Ben Kweller + Delta Spirit @ The Hifi Bar, Melbourne (06/10/2010)

I've been wanting to catch Delta Spirit again since seeing them with Cold War Kids a couple of years back. Sure enough they came back, but they were doing the "support" thing again (damn it Australia, like them more!). Anyway, turns out Ben Kweller's pretty fun himself, so all in all a good night.

Here's my review from FasterLouder:

The last time Delta Spirit were in Aus, they were playing Splendour as well as supporting Cold War Kids on a national tour. Similarly this time around, the band tagged alongside their Californian buddy Ben Kweller instead of playing their own shows. They may not have a massive fan base here, but with a busting live presence like theirs, they deserve one.

Walking on stage as deadpan and dully as they could pull off, Delta Spirit seemingly put on a ruse to lull the crowd into confusion with a lacklustre verse and chorus of People Turn Around. Any worry was quickly punched in the face as the cropped version dropped into the heavy intro of Bushwick Blues, with the band belting about and vocalist Matt Vasquez squawking his mighty voice.


Bushwick Blues

What followed from there was a straight up rock show – no fancy gimmicks, just five musicians putting everything they had into their instruments. The set consisted mostly of material from the band’s second release, and from that it was predominantly the more raucous tunes. Percussion plays a big part in Delta Spirit’s shows too, and this gig was no exception with the addition of a second bass drum and various others during Children and the clank of a bin lid on, appropriately, Trashcan.

Their set was short but so devilishly sweet; enough to leave a good impression on new ears and satisfy fans (at least in quality if not quantity). Given that the Hi-fi made punters wait a good 90 minutes post door times, the short set seemed odd, though at least there was little wait for Ben Kweller once they were done.

“There’s no way I’m cancelling a show because of me.” Kweller was sick and he made it clear from the outset this wasn’t going to be his finest hour – but given the love-in he has with Australia there was no way he was going to let a bug stand in the way of entertainment. He knew what he had to do and his first rule of business was just that: teach the crowd the opening track I Don’t Know Why.

With the crowd happy to oblige and his band members’ mics turned right up, Kweller was set to go and although his ailment was obvious a lot of the time, he still had the engaging stakes working in his favour (all the while hoping he was a least not as bad as an “off Dylan show”).

Kweller has the kind of attitude you can’t help but like. He’s extremely laid back and can win over his crowd easily with a bunch of quips and his dorky expressions. He exudes a kind of positiveness that wasn’t at all deterred by the fact he was a little off his game; a kind of positiveness that he pulls off so well that it’s difficult to notice the menace when he sings stuff like, “I need a machinegun to blow you the fuck away from me.”

The night’s set list was a healthy mix of tracks from across Kweller’s catalogue, with new material nowhere to come by (as the man’s admitted he’d hate to be bored of it before releasing it). Teasing the audience with a reworked Sundress was a nice touch, the song staying soft instead of hitting fast and loud and provoking affectionate jeers.

A cover of Roger Miller’s You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd was a fun addition, too, with Kweller adding his own little rant, “You can’t bring a guitar on a Qantas aeroplane” to the tune. He must have had planes on the mind, as later he announced, “I may not have a platinum record, but I’m platinum on American Airlines.”

On My Way was the biggest sing along of the evening, with the crowd basically taking over the choruses (much to Kweller’s relief), before he took another opportunity to rest his vocal cords during a very lengthy blues jam within Red Eye.


Fight

In the end, the cheer during the opening piano of Penny On The Train Track was telling of how much the crowd were waiting for Kweller’s signature track, and Kweller was all smiles as he held his voice together nicely to finish the night – complete with an interweaving of Brown Eyed Girl thrown in the middle of the song.

And like the germs he probably spat over the front rows, his smile was just as contagious; leaving the Hi-fi in high spirits indeed. With a new album due in the near future and an apparent obsession with our shores, expect to see a healthy Kweller returning soon enough.