Socially conscious blues-folk band to play on tour in Syracuse
The members of The Last Internationale lead an exhausting lifestyle. But they can’t get enough of it. Constantly moving across the country and overseas, the band members said they look forward to the last few shows of their tour when they can leave everything onstage.
Sleep deprived, the band will take the stage Friday at the Westcott Community Center to play one of its last shows on its North American tour and first-ever show in Syracuse.
Larry Hoyt, concert coordinator for the Westcott Community Center, first heard The Last Internationale on a compilation CD and knew this band’s political activism needed to be shared.
‘The only song by them was their rendition of ‘Step By Step’ —an old union poem set to music by Pete Seeger, and I thought their recording was quite extraordinary,’ Hoyt said in an email.
Lead guitarist Edgey formed The Last Internationale when he heard about Delila, now the band’s lead vocalist, and immediately felt compatibility between his writing style and Delila’s voice. The band started as a folk duo but recently incorporated a third member, Chris. All three members of the band prefer to be called by first name only. This trio has since grown into its own genre of music, dubbed Blues with Boots: a testimony to its eloquent intensity and purity.
‘The boots is the stomping out of all the fillers and all the things you don’t like about the modern and digital recordings that you hear,’ Edgey said. ‘It’s a very stripped down and raw way of going into the studio. If you hear an imperfection in the track you leave it, it’s like trying to claim a new sound.’
The Last Internationale’s self-titled debut album introduced listeners to a revamped Bob Dylan-style of social injustice songwriting. The 11-song release is an assortment of garage band-sounding drums and heavy guitar distortion, woven together with simple chord progressions strummed on an acoustic guitar.
The band is back two years later with its second full-length release, ‘Choose Your Killer,’ and has increased the intensity of their music. The trio kept its socially conscious songs, but packaged them in an even more electric guitar-heavy record. The heavy distortion paves the way for what the band refers to as an explosive live performance.
The Last Internationale has a lot in store for the future. Starting in November, the members will begin their European tour, and shortly after, they will make an appearance in a documentary called ‘Freedom Rocks!’ which will feature the likes of U2’s Bono.
The band is looking forward to performing in Syracuse for the first time. At the Westcott Community Center, the trio will play two sets on Friday night. One will be a stripped down acoustic performance, and the second will be filled with amps and drums.
Delila said: ‘It’s going to be a more intimate environment than some of our other shows.’
Published on October 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm
