Photos and words by Taylor Shields
Chicago indie rockers Dehd performed at Brooklyn Bowl Philly on Saturday, October 22nd. The 3-piece returned to Philadelphia after a canceled date back in May, performing an energetic 20-song set. Opening for the band was Number One Popstar, a project fronted by Kate Hollowell, who warmed up the room with her largely improvised act, performing songs mixed with comedy, satire, and audience participation.
Dehd entered promptly at 10pm, kicking things off with “Bad Love”, the first single off their most recent album Blue Skies released earlier this year. With four full length albums to date, Dehd’s sound is clearly defined, as it seemed to be from the very beginning. The music feels like indie rock at its purest, bordering on Cali surf rock, complete with a stand-up drum kit, twangy, bouncy guitar riffs, and lots of reverb. The band’s presence feels fairly minimalist, which makes the grandiosity of their sound that much more impressive.
Bassist and lead vocalist Emily Kempf has a unique voice that perfectly meshes with guitarist Jason Balla’s backing vocals, accented with the periodic yelps and howls that have come to define their low-fi indie sound. With percussionist Eric McGrady setting the rhythm, the trio feels like a perfect 180º triangle of talent that was destined to play music together. Balla spent nearly the entirety of the show bouncing around the stage, plucking his bright green Kramer guitar, his feet matching the beats in perfect time. This is a band who looks like they’re having the time of their lives while playing, an infectious feeling that quickly spread to their audience on Saturday night.
Dehd are wrapping up their North American tour and will be embarking on some European dates in November – check out all of their upcoming dates here. See the full setlist below and keep scrolling for more photos from the show.
Dehd Setlist (10/22/2022):
– Bad Love
– Flood
– Haha
– Nobody
– Loner
– Stars
– Drip Drop
– Clear
– Disappear
– Eggshells
– Twenty
– Waterfalls
– Window
– Wild
– Lucky
– Dream On
– Month
– Palomino
– No Difference
– Flying
