The last band I really cared about seeing this night was The Vettes from New Orleans, Louisiana, and they were ready to go over on the other stage.
They are self classified as New Wave/Synth/Indie/Alternative/Rock/Dance, which is a pretty accurate description, making them completely different from the last few bands that had played these stages.
I first heard of them years ago, when they would play some shows with one of my favorite bands from that time-frame (Mothers Anthem). The Vettes never really got to Dallas, though, so I hadn’t ever seen them before.
Placed around the stage were some small TVs, all of which were turned on but just showed that snowy static.
The quintet kicked things off with the lead track from their “Plasticville” album, “Dirty Word”. The pop song was pretty heavy on the synthesizer, which was played by Chad Vette (as were the keys), and had that hooky chorus that any pop track needs. “You make love a dirty word, a dirty word. You’re never gonna get it…” sang frontwoman, Rachel Vette, as she strolled around the stage. I heard some people comparing her to Lady Gaga at the beginning, as far as attire went, and it was indeed more eye catching than any other band member I had seen during this day. She wore what resembled a robe of sorts, with a hoodie on it, which covered her head for the first part of the show. While announcing who they were, Rachel dropped the name of their next song, which I believe was “Summer”. The followed it with a partial cover song, and that was Martin Solveig’s, “Hello”. The song seemed tailor-made for The Vettes, but after one of the lines, “…I just came to say hello.”, they stopped, and Todd Vette started them in on one of their originals, which I think was “Murder at the Disco”. Regardless of what it was, it was just another infectious song that got everyone even more swept up in the show. Afterwards, they did one of the singles from the record, “Walk Like Models”, which had a strong, steady beat supplied by Brian Vette. Rachel even did walk like a model during the song, at least sort of. It was more exaggerated, as she really kicked her legs up while prancing around the stage. Next up, they did a new song for everyone, titled “We All Hang Out”. “…It’s pretty much what we do as a band…” said Rachel while setting it up. It was somewhat of a slower song, requiring Todd to switch out to an acoustic guitar. It was far from quiet, though, and was a fun little song. Chad swapped back to his electric guitar upon finishing it, and they proceeded to start wrapping things up “Needles and Pins”. That then led them to the final song of their 31-minute long set, which was the fan favorite, “Give Em What They Want”. “Hey you, can I get your attention? I could be in rehab, ‘cause it’s just so cool…” sang Rachel, an opening in line that will no doubt get your attention. The music bed is also a real attention getter, though, and is one of the most well rounded out of all of their songs, at times having a strong rhythm part of Brian and bassist, Mitch Vette, with the keys/synth taking charge at other moments. It was fun way to end a fun show, as well as a very fun first day partaking in all the musical festivities.
I have to say, after a few years of wanting to see The Vettes and all the good things I had heard about them, they did live up to the expectations.
Rachel adds a certain sultriness to the show just in the way she handles herself, but the killer voice she has, as well as the engaging performance she puts on just by herself, makes sure she won’t be typecast as just something to look at.
The rest of this outfit pulls their own, too, making for a entrancing live show, and one I’d really like to see again.
And while they are somewhat of a pop band, don’t think that they write bland, pointless, or even stupid pop music like what most of the mainstream radio pop bands do. The Vettes have substance to their music, and combined with the live experience, it makes them a band to keep an eye on.
Along with their full-length record, you can also find a newer single from the band in ITUNES, so give their stuff a listen.