There’s a movement happening in the world of live music. A stripped down, less is more, giant wall of sound approach to rock n roll is making a comeback, and this time it’s ready for the masses. I was in the photo pit at The Regency Ballroom last week and two girls walked out on stage and blew my mind. I’m talking face melting put your seat-belt on style rock n roll that fell somewhere between MC5 at their peak and Dreamboat Annie era Heart. They call themselves Deap Vally and they are brilliant. Maybe I should have read their disclaimer to prepare myself a bit more:
“We are valley girls. We sing the blues. We play rock’n’roll. We sweat. We move. We groove. We are Deap Vally. xx”
That’s exactly what the room full of hipster rock n rollers would experience for the next 30 minutes. While the crowd looked sort of like a Mumford and Sons convention attending the premiere of a new Clash documentary, the vibe in the room was we are all here to see what’s likely to be the next big thing.
Deap Vally consists of Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums and vocals). Interestingly enough, Edwards met Troy at a crochet class years ago in Los Angeles which may be the first time rock n roll was born from two musicians love for yarn. SInce then, the duo has been making quite a name for themselves since the release of their debut album Sistrionix late last year.
Critics have described the duo as “a scuzzy White Stripes-meets Led Zeppelin rock and roll duo”. I guess this primes up yet another band for Jack White to egotistically lash out at and I think that Deap Vally would be a killer opener for recent White assailants The Black Keys. Maybe they could call the tour something like, “Hit the Road Jack” or maybe “Cream, The YardBirds, and MC5 called; They Were the Ones Who Invented Garage Rock in the First Place Tour Jack”. I realize I’m getting carried away, I just think it’s silly that Mr. White is taking jabs at any band that can be influenced by their peers and then add their own twist. (Simmer down Jack)
Back to Deap Vally, I really loved this show and picked up the record immediately after. While I do recommend the live show over the recording, only because it is so tough to capture this type of energy on an MP3, it’s fantastic. Check out the opening three songs on the record, “End of the Word”, “Baby I Call Hell”, and “Walk of Shame”. Probably one of the best opening trios to an album since “Highway to Hell” debuted. It’s high energy, well written, and brilliantly performed. If this record doesn’t get your motor running then you had better check for a pulse.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that it’s available on vinyl? Now that I would recommend on par with the live show. Do yourself a favor folks, get on board with Deap Vally now before you give the chance for a hipster to say “I told you so.”
