Delta Spirit @ Metro, Chicago, IL 6/19/10

We've been to a lot of shows in the past 16 months or so since the inception of this blog. Delta Spirit was one of our earliest reviews after Riley saw them at Double Door last Feb. and I saw them at Bowery Ballroom a week later. Their debut album Ode To Sunshine has been in heavy rotation for much of that time. It was truly a treat to see them perform a little over a year later in support of their latest release, History From Below.

The Romany Rye opened the evening with an impressive set that I'm certain had the lucky folks at Metro early enough to catch them saying, "I need to get those guy's album." I know I said it. Hometown favorite Ezra Furman and The Harpoons took the stage next for a high energy set that got the crowd ready for the main attraction.

It was about 10pm when Delta Spirit took the stage and opened with a little 'People Turn Around' teaser. Their performance was awesome. They mixed tracks from their new album with favorites from the old and while I admit I don't have the new one I was impressed with those tunes. Sophomore efforts can be tough but it appears that Delta Spirit has matched their debut LP in terms of consistent song quality.

Lead singer, Matt Vasquez led the energetic crowd through a solid showing of jams fast and slow. Despite the bands' constant touring and recent success you get a sense that these guys are truly appreciative of the fan support...and Chicago gave them a healthy dose. The band and the crowd fed off each other's energy and it made for a memorable show. One of the best concerts I've seen in awhile. Vasquez went so far as to meet fans in the Metro lobby as they exited the building. Great to see that after such a fun show. Now I gotta go get that new album...

Delta Spirit - "People C'mon"




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Lollapalooza 2009 Day 2: Saturday Pictures (Delta Spirit, Frederico Aubele, Santigold, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more...)

After rain on Friday it was a hot one Saturday at Lollapalooza in Grant Park. Braving the elements for the viewing pleasure of the rest of us was KZ and Co. w/ camera in hand.

Read her note and have a look at her pictures from Saturday's festivities BELOW.

From superblogger, KZ:

I can't tell if I'm miserably hungover or ridiculously sun burnt.... Probably both.
Lolla Day 2 was a HOT one. (literally one extreme to the other...crazy Chicago weather). Made it to Grant Park in time to catch Delta Spirit. They were great, probably one of my favorite performances of the day. They were humble and appreciative to be playing. Their lead singer (Matt Vasquez) actually said at one point, "Wow this is a lot of people. We are used to playing in front of 200 and this is, well, MORE." And they jammed!
(BTW....the old guy with the white beard who always introduces bands at Double Door introduced the band and stood next to us and rocked out)

Next, we headed over to Federico Aubele who I didn't know much about but he was cool. His music is a mix of electronica, reggae and Latin American music. So fun. We even did a little dancing with Ronnie Woo-Woo.

Next, we hit up Animal Collective DJ set. Basically the boys from Animal Collective spinning a few records from their own personal collection. Again, did a little dancing with the group.

By this point, it was time to get out of the sun. Everyone set up camp at the shady BMI stage where we would wait for Blind Pilot to begin. Mz, Tracy and I decided to be aggressive and venture back out. On our way to see Gomez, we hit up the tattoo parlor and got some wicked sparkly tats. (you can get one at the state farm tent near the lolla store) Gomez was ok. We were kind of far back but we found K. Flynn and group so we hung with them for awhile.
We met back up with the group and watched Blind Pilot. They were good. And everyone fell in love with them even more after I told them they are biking their way across the country to perform.

Santigold was next. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was my second favorite of the day. RHOTW perhaps. We danced. That's all I have to say about that.

TV on the Radio brought high energy and fierce soulful rock to the Bud stage. (ps that is my favorite stage bc its on the north side of grant park and the skyline makes for a ridicu backdrop) After their solid performance, the group kind of split up to check out a few bands.

Some went to see Diplo and others Ben Harper and others headed down south to catch Tool (which they reported was really cool). I've seen Ben Harper so I manned the camp spot in anticipation for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We moved in pretty close. We were far stage left (technically stage right) and has plenty of dance room. YYYs were unbelievable. I'm not a huge Beastie Boy fan but I can tell that those fans were not disappointed. Karen O showed up stage with a full neon Indian headpiece. They rocked for a solid hour and a half. K.O. was like an explosion all over the stage. That chick has mad high energy....and I LOVE HER! Overall a great second day.

