Last night the Gypsy Lounge in Lake Forest hosted Locals Only veterans the Steelwells, the New Limb and We Are the Pilots, who were, of course, reliably solid. But the real discovery, to both the audience and the other bands themselves, were trio The Delta Mirror, who played third on the bill.
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It was a weird fit for a couple reasons: their slow, deliberate electronica didn't really fit the usual Lake Forest fare, and they didn't much resemble the more conventional, guitar-based rock of the other three bands playing. Which is what made their set memorable.
Thanks to some snags setting up, there was about an hour between preceding act the New Limb and the Delta Mirror, which added to the “what are they gonna sound like?” uncertainty. Consisting of singer/guitarist Craig Gordon, bassist Karrie K. and multi-keyboardist David Bolt, they crafted thoughtful and unexpected melodies that were much more atmospheric than typical rousing Gypsy Lounge shows. The band themselves seemed aware that they were in a unique position, even commenting that the other bands were different than the ones they usually play with–but that they were all really good. (And they are!)
Watching them, a distinct feeling of “they can't be from Orange County, can they?” sinks in, and indeed, no, they are not. They're from LA. But hopefully they'll be back soon–right now they're on a bit of a southwest tour, hitting Arizona, Texas and Colorado. Oh, and they worked a smoke machine into their set, too. That was surprising. And cool. Theatrics!
