[ATTENDED: February 16, 2024] Deap Vally
My wife and I saw Deap Vally open for Garbage and Blondie back in 2017. Here’s how I summed them up seven years ago
So Deap Vally is a duo: Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums and vocals). And as with many duos these days, they are able to get a huge sound out of just a guitar and drums (even during the guitar solo which can often leave a big sound feeling a bit empty).
We enjoyed their brief but loud set. And I kind of forgot about them. They did a project with The Flaming Lips (Deap Lips) which I knew of but have never heard.
And then a few months ago, they announced that their project as Deap Vally was coming to an end and they were going to go on their final tour. I had enjoyed their set and thought it would be fun to see them one more time.
They were playing their album Sistrionix in full. It also turns out that they re-recorded the album recently because their record label had the rights to it and they wanted a new version (hence 2.0).
The premise of the band is pretty simple–simple bluesy heavy rock–a few chords and occasional riff and lots of fuzz and drum. It works pretty well, although to be honest a headlining show is a little samey.
I wonder if they weren’t playing the album straight through if there would be a bit more variety in the set.
Which is not to say that the show was bad. None of their songs are very long and so none overstay their welcome. Lindsey clearly has a lot of fun up there, but I feel like she might enjoy a little more freedom to walk around or, as she does from time to time, jam over by the drum kit. But most of the songs are pretty short and there’s not a lot of jamming time.
I enjoyed the set quite a lot especially with the addition of Smashley Williams on backing vocals. She stood in the back and kind of danced and sang from time to time and she was a fun addition.
Since Sistrionix was their first album it was fairly simplistic compared to some of their later songs, so, despite some strong feminist themes, I feel like Femejism is a better album altogether. That being said, Raw Material was absolutely killer live.
There was a funny moment when Julie was telling us about re-recording the album and then Lindsey said “this is the last song on the album” and Julie retorted “that’s not even true.” Then they ripped into that great version of Raw Material.
The encore really showcased their growth as a band.
“Ain’t Fair” was a B-side to Sistrionix. But “American Cockroach” sped up the tempo and really showcased how much the band has grown since their debut.
“Smile More” was one of my favorite songs when I first heard it and it sounded even better in this setting. “Grunge Bond” kept the tempo up with some simple but effective punk moments (and great backing vocals).
“Bring It On” was a one off single, a slow-burning bluesy song that segued into their fastest, heaviest most intense song ever, “Perfuction.”
“Perfuction” comes from their 2021 album Marriage which I hadn’t heard. They brought out a guitarist and said his name three times although I never quite understood what Lindsey said. He turned up the feedback and absolutely ripped through the song. Lindsey was freed from the mic stand and enjoyed walking around to everyone and high-fiving fans. It was a ton of fun and the show probably could have used a little bit more of that.
Then they ended with “Royal Jelly.” This was the first song I’d heard by them and I was really excited that they played it. It still sounds great.
And that was that. The show was pretty short, but they covered a lot of ground and everyone went home satisfied.
Although I have to say, listening to their latest album, I think the show would have been more fun if they interspersed new songs with Sistrionix. But I’m sure the die-hard fans were satisfied with the show as it was.
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2024 Underground Arts Set One: Sistrionix
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2017 opening for Blondie/Garbage
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§§ Sistrionix 2.0 (2024)
‰ Marriage (2021)
¥ American Cockroach EP (2021)
♦ single (2018)
€ Femejism (2016)
§ Sistrionix (2013)
I Just Read About That... 
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