The Scene: A near sold out crowd braved the cold and packed The Ogden Theatre for the return of Canada’s favorite power trio, The New Deal. The prevailing thought from almost everyone I spoke with before the show was “Man, I haven’t seen these guys in years.” While that kind of thinking could be expected when seeing a band that is just coming of a 3 year hiatus (The New Deal announced they were breaking up in 2011 but reformed last year with a new drummer), for most people I talked with, it had been more like 6 or 7 years. With so many people re-introducing themselves to the band, you could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air.
Opener: Escort (DJ Set). After waiting in the box office line for almost 40 minutes I unfortunately missed all of Need and Necessity and a good portion of Escort’s DJ set. What I did hear from Escort was disappointing. The previous performances I had seen set my expectations high and while I knew it would not be the same as their 17 piece live band, I was hoping for a bit more than what we got. There was little dynamic range to the set and honestly at times I thought I was listening to the house music as opposed to the party-time vibe I’ve heard from them in the past. That said there probably aren’t many DJs that would have stolen my attention from the anticipation of seeing the headliners for the evening.
The New Deal: The New Deal wasted no time diving straight into things with what has always been their calling card as a band. Bringing the driving rhythms and pulsing beats of house music and combining that with sleek and almost futuristic sounding melodies is what this band does best. From the first notes of the night the band showed why they are one of the pioneers of the electronic improv scene. “When the first jam of the night is 30 minutes long, you know its going to be a good night,” joked Keyboardist Jamie Shields and he was not mistaken.
While it would be unfair to say The New Deal doesn’t have songs, they certainly do not approach things the same way as some of their peers like The Disco Biscuits or STS9. As opposed to playing their “songs” in a traditional sense, they focus more on themes as a jumping off point for pure, improvisational bliss. The band prides itself on delivering loose, unscripted performances and this attitude leads to a truly unique experience for the concert goer. Whether they are thumping away in techno land, or mixing things up with some more latin flavored rhythms, one thing is always true. These guys are flying by the seat of their pants and that energy of “we don’t know what’s going to happen next” circles its way from on stage, through the crowd, and back to the band all night long. When you combine that approach with their propensity for happy sounding, major key jams, it leads to a beautifully layered sound that is impossible to resist. To come to a New Deal show and not dance with a huge smile on your face is nearly impossible.
The other thing that immediately jumps off the stage with The New Deal is how full their sound is given that they are a 3 piece band. While there have certainly been some bands that deliver forceful performances as power trios, The New Deal’s sound is as deep and textured as anyone and for them to achieve this with just 3 players is amazing. To me, the key to this full sound is keyboard player Jamie Shields. With bassist Dan Kurtz and new drummer Joel Stouffer laying down a foundation of deep and heavy dance grooves, Shields takes a two pronged attack to their jams. At times it seems he is doing the work of both a keyboardist and what most guitar players in this scene strive for. On one hand (not literally but come to think of it I guess it is) he is stacking thick and sweeping textural soundscapes that fill out the empty space commonly heard with a trio group. One the other, he is playing driving and polished melodies that help take the music to soaring heights.
It does not matter what genre or style they are aiming for, and the band certainly bounced around on this night, the 3 members seem to get off on pushing things further and truly going for it. This would be impossible to do without the amazing chemistry that Kurtz and Shields have developed over the last 15 plus years and its great to see newcomer Joel Stouffer finding his way into that mix. That’s not to say things were flawless. Anytime a band is truly out on a wing and exploring new territory mistakes may happen. While there were definitely a few moments when Kurtz was trying to direct traffic and one or both of the others missed the cue, the beauty of a band like The New Deal is that those “mistakes” turn into opportunities and push the music into a new direction.
After almost 9 years since I had last seen The New Deal I found myself often asking “How the hell has it been so long since I’ve seen a band this good?” and I know I was not alone in that thought. It was amazing to see such a full house and so many people dancing their asses off with giant grins on their faces. So many times things do not stand the test of time and what you had glorified from your youth doesn’t hold up in present day. The New Deal completely shattered that notion and it seems like they are poised for big things to come. Hopefully for fans this is true and none of us will have to say “Its been so long since I’ve seen The New Deal” ever again.
Energy: A
Musicianship: A+
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: B
Set/Lights: B+
Overall: A-
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