The Dismemberment Plan - Deleted Scenes -- 9:30 Club - Oct 19 2013

Deleted Scenes - It is great seeing long-time DC favorites on the big stage at the 9:30 Club with a sold-out crowd that arrived on time to catch the action. And in usual fashion, the band starts out with tricky hard to define music that is so immediate, you really don't care to spend the time to figure it out. There are guitars cooking atop the rhythm section along with some strong electronic components working through one of the guitars.  The band shifts around some with one or two guitars, keyboards at times, and the lead vocalist puts down his guitar to play some sort of effects box, and quite well I might add. If you like Animal Collective and that sort of sound, you would do well to dig into Deleted Scenes, if you haven't already. They have a lot of that sort of creativity and take it in their own direction, which to me is more of a brighter path. There were moments in the set where I thought the keyboards were a bit too dominant, but they soon righted that with a blazing guitars song. They packed their 38-minute set with lots of variety that all added up to still one of the finer bands in the city that is certainly able to take it up to the next level, like say perhaps...

The Dismemberment Plan - The reunion continues as this successful band is still tearing it up for the first of two nights in town before taking on an intense little tour focusing on east coast, the UK, and the west coast. If Deleted Scenes mix it up, then the Dismemberment Plan completely throws out the rule book, while still creating highly accessible music. The first song reminds me of bland 1970s and 1980s intellectual pop music made brighter (and better) with a more modern electronic sound. Thankfully they did not stop there as the second cut went hardcore electronic dance style, but with a more refined song oriented approach. Basically, things continued like this throughout the set with lots of throbbing electronics powerfully enhancing these crafty pop songs. The vocals are clear and strong throughout and keep the hooks digging in. I think most of the crowd is like me in appreciation of the heavy sounds the band is able to employ that other pop-rock outfits may struggle with. This band has nailed a pretty interesting sound and continues to display it well.

Photo repost of the Night: