when touring acts The Revivalists and The Head and The Heart, with opening support by Jaime Wyatt, came to town.

The heat index was at 100 degrees at 7 p.m. when Ms. Wyatt took the stage—very unfortunate for the singer as there was only a handful of people in their seats at the outdoor amphitheater, giving the appearance of that it was basically empty. ]This, combined with the heat, didn’t fully stop Wyatt from her act, as she gave a solid performance with her band. The barefoot singer came out and gave the few people that showed up for her performance their money’s worth and more as the country music singer/songwriter and guitarist seem to have given it all that she could.

Despite the fact that Ms. Wyatt’s set went a little long, the set change to The Head and the Heart went without a hitch, as the audience slowly started to wander in and take their seats. THATH’s music portion of the set was spot on, with everyone in the audience singing along by the time that the band was done. The only complaint that was heard throughout the crowd was that their smoke/fog machine was on too high, leaving the band almost invisible throughout at least half of their performance, especially the back row of the rhythm section. However, there were at times too much to even see singer Jonathan Russell, violinist/vocalist Charity Rose Thielen, and guitarist Matt Gervais, which caused several little kids sitting behind me to complain to their parents and ask why the band didn’t want the audience to see them.

Yet, as the band left the stage, so did the smoke and slowly the remaining lights for the stage were put up and everything was ready to go for the headliner of The Revivalists. It was an interesting show. Having done my research on all of the bands and getting to know their music as well as I could over the past month or so, none of that research prepped me for what I was about to see.

While the music videos of The Revivalists show one cohesive band, interlocked in unity and so on, it seemed that the (literal) spotlight was focused on lead singer David Shaw (who was sporting his shorter hair look), while the rest of the band remained in the dark and dim light for the vast majority of the show. Even during Zack Feinberg’s guitar solo, which was amazing, the spotlight stayed on Shaw.

This, at least for me, calls into question the dynamic of the band. While I am aware that the lead singer is normally the frontman/woman of any band, should that take away from the rest of their mates’ spotlight time?

Regardless of who had more time in the spotlight than others, the band sounded as good as they had in any of their recordings. The now almost full theater simply ate them up, paying no attention to the lightning flashing in the overhead skies.

The Revivalists

The Revivalists setlist
Good Old Days
When I Got You
Don’t Look Back
Down in the Dirt
The Long Con
It Was a Sin
How We Move
Only You
Wish I Knew You
Next to You
You Said It All
Keep Going
All My Friends
Kid
—
Catching Fireflies
Soulfight

The Head and The Heart

The Head and The Heart setlist
All We Ever Knew
Don’t Show Your Weakness
Ghosts
Another Story
Dreamer
Lost in My Mind
Let’s Be Still
Winter Song
Every Shade of Blue
Missed Connection
Hurts (But It Goes Away)
Honeybee
Down in the Valley
Happy Birthday to You
Virginia (Wind in the Night)
Shake
Rivers and Roads