Upstairs at Sneaky Dee’s Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz, who make up Seattle band The Dutchess and the Duke, are sitting at their merch table enjoying a somewhat competitive game of War and lamenting about last night’s show in Montreal and a very excited fan.

“He was right in-front and the whole time he was just yelling. It was really distracting, but we got through it,” Lortz says.

The mood in the room is quite calm as only a few have made it in time to see first act Rat Tale, an indie grindcore band from Hamilton. If this is any indication of how the audience will be tonight, Morrison and Lortz will have little distractions to deal with. At this point, however, touring is what helps this duo survive.

“He just got an apartment and I’ve been homeless for the past three months,” Morrison said.

“Kind of non-stop touring,” Lortz adds.

The Dutchess And The Duke Live At Sneaky Dee’s

Dutchess are touring in support of their latest album, Sunset/Sunrise, released last October. Montreal and Toronto are the only Canadian stops, before they hit cities in the western states.

Proudly displaying their Sunset/Sunrise for sale on vinyl, Dutchess added a clause in their contract before signing to their current label, Hardy Art Records.

“We told them we wouldn’t sign unless they put it out on vinyl,” Morrison said.

The vinyl copy comes with a poster as well as a digital download of the album.

Both Sunrise/Sunset and Dutchess’ first album, She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke, have been given solid reviews from various publications including Pitchfork.

After touring partners Medication, from Connecticut, perform their noisy set of post-punk/garage rock inspired tunes, Morrison and Lortz take the stage, dim the lights, fiddle with the cord connected to the amp and provide the room, which is now full, with sweet acoustic driven songs.

Towards the end of the song, “I Am Just a Ghost,” the audience joins Lortz on vocals in what seems like a perfect way to cap the night off.