Free Energy - Deap Vally -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - May 3 3013

Deap Vally - This fairly new duo from LA makes its way to DC for the first time and the moderate crowd is pretty pumped to see them. Both sing while playing drums and guitar. So while their raw sound may aspire to something like the White Stripes, I am hearing more Troggs. Most people may regard that as an insult, but I enjoy the more primitive approach in this case. Yes, it can be a little thin at times but hey have a nice crazed intensity as they take their bluesy guitar moves into loose and raw terrains. The style is a bit over the substance at this point, but the energy and direction are good and since they are still in their infancy, good things can easily get better. The last cut hinted at how good they can be as they ripped through their longest twisted blues jammer. The crowd appeared to enjoy these 26 minutes as much as I did.

Free Energy - This five piece band has a honest to god vocalist in front of a couple of guitars, bass, and drums and the classic look bangs out the classic modern style of rock that works in a bar, club, or arena. They clearly sound as big or bigger than any environment and have loads of energy to push the pace, while digging in deep into the songs. There was nothing terribly original or dazzling about it all, but it was so likable, that they should impress all but the most jaded (and I'm not there... yet). Perhaps the one interesting thing to me was that I have never seen this half full club have virtually everyone pushed forward to the stage. There were only 2-3 people hanging about the bar with everyone else packed in up front and having a great time. It is always refreshing to me to see people excited about fun rock music and even without Boris tonight, it happened again.

Quote of the Night: Deep Vally (after coming up from Psyche Fest in the capital of the great republic of Texas) ... "It's kind of a thrill to be in the Nation's Capitol".