The Duke Spirit thoroughly rock Chicago

On Thursday, August 14th Chicago music fans were treated to a show from the British rock group The Duke Spirit at The Empty Bottle (near Division and Western). Because they had two opening acts and the doors did not open till 9:30 concert goers had to wait till near midnight to see The Duke Spirit, but I doubt anyway complained after the show. The band stuck mostly to tracks off of their latest release, Neptune, but did throw in some other songs for good measure. Neptune, for those who don't know, is one of the best quasi-psychedelic rock albums released in 2008. The question was would they translate the songs off the album into a good live show. Mission accomplished, from the get go The Duke Spirit brought the party with the right balance of drums, guitar and reverb. Lead singer Liela Moss not only showed off her great pipes but had an infectious and energetic stage presence. Aside from her singing and being a total babe she was always aggressively playing the tambourine and even showed off some kick ass harmonica skills on a couple tunes. 

The crowd and venue also added to the vibe. It was a decent crowd but by no means claustrophobic (I could always get to the bar with ease for $4 top shelf drinks!). The Empty Bottle only asked for $8 for the show, which made the value of this show ridiculous as I would have paid much, much more for that show. I also liked the laid back feel of the place, with all brick walls and a separate bar/pool room off to the side in case you wanted a break from the noise. 

The Duke Spirit played for over an hour with a three song encore. I wasn't keeping track but I believe they played every track from their Neptune LP. Especially badass was their performance of 'This Ship was Built to Last" and "Lassoo" which were wonderful high volumed pure'ist rock performances. They showed they can be dynamic, however, with a wonderful performance of their slow-building and more mellow "Wooden Heart." All in all it was a special performance from a Band that really has potential to make it big; if they don't however I will be more than happy to see them perform again in an intimate setting such as the show at the Empty Bottle.

by Sean Brna