The Dig at The Satellite, 10.22.13

Yesterday marked the release of The Dig’s fourth album, the You & I EP, and what better way to celebrate than with a show at the Satellite in Los Angeles’ epicenter of the indie-rock music scene, Silverlake?  The guys that make up the New York-based band are more than familiar with the area as they spent last summer in residency at the Silverlake Lounge just down the street and judging by the frequent hugs and high-fives from various audience members as the band set up the stage at The Satellite, it seems that David Baldwin, Emile Mosseri, Erick Eiser, and Mark Demiglio have found a special place in the hearts of Angelenos.

Without introduction, The Dig opened their set at ten past ten by launching into “Over You Again”.  The crowd responded immediately, pulsing to the beat, entranced by the dreamy fusion of rock, pop, and psychedelia.  Crowds for an all male band often tend to be female heavy, but the crowd at the Satellite on this particular Tuesday night was diverse in gender and age testifying to the universal appeal of the sound that The Dig has been refining over the course of their now four album releases.

The band played several songs from previous albums Midnight Flowers and Tired Hearts, including the sing-along-inducing “I Already Forgot Everything You Said”, before pausing briefly to announce the release of their latest creation and showcasing some tracks from the new album.  As they debuted “You and I Lost Control” the band members jammed out, each in their own way.  Their sound is at once ethereal and expansive with airy vocals and reverberating guitar sequences, but is solidly grounded with a rock edge provided by crescendos of explosive guitar riffs and the steady, rhythmic beats of the keyboards and percussion.

The Dig wound down their nine song set with “So Alone”, an eerie, foreboding track from You & I that gives the excitingly suspenseful effect of being in a carnival house of mirrors, “Black Water, which Emile notes is “about a girl”, and the surf-rock ballad “Hole in My Heart” before ending the night with one of my personal favorites, “Angeline”.

Despite the crowd’s obvious desire for “three more songs”, quite possibly inspired by the Busy Living’s feat of squeezing a few more songs in at the end of their set ahead of The Dig, the band thanked the crowd and quickly set to work breaking down their gear to make way for their friends, The Leagues.  While David, Emile, Erick, and Mark may be on to play San Francisco’s Brick & Mortar Music Hall, Angelenos can rest easy knowing that the boys of The Dig will no doubt be back soon to play in their “home away from home”.

Photography by Grace Li.