Deap Vally (Live Review)

The Leadmill, Sheffield - Tuesday 29 October 2013

The Californian rock duo began their UK tour this week, their first since the release of debut album Sistrionix earlier this year. The Leadmill was the place to be, a freezing Tuesday night was the setting for some heavy blues riffs to cross the threshold of your earholes.

Joining them on the tour is SKATERS, a punky rock outfit from New York. They were great to watch and their music wasn’t bad either. They offered an energetic performance and great fashion sense but there was barely even a murmur when they asked ‘Are you ready for Deap Vally?’ The sarcastic reply came ‘I can tell you’re all pretty excited.’ Not even the Ramones-esque I Wanna Dance (But I Don’t Know How) got many heads nodding and the time was probably best spent written off as a practice session.

However, Deap had their name chanted several times before they came on and opened with the earth-shattering Raw Material. Their setlist was a strong one – they played every song on the album, as well as Ain’t Fair from the Get Deap! EP and a song which I didn’t recognise (and from the general reaction, neither did many people).

Lindsey Troy screamed her way through the set in her unique style, balancing her technical performance with connecting with the crowd. Solos just inches away from the crowd were plentiful and she stopped only to crowd surf, which was brave considering the average audience demographic was early 20s male. Julie Edwards’ drum beats, backing vocals and trademark hair swishing was non-stop, keeping the energy level high.

They closed with a cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You which seemed apt. As a live act, they aren’t someone you can go insane to, but spellbound is a word that could describe the majority of the audience. Written by James Colledge with additional photography by Elizabeth Thompson.

7/10

Deap Vally will play -

Nov 02 Trinity Centre Bristol, United Kingdom

Nov 04 Rock City Basement Nottingham, United Kingdom

Nov 05 Club Academy Manchester, United Kingdom

Nov 07 Academy 2 Birmingham, United Kingdom

Nov 08 The Wardrobe Leeds, United Kingdom

Nov 10 Think Tank Newcastle, United Kingdom

Nov 11 Liquid Room Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Nov 12 Oran Mor Glasgow, United Kingdom

Nov 14 Electric Ballroom London, United Kingdom

Tickets are available at deapvally.com/gigs/