I'll proudly admit that the first loves of my musical life were the Hanson brothers. In sixth grade, while the other girls in my class were learning the choreography from the Spice Girls videos, I was trying to figure out how to play the drum part for "Where's the Love?" I loved Hanson then and I love them now and I will always love them (and I do mean that in the Whitney Houston sense of the words). And because of them, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for blonde siblings who harmonize perfectly and sing poppy variations of blue-eyed soul songs.
So, clearly, I was destined to fall head over heels for Delta Rae.
A six piece folk-rock band featuring three very blonde, very talented siblings and their childhood friends who sing earnest songs with intricate four part harmonies? Yeah. I'm all about that.
Like a lot of people, I found out about Delta Rae when their video for "Bottom of the River" went viral and it seemed like everyone I knew was posting it on their Facebook pages. I immediately liked the song but I wasn't sold on the band until a few months later, when I sat down and spent some time with their debut record Carry the Fire. What I discovered was a fantastic mix of rock, blues, folk, country and elements of gospel. I found myself singing along to songs after only one or two listens. It's been on constant rotation in my car ever since.
When I heard that Delta Rae was playing the TLA (along with ZZ Ward, another name that's been registering a lot on my radar lately) I knew that I had to check them out.
The first thing we noticed about this show: it was probably the most diverse audience I've ever seen. There were lots of high schoolers, lots of hipsters, families, and an entire group of retirement-aged people. It seemed like quite a few people who were my age had brought their parents with them. Quite a few parents who were close to my age had brought their young children. I was kind of uneasy in the crowd for a while, not able to predict what kind of experience I was about to have.
As soon as Martin Harley, the opener, started in with his sick nasty blues-style lap guitar, all of my anxiety went away. He was impressive. And I really enjoyed his cover of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus" in particular.
ZZ Ward (short for Zsuszsanna- how freaking cool is that?) is a 24 year-old blues singer with a bit of a hip hop flair that sets her apart from the rest of the army of Adele clones. While I enjoy her voice and her songs, I haven't been liking her album as much as I want to because I think it's too overproduced. Seeing her perform the songs live, however, stripped away that studio vibe and made me enjoy them a lot more.
But the meat of the evening, far and away, was Delta Rae. The moment that their set started, with the a capella "ohs" of their song "Morning Comes," I felt like I was waking up and seeing the sun for the first time in a long time. Immediate chills. I firmly believe that there is just something different (something magic, really) that happens when people who are blood-related sing together. Perhaps its in the frequency of their voices or perhaps it's that they are able to anticipate each others motions and responses because they share the same DNA. I don't know what causes it. I just know that when the Avett Brothers sing together, it sounds better than people who are not Avett brothers. Delta Rae exemplifies this as well.
It's not often that you find a band with four lead vocalists who not only all pull their own weight but don't seem to get bogged down by the trappings of ego. Onstage, Delta Rae functions like a well-oiled machine. Each member performs his or her designated task and then steps aside to allow one of the other members their moment to shine. They perform like a band that has been doing this forever instead of one that is just getting started.
If I had to describe them in one word, it would be "charming."
Surprisingly, they played "Bottom of the River" (which is undeniably their best-known song) right in the middle of their set. That takes some balls. Another thing that takes some balls? Following that song with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." You must know how good you are if you're going to follow up your biggest hit with the biggest hit of a legendary rock band that everyone has been comparing you with.
That knocked me flat on my ass, but Delta Rae wasn't done yet. They closed their set with a version of "Dancing in the Graveyards" that was positively life-affirming. And then, just in case there was anyone in the audience who wasn't convinced that Delta Rae was their new favorite band, they walked right out into the audience for their encore. They did an acoustic version in the round of their song "Hey, hey, hey," and gave high fives to everyone they could reach.
The amount of love in that moment was overwhelming. That's what music is really about, folks.
After the show, we stuck around and the band came out for a Meet and Greet. We got a picture with Brittany and Liz and had the opportunity to chat with the band for a bit. For the record, not only are they talented but they are just about the nicest people you will ever meet.
I came home and read that Delta Rae received their first major break when they won a contest in 2010 and got to open up a show for Hanson on their "Shout it Out" tour.
It all makes sense.
