There are certain bands that you absolutely need to experience live, and The Polyphonic Spree are definitely one of them. This past Saturday night the Dallas based group brought their annual Holiday Extravaganza to Webster Hall in N.Y.C. and it was a moving and joyful show. They’ve toured this for 10 years and will perform the last of this years shows in Dallas on Dec. 22. Lead singer Tim DeLaughter gives off a benevolent cult leader vibe with his white robe and his contagious energy and positive demeanor. The theme of the night was love, witnessed by the entire band’s costumes, which (as per usual) consisted of long white robes with embroidered hearts on the chest. There were many emotional moments, especially in lieu of what happened on Friday, and Tim dedicated the show to the families of Sandy Hook. It felt good to listen to so many songs about the sun and the celebration of life.
The show contained two parts, first a raucous Christmas set of standard carols and familiar holiday tunes, finished with a rendition of Silent Night, which included about 20 kids from the audience who were called up on stage. It was beautiful and quite moving, (I’m a sucker for kids singing – it always makes me cry!) The second set was a straight up rock show of the Polyphonic Spree’s original songs, which are so chock full of crescendos and joyous choruses that the crowd cannot help but smile and sing along. I mean, how many live bands include a chorus of 8 beautiful hipster girls with bangs and headbands singing harmonies, plus a full horn section and real harp player? I can’t think of any.
They also threw in a few really great covers, like Wings Live and Let Die (epic) and a cover of Nirvana’s Lithium which was pretty liberating as everyone sang along to the familiar lyrics and a plastic Santa was crowd surfed through the audience. (As an oldster who saw Nirvana play many times, I was happy to hear it live again in such good hands).
We were stoked to hear we can expect a new Polyphonic Spree album in the spring from what Tim called “our new label, Kickstarter,” aka the fans. If you can catch the show in Dallas on the 22nd, please do, you will be happy you ended your year on such a positive note. Click here for more info.
Confetti Guns poppin’!
