From: GREG FRANKLIN
To: Local Scenesters
Re: Tonight's Delta Spirit/Dawes/Other Lives show at the Jackpot in Lawrence
As a recent transplant from Kansas City to Seattle, I'm still trying to adjust to some of the strange and subtle differences between the years upon years of shows I've attended in the KC/Lawrence area and what the Emerald City has to offer.
I have had a raging show boner about seeing San Diego's Delta Spirit since I saw them opening up for Dr. Dog in late September at the same venue they played this past Friday night, the Tractor Tavern in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. That first time, I had heard their name before, but had come no expectations and ended up totally floored by a (to me) brand-new band, which is a rarity these days. Going into the second show, I wondered whether they could keep up that jaw-dropping "holy shit, where did these guys come from?" vibe now that I had seen them once and knew what to expect? I was determined to find out.
In Kansas City terms, the Tractor Tavern is an awesome mish-mash of Davey's, the Record Bar, and a little chunk of Harry's Country Club. It's full of old tractor wheels, rusty plows, and cowboy boots hanging from the ceiling, and for the most part, they tend to stick with booking folk and alt-country/No Depression-y bands. Thankfully, they also let some less traditional bands slip through the cracks, and Friday's lineup was full of bands with the same spirit, but about as far from any sort of stereotypical folk as possible.
After grabbing a beer from one of the friendliest bartenders ever (they weren't horribly jammed with patrons yet, so he gave my friend and me samples of various tap beers to help us find our best choice for the evening), we entered the main room and set up camp not far from the stage right as the first band, Dawes, came on stage. Notable difference in KC and Seattle shows? Shows seemingly always start on time here (which seems to be a little earlier than KC shows start). It's as frustrating as it is great, especially on a work night.
As Dawes began laying into their soothing, soulful set, I noticed the "no fly zone" in full effect. As is the case with Lawrence/KC shows, there is at least a 10'x10' space in front of the stage during opening bands that NO ONE is allowed to enter, lest ye be torn apart by wolves or look TOO excited to see the non-headlining band. Dawes (a totally different but membership-wise-similar band from their previous incarnation, Simon Dawes) put on a solid set of rolling, rambling rock that owed quite a few musical debts to The Band, but singer Taylor Goldsmith's reflective lyrics and tasteful shredding (seriously, who solos like that anymore?) gave their set a subtle strength, which started to help break up the aforementioned "no fly zone".
Thankfully, the "no fly zone" was a distant memory during Others Lives' set. I looked at the band, gave them the once over and said, They've got to be from LA. I felt my heart start to pitter-patter when they said they were from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Fellow Midwesterners! Rejoice! It's especially nice when said Oklahomans don't sound anything like what you would expect a band from Oklahoma to sound like (which to me would be Flaming Lips-y or gritty alt-country).
The band writes the kind of grandiose, cerebral rock that wouldn't be out of line on a bill with Bends-era Radiohead and Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, but with more tempo changes and more fine-tuned attention to detail, dropping some waltz tempos and baroque elements in the mix. After Dawes' soul-searching rock and before Delta Spirit's raucous shout-alongs, Other Lives' melancholy atmospherics were a powerful complement to the lineup.
By the time Delta Spirit came on stage, the Tractor was packed. Having never seen much hype about Delta Spirit on blogs and having played their records for people to a somewhat underwhelming response, my best guess toward explaining the packed house was a mixture of it being Friday night in a crowded entertainment district, plus repeat customers who had seen the band previously, plus people who have had to listen to people like me prattle on about how ridiculously powerful Delta Spirit's live shows are.
Some bands show up and just have an air of snide "you owe us devotion" to them, and Delta Spirit are about as far removed from that as possible. Immediately upon walking to the stage, singer Matt Vasquez made a point to let the crowd know that this was their first headlining tour, and they were taken aback and genuinely appreciative of the size of the crowd. Mutual Appreciation Society is in session.
Through the next hour, the band clapped, stomped, shouted and screamed their way through about as passionate a set as I've seen in ages. Vasquez is a powerful frontman, strong and soulful but never prissy, and when he goes from a normal, subdued singing voice and lets go of a wide-eyed roar ... well, it's inspiring and terrifying and obvious that you're looking at a guy who has dealt with his share of demons.
It's refreshing to see a band that doesn't have a hold-back filter, whose members look at each other mid-set and smile and leave everything they have to leave up on the stage, and pack it up and do it all again the next night. Halfway through, Vasquez stepped off stage for a swig of a drink (one of the weird Seattle music laws is that no alcohol's allowed on stage. Seriously? Are we fucking children?), and gave the crowd one of the few moments to catch their breath and let the sting of all of that clapping subside. The crowd was full of fresh, young faces as well as a good contingent of older folks, all of whom knew at least some of the songs, and who were unafraid to clap and shake and testify to the power of the Delta Spirit.
After Delta Spirit wrapped up and left the crowd exhausted and satiated, we all walked out onto Ballard Ave. The ubiquitous hot dog cart on the street was bustling. One thing that Seattle has going for it, though -- the hot dog carts ALWAYS offer Sriracha and cream cheese on their dogs. Kansas City, do yourself a favor, and please demand this kind of treatment. Heavenly.
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