I first wrote about The Duke Spirit when they played at The Troubadour in May. The best i can describe them is a mix of Heart and Sonic Youth. What’s strange is that they sound very American but are from the UK. This time, Liela Moss and the boys were back and on a more extensive tour of the U.S. Their only Los Angeles date besides the Hammer Museum gig is the Download Festival at the Gibson Amphitheater. So, i decided to make the trek to my hometown and show the Duke Spirit some love. The gig is a part of fm 94.9’s About The Music series which showcases up and coming bands. As a result, the show was completely sold out. The crowd was a lot different than what i expected and very different from the Troubadour show. The crowd was a majority of people in their mid- thirties. I expected more people to know the DS catalog since the local stations have added “Send a Little Love Token” to their rotation.

Fast forward to the show- For the tour, the band added a keyboardist which made the songs more well rounded. But honestly, i didn’t feel that anything was missing when he was absent from the Troubadour gig. Leila Moss is as infectious as ever with her energy. It was during “You Really Wake Up The Love In Me” that i felt a little overwhelmed and astonished at the intensity in which she skirted around the stage pounding on her tambourine, jumping off the drum platform and doing high kicks. The band can cover a range of songs from gritty rock tracks like “Lassoo” to the slower numbers like “Sovereign” and almost shoegazey songs like “Hello To The Floor”. It seems that the Duke Spirit gets better with every show so catch them while the crowds are still small.

Set List:

Send A Little Love Token
Lassoo
Dog Roses
My Sunken Treasure
The Step and the Walk
Into The Fold
Sovereign
Hello To the floor
This Ship Was Built To Last
You Really Wake Up The Love In Me
Red Weather
Love is an Unfamiliar Name
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Neptune’s Call
Cuts Across The Land