Peter Matthew Bauer and his wife Marisa Brown are my new favorite musical power couple (Jay what and Queen who?). Bauer (previously of the Walkmen) and his backing crew (which included his wife on vocals as well as a drummer and a bassist) warmed up the crowd at the Vic on Saturday for headliners Delta Spirit and they came out in style – Bauer leading the group in a suit and Brown rocking a sparkly silver party dress. The group played a mix of songs from Bauer’s debut album Liberation! and the eclecticism of the debut album came across in the live show – Bauer led the group seamlessly from indie to anthemic rock to salsa infused beats and while the crowd was sparse at the start of the show, people were packed in and loving it by the end. My favorite part was that Bauer and his wife were so intensely wrapped up in the music that they each had their eyes shut tight for the entire show, dancing on their own, completely ignoring the other – who’s got time for PDA when you’re making music?
Delta Spirit wasn’t messing around either – the group puts on an amazing live performance chock full of energy. Matthew Vasquez led the group through essentially the entire new album, Into the Wide, as well as crowd favorites from previous albums “Bushwick Blues” “California” and “People C’mon” sometimes playing his guitar, sometimes balancing it on his head, sometimes picking it with his teeth and sometimes standing on his hands. The moment I realized I was completely sold though was when the band was wrapping up and instead of playing coy, Vasquez told the crowd “we’ve got one more. But if you clap we’ll come back on and play some more for you.” Great music, hold the games – the way it should be.