Friday night, Deep Sea Diver took the stage at The Showbox at 8:55 with a ready-to-go attitude that demonstrated the extent of their professionalism. With the venue still filling up and the audience still milling about, DSD jumped right in to their set. The Seattle-based 4-piece brought a cheerfully mellow energy to the stage. The band’s pseudo-uniform of casual button-ups buttoned to the neck gave the group a geeky-chic vibe that made you feel as though these were the kids you could just sit and shoot the shit with around a game of cards, Catan, or Scrabble.
With the air of Ani DiFranco and the confidence of Mick Jagger, Jessica Dobson led the group with a powerful and intoxicating energy. By the second song, the crowd was already bobbing their heads along to the beat, and the final chord was met with an eruption of hoots and cheering that would fool any newcomer into believing they had missed the headliner.
With echoey vocals reminiscent of Loma or Metric, Dobson sung The Showbox into a daze of female empowerment. The audience, ranging in age from about 13 to 60, created the sense that we were all there to connect to something. Dobson’s relatable yet “too cool for school” confidence was contagious as Dobson and keyboardist Elliot Jackson switched seamlessly from guitar to keyboard and back again. At the end of the set, when Dobson jumped up on her amp and shredded on her guitar, it felt like all the women in the room were up there with her, bobbing their heads, thrusting their fists up in the air and thinking “you go, girl!”
If every show could open with a band like DSD, I don’t think there would ever be a disappointing show in Seattle. The energy was up, the mood was high, and everyone was already having a great time when Joseph walked on stage, looking like something out of Vogue, with flowy sleeves, heeled boots, big belts, and studded pants. The release of their album, Good Luck, Kid, that day still fresh, the three sisters took the stage with a tinge of excitement and immediately began with some opening harmonies to set the tone.
If there’s one thing that I believe truly makes a musician great, it’s their ability to do something different well. Joseph, a trio originating from Portland, Oregon does just that. The three sisters, Natalie Closner Schepman and Allison and Meegan Closner, create mesmerizing, awe-inspiring, heart-swelling harmonies that are not only rare, but practically nonexistent within the pop/rock music scene. Few are able to carry out interesting harmonies to the volume and degree that Joseph accomplishes without losing a grain of quality to their sound. The three vocalists are all impressively talented, each one able to belt out a chorus or offer a countermelody with grace and precision.
The trio kicked off their set with “Canyon,” the opening track from their 2016 album, I’m Alone, No You’re Not. The song starts with a slow, subtle backbeat that grows into a beat-heavy bounce. The energy took over the crowd almost immediately, and the audience started mouthing along with the lyrics and swaying back and forth with the music.
With the energy in the room still building, Joseph moved into the third track off Good Luck, Kid, “Green Eyes.” The track, released as a single about a week before the album release, was a perfect segue into introducing their album to the room. The song has belting lyrics — “those green eyes are my green light / giving up on control / you see red lights / I see me blowing straight through to you” — along with breathy verses that make it perfect to sing along to and find yourself emotionally taken over. As my personal favorite off of their new album, “Green Eyes” was a perfect transition into the meat of their set.
The group then moved into “Without You,” another powerful track off of their new album that focuses on older sister Schepman’s vocals. The song is so heartfelt; it builds into a heel-stomping, head-bobbing, full-body flailing kind of tune during the chorus, belting out, “I don’t want to be alone without you.” This heavy-movement feel is iconic of their new album — a slight move away from the more mellow and airy I’m Alone, No You’re Not.
After a couple more of their well-loved hits from previous albums, the group brought Dobson back on stage for a few collaborations. Dobson’s geek-chic rock ‘n’ roll attitude blended into Joseph’s sound seamlessly, and the stage looked like a fun jumble of girl power and an estrogen-driven party.
Joseph closed out their set with “Room For You,” the last track on the new album. Written by Schepman after experiencing a moment holding one of her friend’s babies, the track is full of love and hope, with lyrics like “I hope to God the world will make some room for you” and “you got to know you’re loved / even if you can’t love back.” The huge emotion felt during this tune is enough to put me to tears every time I hear it. We’ve all felt that way for someone, and this song is just all love.
After such an emotional, heartfelt closing, it was almost no wonder the audience prompted an encore. The group closed on a much more forward, upbeat note with “Good Luck, Kid” — the album’s title track, which ended the set on a note of love from both Joseph and DSD. As both bands would say: I hope the world can make some room for you. Don’t ever be afraid. Don’t ever be ashamed. You’re not alone. Oh, and good luck, kid.
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