Darwin Deez, a New York based band that plays indie pop dance rock, came through Austin on September 20th with a show at Holy Mountain. Darwin Deez are my boys, my ACTUAL friends from New York. Some of which have played in bands with me before. To see them almost every year on their tour through Austin is a treat and is a testament of how proud I am of them for having reached such success in their music careers.
Darwin Deez began their set with the first of many choreographed dances. This is something they have done at every show I have ever seen them play, and one of my favorite things about them. These guys are always so happy to be onstage and so thrilled with who and what they are, it’s infectious and the audience always catches it. Rhythm guitarist Andrew Hoepfner, drummer Tim McCoy, bassist Greg Richardson, and singer/guitarist Darwin Smith would break into a series of poses randomly throughout the show to mash-ups created by Smith. The audience, of course, loved it. They watched it all unfold with smiles and beers in the air. To start the night off right, Andrew broke onto the middle of the stage and danced a little solo before the band jumped into “You Can’t Be My Girl.” Darwin, ever the sarcastic one, said after the song: “You guys having fun on this Friday night? Every day is a Friday night for us. You know, because, look at us.” The musicianship of the band goes hand-in-hand with their goofiness. It was almost as if Darwin and Andrew ran a guitar clinic the entire night, displaying intricate guitar solo riffs when the mood struck them.
They played a solid hour, going through their hits like “Radar Detector,” “Up In The Clouds,” “DNA,” “Constellations,” “Deep Sea Divers” and songs from their new album Songs For Imaginative People like “Moonlit,” “(800) Human” and “Good To Lose.”
When the band wrapped up “Suicide Song,” more mash-up dancing occurred to the audiences delight. The band finished its set with “Bad Day” and “Redshift” with the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs. My friend, who had never heard them before, left the show saying, “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time! They are so good!” Her date seemed happy to have introduced her to them. And the rest of the crowd went home ecstatic and tired from all the dancing!
Darwin Deez’s music is versatile and catchy with some very accessible songs that work perfectly for retail and restaurants.
– Submitted by Mandi LeBlanc, Music Design