The Duke Spirit

Usually the first time I see a band's live show will indelibly mark my opinion of them. Thereafter, even if people tell me otherwise, I find that my initial opinion was spot on. This was not the case with The Duke Spirit. I saw them at a SXSW about 4 years ago (at the behest of friends) and was soundly unimpressed. I hadn't heard much about them of late, and just randomly heard that there was a new record coming out at the beginning of the year. I was on a concert roll at the time so I bought tickets, expecting to be soundly unimpressed again.

But lo and behold was I ever wrong. The first time I saw them this year (in February) I was beyond impressed. Leila Moss, DS's lead vocalist, was completely different. She had grown to own the stage and had a great deal of rock and roll attitude that had before been sorely lacking. But as easy as it might be to pin all of the new found awesome on her, the boys in the band were different as well. It was as if they had finally come to grips with what it means to be in a rock band. There was no fear and a palpable sense of confidence from the guitars and drums, and it seemed like they were having fun with each other, the songs, and the idea of rocking.

I just saw them again with Supergrass last week, and it reminded me that I had been planning on posting about them for months. Mainly because they were again superb. The size of the venue did not hamper the performance at all, and in fact, proved to me that they could really fill an even bigger stage with the appropriate rockness if need be. With a great new record and some great touring experience under their belts, I am hoping that the Duke Spirit continue to impress.

Their new record, Neptune, gets an 8.5. Their live performances get a 9 and the songs below get 9s a well.

The Duke Spirit- You Really Wake Up the Love in Me
The Duke Spirit- Into The Fold