Good to see Jack White reunited with Meg. Didn’t expect the sex change, though.
If you think I’m being catty, I’m not. This California duo’s White Stripes trash rock sounded damned fine on a Saturday afternoon in Zilker Park that broiled like it was late August. Drummer Julie Edwards pounds far better than Meg White, while Lindsay Troy oozes molten fuzz guitar so thick, her Fender Mustang practically played itself as she howled like a feral cat.
Deap Vally sports a discography only two releases deep: a recent full-length, Sistrionix, and an EP, Get Deap! Oh, right: two releases deap. If Deap Vally’s going to have such a Def Leppard-esque name, maybe they should consider a stripped-down and raw cover of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
Actually, all the EP songs are on the LP, and those 11 songs make for a potent live set. And yes, as with every other garage-blues duo, the ghost of the White Stripes hangs heavy over every move Deap Vally makes – except for their halter tops and Daisy Dukes fashion sense. Once Troy begins preaching and signifying atop trash-compactor stomps like “End of the World” and “Gonna Make My Own Money,” or cranks the gain even higher on the Octave Fuzz pedal, she might as well hang a sign over her head reading “Yes, I like Jack White! Get over it!”
Doesn’t matter. Deap Vally does this sound well. It suited the sweat we were all soaked in.
For more ACL Fest coverage, see austinchronicle.com/acl. For photo galleries from the fest, see austinchronicle.com/photos.
This article appears in October 11 • 2013.
