ARTICLE BY CHERYL CHENG
PHOTO BY MARINA CHAVEZ
AUGUST 15 | LOS ANGELES—Tonight was Divine Fits' first-ever L.A. concert, but this band of veterans was anything but nervous. In case you haven't already heard of this "supergroup," Divine Fits is made up of Spoon's Britt Daniel, Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs' Dan Boeckner, and New Bomb Turks' Sam Brown—an impressive roster to say the least. And the musicians' collective years of experience was on display tonight, a special treat for everyone who ventured out to see a band whose debut album has not yet been released. In fact, Daniel thanked the crowd for coming out when they didn't know the songs.
Although Daniel is probably the most well-known of the group, all the members took the time to share the spotlight, and Boeckner was an especially engaging presence. Following the recent Handsome Furs break-up and Wolf Parade's indefinite hiatus, Boeckner's latest musical endeavor proves promising. Besides being great musicians, the band also showed they were great friends, smiling throughout the night and clearly enjoying themselves. Tonight was the band's seventh show, which Daniel and Boeckner both marveled over as they listed all their previous shows. Divine Fits' first live dates took place in each of their hometowns: Austin (Daniel), Montreal (Boeckner), and Columbus (Brown).
The outpouring of good vibes extended to the crowd, as Daniel proclaimed, "We love you." To which Boeckner joked, "And it's not because you smell like patchouli oil." To fill out their set—the album is only 42 minutes—the band performed two cover songs: "Doom Town" by Wipers and "You Got Lucky" by Tom Petty. All the songs sounded amazing, particularly the single "My Love Is Real," which had everyone grooving to the electro-pop beats. It seemed like that single would be a suitable choice for the last song of the set, but that was reserved for "Shivers," The Boys Next Door cover from the album. The haunting lyrics ("I've been contemplating suicide / but it really doesn't suit my style") segued into a raucous jam that melded all the energy of the night into a mere few minutes.
The debut album, entitled A Thing Called Divine Fits, will be released on Aug. 28 by Merge, but you can stream the entire album now at NPR. And be sure to see the band at their upcoming Los Angeles concerts. You won't be disappointed.
BUY TICKETS: August 21st: Divine Fits at the Hotel Cafe (SOLD OUT)
BUY TICKETS: August 28th: Divine Fits at Hollywood Forever Masonic Lodge (SOLD OUT)
BUY TICKETS: September 4th: Divine Fits at The Echo
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