Alright back to hydrating for today.

And the pictures...

Delta Spirit








Thax Douglas


Ronnie Woo-Woo


Frederico Aubele



Animal Collective DJ Set


Gomez


Blind Pilot



Santigold




TV On The Radio



Yeah Yeah Yeahs




and the crew behind these antics.


Once again, thanks for the contributions KZ & Co.

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MOKB Interviews Matthew Vasquez from Delta Spirit

Various contributors to this blog have had the chance to see Delta Spirit perform in the last couple months; Chicago for Valentine's Day and in New York the next week. They put on a great show and they play some damn good tunes. Go check 'em out next time you get a chance. Having seen the show in NY I felt privileged to have seen one of the three stage dives that lead singer Matthew Vasquez says that he's dropped on this tour. Read the interview Vasquez did for My Old Kentucky Blog. and go get their debut album Ode to Sunshine.

...come all you people turn around...

Delta Spirit @ Bowery Ballroom 2/21/09 "People Turn Around" Video

This took forever to upload and process, but it finally worked and it is worth sharing. This was arguably the highlight of the Delta Spirit show. They invited band members back out from The Other Lives and Dawes and did stirring version of their protest song-ish tune, "People Turn Around". It's a short clip, but you get the idea. Enjoy.

Delta Spirit @ Bowery Ballroom 2/21/09 (setlist & pictures)

I just got home from this show and I'm still pretty geeked over the whole thing. Big E and I rushed over from Williamsburg to get to the show thinking we were running late after a few beers with friends. About 10 minutes after we arrived opening act Dawes took the stage. I had nothing on these guys. They were solid. I would definitely check them again. I meant to pick up their CD, but by the time I made it back downstairs the swag table was closed up. They treated us to a good set and were followed by The Other Lives. These guys were also pretty good. They apparently have a song that has been included on the Gray's Anatomy soundtrack. I'm not sure what song it is, but I know they played it. That was when all the ladies were singing along all of a sudden. It should also be noted that Other Lives lead singer, Jesse Tabish, looks a lot like the lead singer from The Spin Doctors. Their music was a little darker; almost haunting than the Dawes set and the Delta Spirit that would follow, but they had a cello player which was different...and she was wearing antlers which is even better, so I'll have to give these guys another listen.
After all that I think everybody was ready for the main event. The guys did not disappoint. (Setlist, pictures, etc. below)

Delta Spirit dove right in with Strange Vine and People C'mon. Lead singer Matt Vasquez put on a great show, sung with heart, and even dove into the crowd at one point. You got the sense that they were sincerely grateful for the crowd's enthusiasm throughout the show. The band sprinkled in a few new tunes with numbers from Ode To Sunshine. The rough setlist was as follows:

Strange Vine
People C'mon
Streetwalker
House Built For Two
St. Francis
Parade
Children
Bushwick Blues
Trashcan
Ode To Sunshine
People Turn Around
-----------
Encore:
Bleeding Bells
Crippler King

The show was great. All three bands delivered strong performances with Delta Spirit carrying the day. I hope the pictures do the night justice.

Dawes

The Other Lives

Jesse Tabish of The Other Lives

Delta Spirit


E insisted this was the drummer from Dawes. I was confident it wasn't. She bet me $1000.

THIS is the drummer from Dawes. I never got my $1000 and E tried to barter sexual favors for the balance. I told her, cash is king, and that I was not interested in trade.

With Delta Spirit lead singer Matthew Vasquez. E told him he looked like a gremlin in this. He responded that he was in fact a gremlin. In our brief conversation he reiterated the sense of gratitude he had for the crowd and fans that had come out. Go check these guys out when they come to your town. You won't be disappointed.






Find some better pics and read the Minneapolis show review at Decider Twin Cities.

Delta Spirit V-Day Pics

Pictures from Saturday came out quite nice... Thank you Susan!