Photos and Review by Rebecca Clark
There was a little bit of everything happening at Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse on September 24. Ben Quad kicked off the night with an unexpected dose of emo, William Clark Green brought the country-rock, and Treaty Oak Revival eventually turned the whole place into a rowdy country-rock party.
Opening the show was Ben Quad, and they were a bit of a surprise in the best possible way. Their emo-influenced sound was a pretty big departure from what would come later with Treaty Oak Revival, but they had no trouble holding their own on the stage. They brought plenty of energy and had a really fun vibe that made it easy to see them fitting right into something like Warped Tour.
The little details made their set even more fun. Their guitarist was sporting a sparkly blue guitar while the singer played a sparkly gold one. Before their final song, the lead singer asked the crowd what you do when someone falls down. His answer was simple: you pick them back up.
Treaty Oak Revival’s Sam Canty took that message a step further when he unexpectedly came out to sing with Ben Quad. Canty joined them for “Did You Decide to Skip Arts and Crafts,” a song he also appears on in the recorded version. Seeing a headliner come out and perform with one of the opening bands was a pretty cool moment and a great way to show the camaraderie between the artists on the tour.
William Clark Green took the stage next, shifting the night into a much more country-leaning sound. His music has a strong storytelling quality, but there is enough rock mixed in to give it an edge that worked well with the Lakeview crowd. The band had a great chemistry on stage and brought plenty of energy to the set. They closed things out with part of a cover of “Let’s Get It On,” complete with their piano player joining in.
Then it was time for Treaty Oak Revival.
There is a difference between listening to Treaty Oak Revival on an album and seeing them live, and that difference was impossible to miss at Lakeview. The band still has that country-rock sound, but live, everything feels bigger, rougher and more intense. There is a punk-rock edge to the way they perform that takes them somewhere outside the traditional country box.
The production helped build that atmosphere, with animations playing across the screen behind the band to match the songs. But the real show was happening on stage. Every member of the band seemed determined to make sure the crowd felt like part of it, whether they were making faces at fans, stepping onto the risers, playing directly toward the audience or simply feeding off the energy coming back at them.
Canty is especially hard to look away from.
Early in the set, Canty took a moment to talk about his own journey and told the Syracuse crowd that he was coming up on four years sober. He made it clear that he wasn’t sharing his story to bring anyone down, but because there could be someone in the crowd who needed to hear it.
“I’m saying in New York, to the one motherfucker out there, who needs to hear it, who wants to hear it, and who wants to change in their life,” he told the crowd. “If this dumb ass can do it, your ass can do it, too, New York.”
It was an honest moment in the middle of a show that was otherwise full of chaos and energy. Canty followed it by telling the crowd not to wait too long to get help, before quickly switching gears and telling everyone, “Enough of the bullshit. Let’s get into the hardcore rock and roll shit.”
And that pretty much summed up the night.
Canty wasn’t afraid to let the crowd into the more personal side of his music either. Introducing “In Between,” he described it as being about “being with somebody who don’t give a flying fuck about you.” Later, he asked the audience how many people had just had a shitty week.
“Well we didn’t,” he told them, “because we got to play in front of all you beautiful motherfuckers out here tonight.”
He then introduced “Bad State of Mind,” explaining that when he has a bad day, he plays the song in his head and, as he put it, “all my problems just kind of fell the fuck away.”
Those moments showed the range of what Treaty Oak Revival brings to a live show. There is plenty of humor, plenty of rock and roll and plenty of rowdiness, but there is also a genuine connection between Canty and the people standing in front of him.
At one point, he joked that the fishnets he was wearing were “for the ladies,” but the interaction never stopped there. William Clark Green returned to the stage during “West Texas Degenerate,” and the appearance even included a dog wearing a GoPro, because apparently a Treaty Oak Revival show needs a canine camera operator too.
One of the most memorable moments came during “Boomtown.” The crowd got seriously rowdy, with beer and cups flying through the air, but before things got completely out of hand, the band reminded everyone to have fun while still being respectful and not throwing anything that could hurt someone on stage or in the crowd. The crowd listened. It was wild, but it stayed fun. By the end of the song, Canty was crowd surfing, taking the energy of the song directly into the audience.
The band also brought up Muscadine Bloodline before “Misery,” describing the song as being about being in a relationship where you keep wishing it would “just fucking die already.”
Near the end of the night, one small interaction summed up what makes Canty such an effective frontman. A fan standing near the front had a sign saying it was his first concert. At the end of the show, Canty handed him a guitar pick and told him he hoped he had a great time at his first show.
Those moments are easy to overlook in a huge amphitheater, but they are part of what makes Treaty Oak Revival’s live shows stand out.
The band doesn’t fit neatly into one genre, and that’s part of the appeal. There is country in the storytelling and the musical foundation, rock and roll in the attitude, and a definite punk influence in the way they perform. They aren’t quite country, aren’t quite rock, and aren’t quite punk. They pull pieces from all of it and turn it into something that feels completely their own.
Their music tells stories, but seeing those songs performed live adds another layer. Treaty Oak Revival has an incredible stage presence, and they don’t just sound good live. They make the audience feel like they are part of the show.
By the time the night was over, Lakeview Amphitheater had seen plenty of beer flying, a crowd surfer, a dog with a GoPro, a surprise appearance from the headliner during the opening set, and a whole lot of country-rock chaos.
That is probably exactly what a Treaty Oak Revival show is supposed to feel like.
Treaty Oak Revival Photo Gallery
William Clark Green Photo Gallery
Ben Quad Photo Gallery
