The Duke Spirit @ TT the Bears, Cambridge

August 6th, 2008 - by Eddie

Boston, Indie-pop, Reviews, Shows

I’ll be honest. After working damn near 12 hours, I was barely in the mood to go out. But the lure of the night was too much for me, as was the prospect of entering a club with the distinct smell of beer and puke.

I had heard of the Duke Spirit, which is to say I read about them somewhere and knew that people were talking about them. What I didn’t realize was that the band was fronted by the Liela Moss, the energetic blond with a penchant for reaching to the sky and picking up mic stands.

There she is during one of her epic rock poses that sent her hair flying. At first i thought she was trying to hard, attempting to emulate rock stars of the past.

Then she started to act like she was seducing the mic and then starting slamming her tambourine in her hand. Before long, I found myself completely into the music, mesmerized by this blond singer with an English accent telling me a story about some accident the band had in the past. I didn’t care. I wanted another song so that the beat could be stuck in my head.

I wish I could tell you all the songs they placed. I can’t. I can tell you they played the song featured on this post, which is off their album “Neptune.” It’s been a while since I’ve seen a woman command a stage this well and with this much playful ferocity.

Random observation: the drummer is the guy with the fro in the picture who looks like Bob Dylan. He always wears vests and I wondered halfway through if he really liked vests or if he felt that every indie band should have “that” guy.

And with Moss’ stage presence, it’s always great to see a performer being as epic as possible, even if the club she’s in is a small one with ratty old pool tables in the back.

But what grabbed me from this show was how well it just took over my mind. Before long, I didn’t realize how much i was enjoying the songs and found myself completely lost in a wonderful aural sea of awesomeness.

Or maybe it’s because I gravitate towards any woman who flings her blond hair around that much.

Either way, like a teenager leaving a Mexican stripclub, I felt surprised and completely fulfilled after the show and wondered how many other good shows I’ve missed because I was “too tired” or “too drunk” to get there (ok, maybe the latter is a valid excuse).

Next time I say that to myself, I’ll think back to those mental pictures I now have of Liela Moss embedded in my brain.

The Duke Spirit - “The Step and the Walk”

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Aug 9 2008 8:00P     New American Music Union Festival Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Aug 10 2008 8:00P   3rd and Lindsley Nashville, Tennessee
Aug 12 2008 8:00P   The Basement Columbus, Ohio
Aug 13 2008 8:00P   Magic Stick Detroit, Michigan
Aug 14 2008 8:00P   Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
Aug 17 2008 8:00P   Slavia Stadium - Supporting REM -(Multifunctional Centre Eden) Prague
Aug 22 2008 8:00P   Reading Festival Reading
Aug 23 2008 8:00P   Leeds Festival Leeds
Aug 24 2008 8:00P   Solfest - Main Stage Tarns, Silloth, Northwest
Sep 6 2008 4:30P     ‘Bestival’ - BBC Tent Isle of Wight, South
Sep 26 2008 8:00P   Oran Mor Glasgow
Sep 28 2008 8:00P   The Cockpit Leeds, Northeast
Sep 29 2008 8:00P   Club Academy Manchester, Northwest
Sep 30 2008 8:00P   Astoria London, London and South East
Oct 1 2008 8:00P    Komedia Brighton, London and South East