Fathers of the Revolution and Midwest Revival / March 23, 2013 / Donkey Coffee

By: Nadia Kurtz, News Editor

Photo By: Reverbnation.com

Donkey presented the typical coffee house atmosphere Saturday evening. The Backroom was packed with coffee addicts, intellectuals, music lovers and the regulars who just probably didn’t have anything else to do on a Saturday night.

Athens quartet Fathers of the Revolution opened up the show with a lively set. Singer Daniel Spencer was spot on with his characteristic, old-timey vocals. I am used to seeing the band in The Front Room as their original acoustic trio consisting of just guitars and vocals. For this show, however, the band performed with their new drummer and plugged in the guitars. 

This made for a much louder, livelier and ever more professional-sounding set for Fathers. Unfortunately, none of the audience got up to dance, most likely due to either the cramped room or the fact that High Fest just wore people out today. I guess I could have made the first move, but, let’s be honest, I don’t have either the guts or the skill.

But even with the lack of movement, the audience seemed thoroughly pleased with Fathers of the Revolution. By the end of their set, some gutsy fellows in the front yelled out, “One more song!” and boy, did Fathers deliver. The last song made an impression that would turn any mediocre night into one that made the trek to Donkey in the cold worth it.

After Fathers of the Revolution, a trio called Midwest Revival took the stage. The band must have sensed the audience’s laziness, because the set was pretty much all mellow. I mean, I guess it would be hard to liven things up when you are just two acoustic guitarists and a soft-voiced singer.

Not to say that Midwest Revival was bad per se, but the mellow music really brought any energy that may have been there to non-existent. I guess if you are going to do an easy acoustic set, a coffee shop is the place to do it.

The band interspersed a set of original pieces with covers that were all very pleasant to listen to. Even though the band describes itself as folk, there is an obvious different between Midwest and Fathers. 

By the end of the set, I was sleeping, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. The warm room and dim lighting probably played a part in that as well. Each band brought something to Donkey last night, and the quirky coffee shop was the perfect place to do it.