Delta Spirit

There comes a moment, typically occurring in the first song of a set, when you realize why one band is the headliner and the other is the wannabe. For Delta Spirit at Cat’s Cradle Tuesday night, it was pretty damn easy to spot the difference.

After opening act Waters closed with, no joke, an acoustic solo in a circle made in the middle of the audience (after lead singer Van Pierszalowski had earnestly thanked the crowd for “clapping at the right times, which makes me happy”), Delta Spirit strolled onstage at 10:24 p.m. and proceeded to utterly tear through an incredible high-energy set that had all the signs of a band on the rise. My ears are still ringing.

Playing for well over an hour in front of three massive lit-up Greek deltas (making the Cradle look suspiciously like a sorority function), Delta Spirit took songs equally from the band’s first and second albums, Ode to Sunshine and History from Below, as well as its eponymous new collection, which just hit number one on Billboard’s Heatseekers list. The band’s opener, “Empty House,” was a fitting choice-- Matt Vasquez’s lyrics tell a modern-day blues number that accentuates the band’s burgeoning success, from Vasquez’s past (working construction) to where he is today. “Glinting gems in the concrete I paved/ One every couple of feet/ They got mixed up in the lime and the sand/ Nobody noticed but me.”

The up-front lyrics are a theme in Delta Spirit’s work, and Vasquez did not shy away from them Tuesday. The band played “House Built for Two,” complete with Vasquez telling a story about his mother leaving him. “It happens,” he said. “You just have to fight through it.” “Bushwick Blues,” a yearning, visceral recounting of a tough breakup, was clearly a crowd favorite.

Don’t get me wrong, though. The show was not a time for Delta Spirit’s members to talk about their feelings in a group session with the audience. It rocked. On several songs, the band utilized two drummers, and the unusual arrangement sounded incredible on “White Table” and “Idaho,” a standout track from the new album. The guitars and vocals kept up with the furious pace-- it’s a wonder that Vasquez is still able to speak after playing shows like last night’s. Rarely did he play a song without accentuating it with a scream, and his voice is starting to sound a bit worse for wear after playing shows every night.

But while I was left impressed with the quality of the performance, one aspect did nag at me: I have never before seen a band with less interaction between members while on stage. Vasquez never spoke to any of the other members, notably never introduced them to the crowd, and even the spotlights never hit them. For the entirety of the show they were shielded in black while Vasquez stayed in the light. He certainly has the talent and charisma to pull off a solo career. Is this a sign?