Delta Spirit

El Rey

Los Angeles, CA

October 30

Only a scuffle in the mass of bodies collected in front of the stage could slow Delta Spirit and its charging anthems on this, the third and final night of the band’s intra-city tour of Los Angeles, culminating at the famed El Rey Theatre.Otherwise, the evening in Tinseltown belonged to the quintet from Southern California, and while not quite a homecoming- the band calls San Diego and Orange counties its birthplace- the near-capacity crowd was filled with the faithful.Arms perpetually raised overhead, clapping to every stomp of the kick drum, it was as much rally as rock show.

Taking the stage to the looping keyboard chords of its slashing single “From Now On,” the band was backlit, as well for most of the show, by staggered panels of projected video that cast the five in virtual silhouette.Clean, yet raging, the dividends of hard work on the road were immediately apparent, Will McLaren’s guitar bending in a siren’s response to Matt Vasquez’ shredded voice.Moving through a set stocked with songs from Delta Spirit’s latest, Into the Wide, it was on the rockabilly bounce of “People C’mon” a sing-along off of 2008’s Ode to Sunshine that the El Rey felt more like a tiny club in Long Beach than gilded mid-city movie palace.Vasquez shared memories of Delta Spirit’s first visit to the venue, genuinely appreciative of the support that brought them back for another go, yet wasted little time between songs in a resilient 90-minute effort.

Glistening falsetto on “Yamaha,” dedicated by Vasquez to his wife, exposed a vocal facility beyond the gravelly evocations of Tom Waits and Kurt Cobain prevalent on most of the songlist, and further accentuated Delta Spirit’s yearning to move its audience, both emotionally and physically.Every entry seemed dripping with purpose, the group determined not only to express its messages but tacitly tell just how much each member loved the opportunity to do so.Late in the performance, however, it took Vasquez calling a halt halfway through “Children” to alert security to an altercation.While multi-instrumentalist Kelly Winrich sustained his synth, the rest of the band waited while the dueling two were extricated, only to light back in seamlessly to the driving plea for spiritual solidarity in a time of turmoil.The finale offered “People, Turn Around,” another Sunshine track and another comment on the ills of society set to a Dylan-esque harmonica from Vasquez, and one last chance for the crowd to come together as one.

Delta Spirit is dogged in its desire to connect.Moment after moment seem designed to direct the performance to a place of unity, but not without its share of freedom and fun.It’s a combination Bruce Springsteen has authored with tremendous success, and one Delta Spirit appears ambitiously to be embracing.