The Polyphonic Spree Are Surely the World’s Only Choral Symphonic Pop-Rock Band!

On Tuesday, July 15th, the Polyphonic Spree celebrated their 14th anniversary (to the day) at the Los Angeles venue, Bootleg HiFi with an incredibly fun and entertaining show.

As the crowd prepared for what they hoped would be an extraordinarily uplifting time with the Polyphonic Spree, the white sheet that was separating the audience from the stage was dropped and revealed 14 musicians spread out all over the stage.

The space was awash with explosive spinning bright lights, colors and patterns – from the stage setting to the flowing, bold prints being worn on stage.

Blasting into a full-band chorus, the lead singer/conductor, Tim DeLaughter, walked to the center of the stage and belted out his first note. Horns blared over dual percussion. Keys and a cello added to the mix with four females lending vocal support. By the end of the first song, the band was conducting an audience-aided sing-along. Throughout the evening some sang the lyrics like gospel while others simply smiled and danced. Yes, despite the heat in the room, the crowd couldn’t help but shake their tail feathers.

Photo Courtesy of @richfury 

 

The band’s set included the hits “Hold Yourself Up” and “Two Thousand Places,” but also offered up a smoothly transitioned set of lesser-known crowd pleasers too. One of the major highlights of the evening was the band’s rousing cover of the Wings “Live and Let Die.”

The band danced and grooved as DeLaughter led the show, aiming his microphone toward the crowd, allowing people to chime in occasionally. DeLaughter himself remains as eccentric a front man as ever and entertained the audience with his usual unique combination of robotic dancing, interesting hand gestures and peace and love messages.

Although pared down from their original 28-strong line up to a more modest 14, Tim DeLaughter and his merry band of assorted brass players, violinists, singers and a more conventional guitar-bass-drums unit make for quite a spectacle.