New York – Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr is a tilt-a-whirl of a band that jazzes listeners with their addictive hooks, unapologetic fervor and passion-tinged pop-rock soundscapes. This is an act that’s notorious for delivering spellbinding live showings, and Thursday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg matched that reputation with undulating force.  The evening was a rainy one, but fans turned out in droves nonetheless.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr is Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein, joined in live incarnations by Mike Higgins and Jon Visger. The band kicked off their set a touch past 10PM, backlighted by the installation art that famously accompanies each of this act’s live performances. Amazingly, the band plays with a giant white beach ball on which they project visuals to accompany each track. The sphere is so big that the whole band could conceivably fit inside, and still find ways not to look each other in the eyes. The product is bowl-you-over good, and coupled with the band’s boundless energy and an excess of lighting magic, sets the scene for a cabalistic concert.

This act first surfaced in 2010, with an epic EP via Quite Scientific Records called Horsepower. The group’s first showing was a dazzling four-track compilation that included a notably stunning cover of Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows.” The EP quietly baited fans for more to come, and cemented with surefire confidence this act’s signature sound.

A second EP, My Love Is Easy: Remixes Pt. 1, followed that same year and the group then debuted a third EP, We Almost Lost Detroit, in 2011. The first full-length endeavor, It’s A Corporate World, saw the light of day in 2011, and many of the tracks from that record made the cut for Thursday night’s set list. But the band leaned most heavily on tracks from their most recent record, The Speed of Things, which was released in 2013 via Warner Bros. Records.

“What’s up? We’re from Detroit!” exclaimed Epstein before striking into a severely stand apart track of the night, “We Almost Lost Detroit.” If there was one cut that encapsulated the night in full, this was it. The crowd metamorphosed into an industrial-sized dance machine as all in attendance sent collectively supportive vibes to the heartland.  The dance fever continued straight through dazzling deliveries of “Simple Girl,” “James Dean,” “Run,” “War Zone” and “Nothing But Our Love.” So enthused was the audience, and the band itself, that Epstein and Zott both took turns dismounting the stage and mingling with fans as the singing and playing soldiered on.

The band offered up a handful of anecdotes throughout the showing that were memorable for their attitudinal content, but ultimately expressed infinite and sincere gratitude for their audience and for the chance to perform in Brooklyn. Exiting the stage after about an hour, the band returned triumphantly to perform an endlessly enthused rendition of  “If You Didn’t See Me [Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor].” Needless to say, the cut pitched the crowd into an uncontrollably unrestrained dance wave. Afterwards, audience members cycled out into the raining evening in a problematically excitable state for a school night, electric with the aftermath of bearing witness to such a vivacious showing.

The night’s opening act, Mini Mansions, took the stage around 9PM to transition the waterlogged crowd to warmer and receptive sensibilities. The three-piece band donned suits for their performance, which may have seemed gimmicky if these musicians weren’t outlandishly talented. Rather, the band’s appearance lent a sense of graduated refinedness to the showing. Mini Mansion is an act that clearly takes their work seriously, and their musical aptitude speaks volumes. Their live delivery dialed up the atmospheric energy with surprising speed and ease.

Go HERE for Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr Tour Dates.

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Liz Rowley

Born in Mexico and raised in Toronto, Jerusalem and Chicago by a pair of journalists, Liz comes to BestNewBands.com with an inherited love of writing. After discovering a niche for herself in music journalism and radio while at Bates College in Maine, she always keeps a running playlist of new music to soundtrack her place in the world. Liz is passionate about helping dedicated, talented musicians gain the exposure they deserve. A recent transplant to Brooklyn from Hawaii, she is plagued by an incurable case of wanderlust and cursed with an affinity for old maps and old things like typewriters and vintage books. She adores photography and running and is very good with plants. Having come of age in Chicago, Wilco speaks to her soul. If she could be anything, she would be a cat in a Murakami novel.

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