A laid-back crowd from mid-twenties to forties packed 9:30 Club on April 19 to see
Moon Taxi and The Revivalists. They were in for a long night of indie rock and carefree
dancing.
The opening band, B Side Shuffle, hailed from D.C. and received a warm welcome from
its hometown audience. The funk rock reggae band played songs from its newest
album, “Farmalade,” which was released in early February 2014. After some funk and
jamming, the crowd was warmed up and pumped for the first act on the bill, indieprogressive rock band Moon Taxi.
Moon Taxi wasted no time, jumping into their recently released single “The New Black”
with high energy and a heavy drumline that had the crowd bobbing their heads to the
beat. The band played some of its most popular songs from their second studio album,
“Caberet,” including “Southern Trance” and “Mercury” as well as songs from its latest
album, “Mountains Beaches Cities.” The tunes were fun and had the audience dancing
without a worry for over an hour.
The band mixed in a few covers as well, with a rendition of “Blinded by the Light” that
stayed faithful to the original by Manfred Mann as well as “Wake Up” by Rage Against
the Machine. The latter was a radical departure from the rest of the set — an angry,
head-banging rap metal song made even more intense by red lighting — but the crowd
seemed to embrace it and kept dancing.
Moon Taxi finished its set with the title track for their second album, “Cabaret,” featuring
impressive drum and guitar solos and left the audience with the same high energy they
had brought.
The second band on the bill, Southern-tinged indie rock band The Revivalists, didn’t
take the stage until midnight, by which time the crowd had thinned. But those who
stayed found it worth the wait.
Unlike Moon Taxi, The Revivalists entered with a slow instrumental build-up to “Soul’s
Too Loud,” from their second studio album, “Vital Sounds” that set the mood for the rest
of its performance.
The band’s New Orleans roots showed in its unique instrumentation by mixing steel guitar
with horns and fusing rock with jazz and soul.
Moon Taxi’s keyboardist Wes Bailey even joined the band for a song, jamming with Rob
Ingraham on the saxaphone and Michael Girardot on the trumpet. They played a mix of
old and new music, including crowd favorite “Appreciate Me” as well as “Navigate
Below” from their latest release, a re-release of their album “City of Sound.”
Although the audience appeared tired by the end of the night, it was in good spirits for
the two bands’ last performance together, dancing and swaying along without a care.
asrikanth@theeagleonline.com
