Reivers reunion

Anyone remember the Reivers, AKA Zeitgeist?

[trouserpress.com]

They're reuniting for a pair of shows here in Austin in February. I suppose they're probably just a blip on the indie rock radar for most, but here this is a damn big deal. I'm really excited.

all original members together?
"Pop Beloved" is one of my all time favorites.
I got to meet John Croslin after a show and he was one of the nicest people I ever met.

Yep, all original members.

Croslin is, to my mind, the most underrated songwriter of the past couple of decades. And he's always been a nice guy the times I've met him as well. He even recruited me to sing backup on a song by the Wannabes, who I was visiting in the studio at the time.

Kim is as nice as can be as well.

This should be a great pair of shows.

Yep, I loved that Zeitgeist album and thought the first few Reivers albums were pretty good. I also remember them featuring prominently in the Austin episode of "IRS' The Cutting Edge" back in the 80s sometime (along with Glass Eye, Joe King Carrasco, and Daniel Johnston obviously, back when he was still skinny). That should be a fun show.

Michael,

Any idea if they plan to record these shows for a possible live release?

Not that I've heard. They're being deluged with questions about the reunion being permanent, etc. Croslin says they're just concentrating on playing these shows and not thinking about anything else. I wouldn't expect any recorded evidence beyond possible bootlegs.

i keep forgetting to give their album on cd to my austin born kids - still need to acquire a receiver.

One of my favorite bands of the late '80's . . . I'm flying in from L.A. for it and even made t-shirts to honor the event!!

[www.cafepress.com]

I saw Sunday's show - it was a lot of fun. They're not as tight as they used to be, but considering they haven't played in 16 years, I think that's forgivable. They concentrated mainly on the first two records, but played gems from throughout their all-too-brief career. Very satisfying.

The band had a great time and there was a lot of love (not to mention grey hair and middle age spread) in the room.

And Kim Longacre is still a major babe. rrrrRRRRROOOWwwlll.

Bumping this old thread after listening to the Zeitgeist album this morning for the first time in easily a decade. I still enjoyed the music a lot and liked Croslin's vocals as much as ever, but I found myself put off by the female vox -- so much so that it occurred to me that if I were to hear one of the songs Kim sings for the first time today, it would make my skin crawl. I don't have the Reivers albums anymore, so I can't remember if she toned that down on later releases, but I really disliked her singing on that first one.

Am I alone in this? And did anything further ever come from this reunion, Michael?

I'd argue the problem with her vocals on that first record is that the album isn't produced very well, which I think hurts both her and Croslin. But she is a classically trained singer - maybe after all these years you find her style no longer meshing with Croslin's unfussy vox. I dunno. I still dig her voice on those albums.

The Reivers have since played another gig, in a much bigger venue but to a much smaller audience. It was kind of sloppy, but spirited and the band looked like they were having a blast. They debuted a new song too.

Technically, the Reivers are an occasional thing and the members' project is Right or Happy, which consists of the original Reivers plus a keyboard player. (Just to confuse things further, said keyboardist performed with the Reivers at the gig I mention above.) I haven't seen RoH yet, but my understanding is that Reivers songs still make up a good deal of the set.

But I'll have my chance during the North Vs. South Festival here in Austin next weekend.

Yeah, I guess in classical training they probably teach you to really project your voice and wring every drop of emotion out of it. Works well for opera, I suppose, but it ain't necessarily what I'm looking for in my rock songs.

Hmmm....was Bono classically trained as well? (Just kidding.)

Michael, make sure you see Sissy Spaceship, just 'cos of their name.

I still have an old VHS tape of the episode of "120 Minutes" where Dave Kendall announced that Zeitgeist had made the name change. Woo hoo.