Philzone.org Discussion Board: Archive 2004: Non-PF/Dead Show Reviews Archive 2004: Railroad earth - 12-9-04 - revolution hall

hi everybody,

this is my first post; i really appreciate this review forum, and so i'd like to contribute back a little bit.

setlist from last night:
old dangerfield
dandelion wine
head
mourning flies
pack a day
cuckoo medley
colorado
stillwater getaway > grubb solo >
good life
any road
elko

e: magic foot, little rabbit

i hadn't ever been to revolution hall before (in troy, ny which is just a bit outside albany), and i was impressed at the good sound in the hall. since the hall is affiliated with a brewing compnay, they had plenty on tap - the oatmeal stout was particularly tasty, i thought.

the crowd was pretty, well, alternative, and we were all in full dance mode throughout the show. rre started out strong, beginning with a modest dangerfield to warm up. things began cooking with dandelion wine, and they rode the peak right into head.

head is one of my favorites (maybe my favorite of all) - they took their time on the lead in for this one, stringing it out with that tribal drum beat from carey, and everyone was bopping around and getting into the groove. when they cut it off to begin the song, i heard a couple of people ask their friends "why'd they stop it there!?", but obviously they didn't know what was coming. they went into it ferociously, complete with dueling fiddle/mandolin, and i must say that i'm always surprised at how well they can pause the wildness after tim's solo, and john just picks it right back up. his intro is always so subtle, but before you know it you're right back in the soup. totally psychedelic, in my opinion. tim and john went at it for a while at the end until tim brought it to the peak, which never fails to give me goosebumps - but right at the most fantastic moment, after andy's banjo when todd leads back into the chant, it kind of fell flat. really flat i thought, dragging all the momentum down. todd held back from leading the vocals, i originally presumed because he wanted the crowd to pick it up, but then i thought maybe he wanted to save his voice a bit (though i heard no trace of the plague in his voice all night, and he did use it a lot). i think the band just wants more crowd participation than they get, which i suppose is inevitable when there are so many newcomers to each show. but definitely, if you're feeling it when you see them, make some noise! they love it.

then they went into mourning flies, which is really an up-tempo song in disguise i think. they didn't drop the pace really for the entire show. good rendition of this tune too.

todd then announces that they're going into a skehan tune, pack a day, which i'd never heard live before. it was more dance music, which brought us right into the cuckoo medley. by the end with drowsy maggie, tim was really standing out. i'd put him and john as mvp's of the show, although todd really had some time for nice guitar work at various points (which i dig a lot).
so the medley finished up hot, and they went into colorado. great jam on this one, as they maintained that mountain feel with paced solos that flowed through like a cool wind. very nice.

then stillwater, which was rockin as usual, into a grubb solo, which you can probably imagine in your head if you've heard him before - thoughtful and jazzy, always right in the groove and moving in and out of places you'd never expect. he dropped a hint of good life about 20 seconds before going full into it, and everyone followed. standard good life, lots of fun.

tim took the vocals next for any road, which was smooth and bouncy and had everyone moving. elko next, which they built up solidly enough by the end of the instrumental part that i thought this could be the last tune. i must say that with andy holding on to his banjo for the last couple of tunes, and the hudson river flowing directly behind the venue, i felt sure that they'd do mighty river toward the end. but as tim ripped into drag him down, it wasn't meant to be. oh well - these guys defying expectation isn't a bad thing! drag him down was hot, easy and melodic, and as the band left the stage, the crowd started stomping up and down (you know how that sounds), and they returned.

magic foot and then little rabbit, just to close the deal with the newcomers. who can resist a little rabbit encore? it wasn't full-on gonzo like some versions i've heard, but it was good enough - as rre left the stage, everyone was still wanting more. just the way you like to see it!

so no mighty river (which i guess means there won't necessarily be an elko on saturday night either w/ all the gambling in town), but everybody had a chance to shine. though i mention todd, grubb, john, and tim a bunch, andy was holding it down as usual, blowing your mind with his agile picking on the numerous dance numbers they played.

good show, not great, but definitely not poor. the band brought it, and they kept it upbeat - the crowd was into it, i just think if everybody had been a little more familiar with the tunes the guys on stage may have been able to take it that much further. who knows?

incidentally, i met gayle, and she is just great. she said that the rre new years posters weren't necessarily going to be made; the band is still working on finding a guy to do the posters - that particular one with the wavy train on the front was only a sample of some artist's work, i guess.

boston tonight, then hartford tomorrow! new years is coming up as well. with only four more shows this year, i'd suggest you don't hold back. the band certainly isn't.

thanks very much for reading my first review ever - hopefully i was able to balance my own opinion with enough factual description of the band's playing. anyway, i'll give it a couple more stabs over the next couple of days.

baker

Wow! Nice review!!

((((oatmeal stout!))))

As a former Troy resident, I spent many hours drinking at the Troy Pub! The oatmeal stout was always my favorite!

<<<<thanks very much for reading my first review ever - hopefully i was able to balance my own opinion with enough factual description of the band's playing. anyway, i'll give it a couple more stabs over the next couple of days.

Nice review Baker, very nice first post too. Welcome, but watch out this place can be a bit scary. *so which one were you?)

I was there skippin around too. Boy was that ever FUN FUN FUN. Awesome. Railroad Earth just blows me away. period. Even their not-so-over-the-top shows are def over the top!

There's a RRE thread from last night's show in the Other Stuff folder btw, you should check it out & maybe add some Baker.

Peace & happy feet.

nice review baker!

new years eve?

thanks for the kind words! i was equipped with a dead tie dye and was a little ways back between todd & tim, and boogying hard.

greg, yes i will be attending both new years nights. i'm glad i get my fix this weekend as well, or i don't know what i'd do. i felt like a kid at christmas last night. by the way, i dug the photo you posted from the wilkes barre (?) show with tim & the buddha. they were nicely positioned underneath that halo of light i thought.

going up to boston now for dinner w/ my girl and the show. classes ended today as well... i'm going to have to make a conscious effort to enjoy this evening as much as i can. thanks again and peace everybody!

You're cute baker, I like your spirit!