Delta Spirit knocked it out of the park on Saturday at the Bowery Ballroom, playing a very impassioned set to a sold out crowd. Stopping in NYC for a night on their wham-bam tour of the US before they head to Europe, they left it all on the stage. Here's the setlist (new songs are starred):
Strange Vine
People C'mon
Streetwalker (played very bass-heavy)
House Built For Two
The Best* (very Interpol-y, with the drummer from opener Dawes)
Bushwick Blues*
Parade
Salt In The Wound* (with the cellist from opener Invisible Children)
Vivian*
St. Francis*
Children
Piano Intro - Trashcan
People, Turn Around
Encore:
Bleeding Bell (a rocked up version)
Crippler King
My take:
They have the songs. Some rockers, some ballads, but all have raw emotion.
They can pull off a full-crowd singalong (their choruses seem custom built for that purpose), but can also quiet down everything to a solo vocal.
They have some very talented musicians, especially the keyboard player.
But:
They need to turn the volume up on the lead guitar and keys. The album has some tasty licks sprinkled around, but I heard none of them live.
They need to look the part. The piano player, bassist, and drummer all get it, but lead vox and guitar need to ditch the J.Crew.
They need to use their harmonies more. All 5 of them are mic'd up. But really only the lead singer and keys player are singing. I know they all can, and the should.
Great show though, you'll hopefully be hearing more from these guys in the future.
