Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Duke Spirit @ Ottobar



The Duke Spirit
headlined the Ottobar last night, bringing their raw blend of indie pop across the pond to us yanks. Admittingly not entirely familiar with their repertoire, I became an instant fan of their music and antics.

Rocking through an hour long set without even stopping for tea and crumpets, the band was highly appreciative of their first run-in with a Baltimore crowd.

Liela Moss fronts The Duke Spirit, and fronts it well. Liela is what you would get if Janis Joplin was born in 1982, idolized Catwoman as a child, rocked out to The Pixies in high school, and consequently started a rock band.

Some of the few words spoken by Liela included assurance that a song was not in fact about vaginas, but about settings like the night's feel good show.

But band-to-crowd banter was of no importance, with energy pouring from band members into the audience throughout the evening. Their newest album Neptune is fully recommended, however does not quite grasp the elements that their live show thrives on. Check out the video for "The Step and the Walk" off the new LP.

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