They Say You Want A Revolution

By Neil Schloesser
Contributing Writer

Revolution 5 is a Beatles cover band from St. Cloud and they played two shows over the warm weekend in December. Revolution 5 is a cover band that borders on fantastic. They reach this level because they play songs across the entire catalogue of the Beatles and because they cover every part of each song, not just the lead vocals and guitar tracks. They were able to include the orchestra parts by using keyboards and the guitarists and bassist harmonized on the backup vocals. They fearlessly played everything from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to “Twist and Shout” to “Blue Jay Way.”

Any band can play the early Beatles. It is more or less straight up rock and roll. It’s the stuff that came later in the Beatles’ career that is difficult to play and requires talent and ingenuity to figure out how to play live since many of their songs include orchestral instruments.

There are five members, one more than the Beatles and with the exception of the lead singer, they all pull double or triple duty with their instruments and vocals although the lead singer does rock a mean tambourine. There are seven guitars and two electronic keyboards as well as the drum kit and the drummer’s special percussion instruments. Often times the band members would play a few notes on the keyboard and then go back to the guitar and then go back to the keyboard to get the right sound, and while playing two instruments they either sang backup or lead vocals. That’s an impressive amount of juggling. And since they all sang vocals, this means Ringo songs were sung as well! 

Do not confuse this band with the typical cover band. These men are a few steps above that crowd and it just isn’t because they have a professionally designed website and logo, although that does help. These men have real musical chops. That isn’t to say every song was golden.  Three songs were near misses. The most notable being the lead vocals on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Paul McCartney yells that song and the lead singer struggled to imitate Sir Paul’s vocal style on that track. 

Contrary to accepted bar protocol, Revolution 5 started on time so I arrived when a typical bar band would have started. The crowd was sparse but attentive. Every song got a roaring applause and the occasional romantic song always got a couple or two out to the floor for a slow dance. There was some band chatter between songs but it was short and it usually involved a Beatles’ related fact. The band kept the music up front and they kept the songs coming, often going right into the next song without any talk. It was almost “punk” in how fast they transitioned to the next song.

They played three sets, although I only stayed for two. The sets I saw were about an hour in length. They took a half hour break between the sets and mingled with the crowd. To their credit, Revolution 5 didn’t repeat a song during the first two sets. This again sets them apart from the common cover band in that they always played a “new” song. They also played a long time and they played well.  Revolution 5 likely put on a two and a half to three hour show for seven dollars.  I’ve seen “professionals” play for ninety minutes and charge ten times that sum. Their stamina alone was worth the money spent. 

Revolution 5 was energetic and lively but the lead singer gave the band most of their warmth.  They all moved around but the other band members appeared to be concentrating on their work, which is admirable. I have no complaints against that because unlike Simon and Garfunkel who always appeared cold and distant while on stage, these men were tight and it just so happens that the lead singer had the greatest opportunity to express a smile because he wasn’t playing two instruments at once and trying to sing back up melodies. 

Revolution 5 gave a great performance. Every song required a new demonstration of skill and musicianship. These men killed and they are doing a public service of sorts by playing Beatles’ songs live and doing it exceptionally well. This isn’t a cover band, this is Revolution 5. Be sure to check out the band online at http://tiny.cc/rev5.

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