From the moment Deap Vally take to the stage at Brighton’s The Haunt, the duo seize the room and bring forth their mighty sound. Their fans do genuinely cherish the group, some have come dressed up especially for the show, many are sneaking their way as close to the front as possible. I’ve not seen fans hold a band this dearly for a while, but it’s very clear that Deap Vally really mean something to their listeners. Beyond the songs, the fans believe they stand for something and strike out against the norm. Their audible fury is something that they can relate to and their music says it’s not only OK to be pissed off, you should be.

It’s really amazing how much sound frontwoman Lindsey Troy manages to squeeze out of a single coil Fender Mustang. The sound she creates is incredible, rammed full of pedals and blasted out of two amplifiers, Deap Vally really manage to bring the roof down in The Haunt. Her thick riffs do start to suffer slightly early on. It becomes clear after about the fourth song that something’s gone wrong and the sound, whilst remaining huge, loses some of its depth.

There’s bits of chat between every three or so songs but they keep the chat light. As the set progresses, the crowd get more stirred up and more lively. There are occasional lulls, just because there’s nowhere for the band to go. Once they’ve blasted everything at you they can’t go any further in terms of sound. But those who cling to the songs and know the albums inside and out won’t see this as an issue. Deap Vally fans are hugely passionate about the band, what they feel they stand for and their positive yet aggressive energy.

They play nearly everything in their arsenal. It feels like no stone has been left unturned and they play all their favourite singles, live tracks and album tracks. Which falls under the umbrella of everything really. Personal favourites of mine are ‘Gonna Make My Own Money’, ‘Smile More’ and ‘Walk of Shame’. You’d think a show like this would break out in a riot of moshing fury. That doesn’t happen until the end, and for the majority of the show, it sticks to nodding along with clusters of dancers. People are just clearly enjoying being blown away.

With all the sound issues of the evening, the three-song encore at the end was generous. As the crowd start to suspect things are drawing to a close, a whole new energy invigorates them. Moshpits break out, Lindsey is scaling the speakers. It’s really great to see moshpits of young women break out at the front. You go to so many shows where the front consists of the men smashing about, blocking the view of everyone and it’s nice to see that dynamic be shifted. I think Deap Vally aren’t a groundbreaking band by any means but what they stand for makes them incredibly valuable, plus they bring an absolutely killer live show.

Chris Middleton

Website: deapvally.com
Facebook: facebook.com/deapvally
Twitter: twitter.com/DeapVally