Lou Reed once said, “I always believed that I have something important to say and I said it…My God is rock ‘n’ roll.”

Rock has historically functioned as a cathartic haven for the likes of many great musicians who have wholly invested, and many times given, their lives for the misfit culture. To take the lifestyle to the extreme is to walk a finely whetted edge to an often serendipitous fate ¬– but the fast paced credo of ‘sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll¬ has no doubt produced both train-wreck disastrous fallouts, as well as Godlike legends.

Standing on stage lashing out what can best be described as simply fast-paced straight-up fucking rock ‘n’ roll, The Delta Routine shook the floors of Linneman’s River West Inn as they stomped out their headlining set Saturday night.

Thousands of watts and ominous Marshall stacks proved their worth as the thrashing up-beat power chords and clever placed solos tantalized the souls of the unruly who held up the front lines of the dance floor.

The 2005 born band just returned from a two-week trek from Iowa to Oklahoma, all the way out to Kansas, bringing them to their last-leg homecoming show here in Milwaukee to please an eager welcoming committee.

Their blue toned power-rock sound tells no lies (their style reminiscent of The Black Keys, or a more pop oriented version of early White Stripes), checking synthesizers and excessive production at the door, allowing for a crude and satisfying performance. Front-man Nick Amadeus sang loud hitting on-key with convincing intensity as the foursome kicked out song after song off of their debut original album Donna, including their single “Get Over It,” and “Suzanna,” a cover from another local favorite, The Wildbirds.

The Delta Routine is currently in the studio producing 12 new tracks, which may evolve into their second full-length album. They will be shaking off the road for a bit, sticking around the local scene, so I would suggest keeping an eye on their MySpace page for upcoming performances that guarantee a good accompaniment to cold beer and lively tension release.