With the only multi-night stop on their current tour, The Revivalists made a statement at their Tipitina’s homecoming celebration on November 20thand 21st. The band sold out two nights in a row, riding the heels of their fourth studio album, Men Amongst Mountains.

Since their formation in 2007, the seven-piece band has cultivated a diehard fan base around their unique sound, and have transformed from humble origins at a Tipitina’s jam session to selling out the historic venue two nights in a row. Considering all of this history at the venue, it was clearly a special moment for the band. Frontman and lead singer, David Shaw, frequently expressed his love for New Orleans and for the fans that have supported them over the years.

Joining The Revivalists on Friday was the Mike Dillon Band, a creation of Texas-born, and New Orleans resident, vibraphonist, percussionist, and singer, Mike Dillon. The unique instrumentation included Dillon on vocals and percussion, with Cliff Hines on guitar, Paul Thibodeaux and G Maxwell Zamanovic on drums, Michael Girardot (The Revivalists) on keys, and Nathan Lambertson on synth and upright bass — a surprising choice to fit the ensemble’s punk-rock style.

Meanwhile, Saturday night featured New Orleans-based Tank and the Bangas, who recently came back from a month-long tour in the UK. Lead by singer and poet, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, this seven-piece group offers a mix of hip-hop, R&B, funk, soul, and gospel to create a one-of-a-kind live experience. Both bands were met by an already packed floor and brought the energy up leading into each of the Revivalists’ two sets.

According to David Shaw’s poll of the crowd, most audience members came to both shows, a testament to the level of adoration The Revivalists’ fans have for the band. Shaw’s soulful voice and story-like lyrics are joined by a rhythm section of Zack Feinberg (guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums), and George Gekas (bass), as well as Ed Williams (steel guitar), Rob Ingraham (tenor saxophone), and Michael Girardot (trumpet/keyboard). Together, these seven produce a sound somewhere between southern blues and country rock, with some obvious New Orleans funk influences.

Each show had a fairly unique set list, with few overlapping songs — mostly from their newest album, Men Amongst Mountains. New hits like, “Stand Up,” “Keep Going,” and “Wish I Knew You” got the crowd singing on each night; in fact, it seemed like the entire crowd knew the lyrics of every song by heart. During “Stand Up” on the first night, Mike Dillon was brought onto the stage for a groovy timbale and conga solo; for “To Love Somebody” on the first night and “Keep Going” on the second night, the band brought up friend and vocalist, Maggie Koerner, who got the whole crowd singing the hook of the tunes.

The Revivalists planned to end their stead at Tip’s with a three-song encore featuring the acoustic “We Are Kings” and “Fade Away” off of Mountains Amongst Men and closed with accompaniment from Pete Murano on a crowd favorite, “Soul Fight”, off their 2008 Revivalists EP. However, the crowd was hungry for more, and the band returned to the stage for a second encore, in which they wowed the audience with an outstanding performance of Prince’s “Purple Rain”. This addition was reminiscent of their Halloween set, which was also brought out Friday night, when The Revivalists performed “When Doves Cry”.

The Revivalists Dress Up As, And Perform, Prince On Halloween

The two-night homecoming turned out to be a perfect choice to record for an upcoming live album, with the audience begging for more as the band took their final exit from the stage. Live For Live Music got the chance to sit down with some of the band for a brief interview before their Saturday night show and got some insight on how The Revivalists felt about their huge homecoming. Read on below for Emily Ferretti’s exclusive with the guys.

L4LM: The inevitable question… how does it feel to have sold out two nights at Tipitina’s?

George Gekas: I guess you could say it’s a culmination of a lot of years of work, because we started off playing here, and then a couple of years ago we were able to sell out one night. Every time since then we’ve kind of set a new goal for ourselves, like, “alright, we’re going just going to sell out while people are here,” and then it became “we’re going to sell out before the show even starts,” and now we’ve sold out two shows (in advance).

Ed Williams: It really does feel like a homecoming. We’ve been on a long tour, and to come home and see all of our friends and buddies who we haven’t seen in a while is a real treat. The road gets tough sometimes, but to come home and get great reception…

Zack Feinberg: I think there’s a song about how the road gets tough, do you know it?

Ed: Yeah, Tenacious D.

Andrew Campanelli: Plus, Zack and I met here, and our first show was here. It’s very prevalent.

L4LM: Being here (in New Orleans) and being at Tipitina’s in particular has helped me personally shape my musical identity. Would you say that who you all are individually and as a group has been shaped by becoming adults in this city and being exposed to venues like this?

George: Absolutely.

Ed: Yeah, I mean, Tip’s is one of those foundations – it’s an institution of New Orleans music. When we came to college here, this is where we’d come to see shows, so it definitely has an influence on you just as New Orleans music has an influence on you. The two are intertwined, they really are. I mean, if you come to New Orleans, or if you’re a New Orleans musician, the goal is to play Tipitina’s. So, yes, I’d say it’s had an influence on us all just from the fact that New Orleans has influenced us all.

George: If you think about it, it’s just a cultural landmark in the city, and now it’s also like a community thing. It’s a “hang”. Backstage here yesterday there were a bunch of other musicians, it’s kind of like a hometown show and somebody’s in town – everybody comes out to support. It’s a good family vibe for sure.

L4LM: Who are some of your favorite New Orleans-based acts to share the stage or work with?

George: We’ve done a lot of stuff with Galactic, they’re kind of like our “big brother” band.

Ed: Rebirth Brass Band was the first band to take us out.

George: Rebirth was the first band we ever toured with, which was great. We also really love a band called Papa Grows Funk, he used to have a residency at the Maple Leaf.

Ed: That was the first band I ever saw in New Orleans and it blew my mind! It was two days into my freshman year and I saw them at The Boot.

George: There used to be music at The Boot. I don’t know if they do that anymore.

Ed: I was absolutely blown away by June Yamagishi and his guitar playing. It was unreal. He just blew me away.

George: But then we have friends like Mike Dillon, who just opened for us last night, Tank & The Bangas, our friends in Naughty Professor. There’s a ton of great young acts out there, too.

L4LM: Since you are recording these two nights, do you feel your performances are altered when you are recording a show verses when you are not?

Zack: Yup.

George: I think you become super focused on what you’re doing. Usually it always turns out well, we know we can’t be too hard on ourselves.

Zack: I think there’s a hyper awareness, you know?

George: People are going to be able to listen to way more than a normal show.

Zack: It’s best not to think about it. It’s very hard when you’re going “don’t think about it, don’t think about it”.

George: Or if you make one little mess-up, it’s going to be there forever – unless you go back and fix it.

Zack: That’s why you pick to do it over a two-night run.

***Stay tuned for more tour dates from The Revivalists and the upcoming live album recorded at Tipitina’s!***