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Rev Theory lights up the Recher
REV THEORY (live pix)
BURN HALO
TYLER READ
Recher Theatre
Towson, Maryland
March 3, 2009
By GREG MAKI
One of the fun parts about being involved with a Web site live Live-Metal.net has been to watch new bands grow and develop their sound and fan bases. Three years ago, at one of the first shows I officially covered, Rev Theory (then called “Revelation Theory”) opened for Hinder at the Recher Theatre on the Girls Gone Wild tour. They were supporting Truth Is Currency, their independently-released debut album, and just starting to make their name known nationwide. (I later learned the band had earlier played their first show as a professional touring act in nearby Baltimore to a audience of five.) Several tours, including runs in both the United States and Europe with Evanescence, a second album, some heavy promotion on WWE programming and a hit single later, Rev Theory was back at the Recher—this time as the headliner.
Tyler Read, which despite the name is not a solo act but a Southern rock band from Louisiana, opened the show. They didn’t get much from the small crowd, but I dug their riff-driven tunes. Some songs featured three guitarists—nothing wrong with that.
Next up was Burn Halo, a new band that I think could be bound for big things in the very near future. Frontman James Hart, formerly of Eighteen Visions, has left hardcore behind to focus on a pure hard rock sound. He brought the stage presence of a seasoned veteran as he led his band through a 30-minute set of songs from their self-titled debut album.
Songs like “Dead End Roads & Lost Highways,” “Our House” (which Hart dedicated to the Baltimore Ravens fans in attendance) and the single “Dirty Little Girl” came across as much more intense live than on record with their edgy, Guns N’ Roses-like riffs. The band also showed off a softer side without getting sappy on “Here with Me,” a massive hit single just waiting to happen.
Before the show, Hart told me it was their first time playing with new drummer Timmy Russell—they hadn’t even had a rehearsal. If you knew the songs, you would have noticed a hiccup here and there, but under the circumstances, it was an impressive performance.
Rev Theory, the band everyone was there to see, brought the same energy to their 60-minute headlining set that they do as an opening act. The set list leaned heavily on their sophomore album, Light It Up—a wise move, as the songs are more upbeat and up-tempo, and generally better written than most of the material on album No. 1.
Highlights included “Kill the Headlights,” the title track from the new album, “Favorite Disease” (which segued into and out of Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole”) and the ballad “Broken Bones” (which had an addendum of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven”). Bassist Matt McCloskey, who provided strong backing vocals throughout the night, joined frontman Rich Luzzi for a duet on a cover of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike,” a song I find I can tolerate and even enjoy again after not hearing it for so long. Lead guitarist Rikki Lixx, who joined the band toward the end of the making of Light It Up, stepped into the spotlight for a shredding solo before the expected set closer, the ubiquitous “Hell Yeah.”
Immediately after the show, the five members of Rev Theory made their way to the merch table to sign autographs, pose for pictures and hang out with their fans—showing they are as appreciative of them now as they were when they could count them on their hands.
REV THEORY SET LIST: Wanted Man, Kill the Headlights, Light It Up, Favorite Disease/Head Like a Hole, Broken Bones/Tears in Heaven, Falling Down, Far from Over, Hunger Strike, Slowburn, Undone, Rikki Lixx guitar solo, Hell Yeah
©2009 Live-Metal.Net
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