Delta Rae, this one's for you!

Delta Rae, man. Let me tell you, let me tell you all of it;

from that night / 10.4.12

So a few months ago XRT was playing at work, which is a pretty common occurrence. I am very thankful for this because XRT is CHOCKED FULL of my kind of jams. So needless to say, I was the least bit surprised to be introduced to this fantastic band via my favorite radio station, but the first time they played 'Down By The River', I'm sure that I stopped whatever the hell I was doing in that bakery, ran over to the speakers, turned it up, and soaked up the pure greatness that was pouring from the sound dock.

I. LOVED. IT. IT HAD SO MUCH SOUL! I went home, bought it, danced + sang along to it endlessly, and waited for them to come to town again because I had missed them at Schuba's the first time they rolled through. Of course, I was over the moon when I found out they would be doing a FREE XRT SHOW over at Bottom Lounge! I saw and met Lissie in the same kind of setting awhile back over at Reggie's and I knew this wouldn't be something to miss. Every time they talked about it in the upcoming week on the air, I got SO excited. When I heard Lin talking about it himself, I had this growing anticipation that he may be present himself. I BECAME WAY PSYCHED. I gathered up a groovy little group, which consisted of Dan and Brooke, to accompany me to the show. We headed for drinks at Haymarket and dinner at g.e.b. and then we sauntered on down to Bottom Lounge for the amazing tunes that would flood us from the stage and as always, a hopeful encounter. Since our meal was so delightful, I truly feel that it needs to be included at least in some sort of way. So here's what went down at g.e.b;

Brookie and I at Haymarket

hi! this is a pointless caption because you know what this is!

 heirloom tomato salad + venison tartare. BOTH = AMAZING.

Calamari + Atlantic Skate 

 risotto rouge + flatbread

now this was the meal to have and split among great friends before one hell of a show, let me tell you.

It really it is a really delicious throw down of food when I go there. I'm glad I got to check it out for the dinner menu, because the last time I had dined there it was for brunch. These pictures do not really do it any justice, but that risotto is something that my mouth and stomach long for even weeks after consumption. The whole melt-in-your-mouth quality was also present for these courses. GET SOME!

Once we had arrived to our destination, we ended up meeting a pretty cool chick at the bar that was hangin' solo and we made her a part of our group, which is always a fun time AND THEN IT HAPPENED! When we were outside smoking a cigarette, I spotted one of my favorite people strolling in my direction. "IS THAT LIN BREHMER?!" I said much louder than I had actually anticipated. When he bellowed "Why, YES IT IS!" I ran in his direction to introduce myself and throw my arms around him, he stopped me and proceeded to tell me he knew just who I was. Oh, Twitter, I love you. What a moment; he was so approachable and so full of energy. It was such an honor to meet a man that I had grown up listening to. I truly love XRT and am so glad that I've been able to meet two awesome DJs from that station- really rad people, feelin' very lucky.

me and Lin Brehmer outside of Bottom Lounge. HOW RAD!

So the doors for the event started at 7, concert started at 8. We made our way in and nuzzled up close to the stage, where I feel most comfortable. Lin Brehmer made his way up to it as well to introduce the band to all the rad folks waiting to hear the stellar tunes. The band took the stage with great command, the three siblings stood out right away; Brittany, Eric, and Ian and let's just say that their talent is astounding. They're kind of like a pop-soul-rock version of the Von Trapp family...? (well, maybe just in terms of these siblings being so talented vocally/musically...). When you add the other three members into the mix, it really just blows you away. This band came out with such ease and rocked the house. Their voices were so strong and loaded with soul. They really have a variety in their layout in terms of their setlist and song order, which is always pretty vital. There were definitely some slower songs mixed into the groove which complimented the songs that made you lose your inhibitions. They played a lot of songs off their album, new tunes, and a cover; Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain'. -awesome. There's a big sense of group collaboration; everyone gets in on the fun in this band.

I wore shoes that allocated serious grooves. I knew that I would not be able to stand still during this show. They really brought it and they seemed genuinely happy to be there. Not to mention that at the end of their set, they came out into the crowd and just did a little jam circle, the crowd gathered around, and they did their thing.. This is kind of the part where you want everyone to drop their phones for a hot minute and just groove + move, because you need to soak up the essence of sharing the floor with Delta Rae instead of trying to capture it for later. I loved that they did this, they literally just walked into the crowd. Unplugged say WHATTT?! That was all sorts of rad! Overall, phenomenal experience, totally worth every ounce of my energy to scamper from the burbs to the city on that cold, rainy night. Every. Ounce.

So afterwards, a merchandise table was set up and of course the band was crankin' out the signatures and conversation with the fans. I have a tendency to tweet them every time XRT plays their stuff. No, seriously, I do. Well, they take note of that stuff, dudes- just like Lin Brehmer takes note of my twitter musings. Social networking, man...okay, anywho, I was able to get my CD signed by Eric, Ian, Brittany, + Mike. I missed the other two cool cats, but next time!

me with Brittany Holljes of Delta Rae

Very glad I was able to chat a bit with Eric and Brittany. I really wish I would have asked them more questions, but who had time for that? I was too busy asking Eric to doodle up extra stars and smiley faces on the album sleeve. It was pretty awesome to have Brittany tell me that she liked my dance moves and my energy. That's all you want to hear from some of your favourite musicians. Delta Rae is composed of people who are extremely down to earth, have a great ease about them, and can really bring a great show. Each member has a such big role, Brittany would seem like the standout singer, but when you listen to the album, you see that four of them; Eric, Ian, Brittany, + Liz all really have songs that are their own. It's great to see each member be so loaded with ability. I am so glad that XRT is behind them and promoting them, along with VH1 picking them up for Artists You Oughta Know for this month. I am stoked for their success and I love telling people about them, because they deserve the recognition. I think a really good way of determining this is by bringing someone who is completely unfamiliar with that work and having them really dig it by the time the show is over. That's exactly what happened with Dan. I wasn't even familiar with all of their jams, I was in-the-know with maybe 5 songs, the rest I wanted to leave for live. I recommend you listen to all of them anyway, and then still see them live. A really awesome bunch of people, I'm very lucky I got to share a few words with these cool cats!

I was't kidding, you see that star at the top and that smiley face?
YAY! How awesome. How extremely awesome.

This was a righteous night and I seriously suggest that you sample this album for sure. I also recommend that you dine at g.e.b. because you will very likely DIG IT. Here's to that night, and hopefully many more like them.

hey, don't forget that you're pretty awesome.

-T