If you simply read the song titles of indie rocker Indigo De Souza’s songs you might be a little alarmed. “Darker Than Death,” “How I Get Myself Killed,” and “Kill Me.” But then there are other titles, “Be My Love,” “be like the water,” and “Good Heart.” At age 26, singer-songwriter De Souza has tapped deeply into the psyche of not only the regrets and life lessons of her generation but, I would venture to say many previous generations when they were in their angst-ridden teens and into their 20s as well. She’s just not afraid to lay it all out, in candid, easy to understand lyrics for all to hear.
On the second night of her winter tour, De Souza remarked early on that she couldn’t believe anyone was at the concert, “I thought you’d all be watching the Super Bowl,” she said to the sold-out crowd of early 20-somethings and younger packed shoulder to shoulder at Delmar Hall in St. Louis. The crowd responded with shouts of “We love you!”
De Souza’s vulnerability and rawness shined through every song she and her band performed. She joked a bit about the jauntier “You Can Be Mean” by saying “Have you ever watched the guy you dated date someone else?
This song is about dating dickheads.” Then, more seriously said, “And I don’t know if you know this but you don’t have to date dickheads.”
Then there’s “Always,” which starts soft, almost lilting but turns noisier that De Souza prefaced by saying, this is about my deadbeat dad. With lyrics such as “Father, I thought you’d be here, I thought you’d try, I thought you’d stay,” De Souza doesn’t mince words.
“I feel like the people who come to my shows have a really hard life. Do you have a hard life?,” she asked. With a twinkle in her eye, she then shared about the time she’d been asked to play a pool party in Cancun and how all these people were having a great time and partying without a care in the world and she launched into “How I Get Myself Killed.” “I think the promoters thought my music was more fun.”
Smart, witty, and honest. De Souza had the room mesmerized for her hour-plus concert.
The quartet Truth Club, who also hails from North Carolina, opened the night minus their guitarist/bassist Kam Vann, who Travis Harrington (vocals/guitar) told us was sick. Not just sick but coughing up blood just before the show. They assured us all he was going to see a doctor. On that somber note, the indie/alt rock group kicked off their 40-minute set with “Siphon,” reminiscent of noisier, grunge 90s sounds.
Harrington also shared that he’d eaten the iconic St. Louis St. Paul Sandwich earlier in the day that “might be slowing me down a bit.” But he liked it.
Halfway through Harrington asked if anyone was excited about Valentine’s Day and launched into one of his favorite love songs, a cover of “Cupid Come” by My Bloody Valentine.
They closed their set with the languid, “Uh Oh.”
No matter your age, or state of mind, Indigo De Souza is someone to put on your radar and to remember no matter how bleak things seem, “All of this Will End” and brighter days are ahead.
We’re also sending the best of luck to John who hails from Corbin, Kentucky, “the home of KFC.” He hit up three concerts, including this one, his couple of days in St. Louis as he’s trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most concerts seen in one year (there’s a slew of rules to follow to be in the running, it’s not just as simple as seeing lots of concerts).
More photos from the night: https://bit.ly/IndigoDS24cz
Indigo De Souza’s setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/indigo-de-souza/2024/delmar-hall-st-louis-mo-13ad9d05.html
Truth Club’s setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/truth-club/2024/delmar-hall-st-louis-mo-bad9dfa.html
