Deluca still sings well, despite hurting his voice

Cross Ben Harper with the late Jeff Buckley and you will most likely get something that sounds exactly like Rocco Deluca & The Burden.

Deluca and his band hail from Southern California, famous for its sand and surf, as well as its signature folk rock sound. Deluca took that sound, added some distortion and melded it into a bluesy, listener-friendly concoction. Deluca's tour made a stop in town Sunday night at the Music Farm. I hadn't been to the Farm in awhile, and to tell you the truth, I had actually planned on skipping this show as well.

All I can say after hearing Deluca & The Burden play, is that I'm really, really glad I ultimately decided to attend Sunday night's performance.

I arrived too late to see the group The Midway State, but just in time for second opener The Last Good Night. This Connecticut-based band reminded me of both Maroon 5 and Foreigner. Lead singer Kurtis Henneberry, who sported a well-coiffed Mohawk haircut, sang with a soulful voice that blended well with the band's songs. Especially good were "Pictures of You," the band's first single off its upcoming CD, "Poison Kiss," as well as "Return To Me," which found Henneberry hitting some impressively high notes during the chorus.

Sunday night's crowd was between 50 and 100 music fans, which was a shame, given how the show turned out.

During the break between bands, someone dressed as a giant rabbit wandered into the Farm and apparently decided to stay for the duration of the evening. Deluca and his band filed on stage, tuned up, and pretty much proceeded to blow my mind.

Deluca's specialty is the dobro style resonator guitar. One usually sees the dobro played held flat on the lap as the player picks and slides over the strings. Deluca plays his dobro like a conventional guitar, and when he picks the strings, Deluca makes an already powerful instrument growl like an animal. Couple that with Deluca's voice, which can go from smoky hoarse to a falsetto that Jeff Buckley would appreciate.

Midway through the show, which found the band performing songs from its latest CD, "I Trust You To Kill Me," Deluca advised the crowd that he had blown out his voice the night before. I took that to mean that we were not getting the full power of his vocals. Given how powerful Deluca's voice was on Sunday night, it is difficult to believe that it could be turned up a notch or two from that point.

Even the big rabbit was impressed enough to complement Deluca by stamping on the floor.

Standout performances during the main set included "Gift," "Painfully Pretty," "Bus Ride" and "Dope." Deluca switched from dobro to electric guitar and back again to dobro, depending on the song. At one point during the show Deluca stepped over to a theramin, and with a few waves of his had the Farm filled with electronic space sounds.

The encore began with Deluca alone on stage singing "How Many Times," a song not featured on the new CD. That tune once again showed of Deluca's incredible vocal range. As Deluca finished that song, the rest of the band reappeared from backstage. The final song of the night was the title track to the new CD, but that song does not actually appear on the CD.

When I think of how close I got to not going to see Sunday night's show, the more lucky I feel that I did attend. Hopefully word of mouth is giving Deluca the popularity he and his band deserve.

Devin Grant can be reached at chucktowncritic@yahoo.com.