Sunday, September 1, 2013

Delta Rae: 8/31/13

     

     Wow, I just realized that it is September! Absolutely insane. I'm still adjusting to the fact that it is 2013, and yet we are quickly closing in on the end of the year. As it is, my summer is almost at an end. I start training for my new job this coming Wednesday. But I am so lucky to have spent my last Saturday night of exemption seeing Delta Rae live at a free lake concert. Everything about the experience felt so much like summer: lawn chairs, popcorn, old friends, outdoor music, drunk middle-aged white people, and fireworks at the end of the show. My friend even made a surprise guest appearance! It was a near-perfect evening. 

     A one-man band called Low Volts opened. Though his stage presence wasn't necessarily the best, it's kind of rough to be a great musician performing in a suburban town at a free concert like you don't matter. In truth, he was quite good! His show had a very rockabilly-vibe to it. I do not think the older people around us were his target audience, and thus they didn't really like him, but hopefully he still enjoyed the experience. 

He tweeted this last night:



     DELTA RAE came to the stage around 8PM. To be honest, I only knew one of their songs (and not from the True Blood promo, which I guess is a thing?! Did not know this until last night. Good for them!) and yet I was beyond giddy when they stepped on stage. I hadn't been to a concert in a very long time... experiencing live music at the hands of a really talented and passionate band is incredible. I feel seeing music live is the closest I'll ever get to ~religious experiences. Though some of Delta Rae's songs wade a little too far into the country genre for me, I loved their set! You can really tell how much they love what they do. And their diversity and talent is crazy. The bassist played an electric upright base and a bass guitar. The keyboardist also took to the guitar and sings really well. In fact, four of the members are incredibly talented vocalists who build their music off wicked harmonies, and took the lead position in turns. My favorite of which was Elizabeth Hopkins, whose voice was raspy and broken, and whose passion was obvious, whether she was singing lead or banging on the giant "Delta Rae" drum or shaking a tambourine for added percussion. Also, I found out afterward, three of the members are siblings with a rather confusing last name (Hölljes?!). That's pretty cool.

     If you get a chance to see Delta Rae live, please do. They have so much love for the music they play. And personally, I don't think their recorded tracks do justice to the quality of their songs.

Delta Rae will performing "If I Loved You" on the Conan O'Brien Show this Thursday!


 
     As there was no danger of my camera being knocked out of my hands by a rightfully-enthusiastic mosher, I decided to bring my Nikon D60 to the show. None of these photos are edited because I don't think they necessarily need it, and I've noticed that when I do edit pictures, they look CRAZY OVERDONE on Mac systems. The contrast ratio on their monitors is very, very different haha.


...And enjoy this magical creation that I made after the concert last night,
A.K.A. Cathy's new facebook profile picture: 


♥ Happy Listening

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