Delta Spirit at Lollapalooza 2012 | Photos and music review
Before apocapalooza was even a hashtag, a sun-drenched crowd made a mass migration from the rolling licks of Jeff the Brotherhood to Delta Spirit just across the parched field. With sweat beads making a strong appearance, the audience immediately settled into lounge mode as blankets lined the field. The makeshift beach was aided by Delta Spirit's sunny, easygoing songs, perfect for any cruiseline. The band's scenic album art hung on stage like a travel agency poster, further advertising the vacation vibes.
The San Diego five-piece began their set with "White Table," "Idaho," and "Tear It Up," to a lukewarm response. Lead singer Matthew Vasquez began a diehard campaign of livening up the crowd, from bad jokes about how cold it was to even questioning the audience. "You guys got enough energy for a second half of this or what?" he jeered, but his requests fell flat. Another failed attempt at crowd participation came during the hooky chorus of "People C'mon." Vasquez, reaching his mic out to the masses, placed all vocal duties on them, but received only silence. "C'mon, like your life depends on it!" he urged, but the crowd remained mum, forcing the song to end strictly instrumentally.
For the last song, Delta Spirit played the flattery card to try and rile some enthusiasm. "We love the Midwest," Vasquez declared, "you guys truly love rock and roll." We may love rock and roll, but clearly not enough to lift a finger for Delta Spirit. As a last resort, Vasquez jumped off the stage and began lifting up strategically placed buckets of water, hurriedly drenching the front row of the audience like some bizarre Double Dare challenge. After several buckets were emptied, he finally retreated to the stage for the final chorus of their set, which continued to garner zero call-and-response from the audience. Quietly walking off the stage, Delta Spirit left a strange feeling in the air that could only be registered as confusion. Whatever it was that just went down, it probably wasn't what they intended.
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