There was an energy in the room at Iota Club Friday night just before Deleted Scenes took the stage. Local alt-rockers Young Rapids started things off with a performance showcasing their musicianship and Canadian rock band The Grounders continued suit with a precise performance but the crowd made it quite obvious who they were at Iota to see by the night’s end.

Deleted Scenes played a wide-range of previously released material and fan favorites like “Bed Bed Bed Bed” as well as selections from their upcoming record Lithium Burn. Closer to the end of their set, lead singer and Olney, Md. native Dan Scheuerman found himself in the middle of the crowd which ended up being one of the night’s most memorable moments. One second he’s bending over the vocal stage monitor in front of his mic stand singing as if there was no tomorrow and the next second he’s crowd-surfing in the front three rows of people being “air-lifted” back to the stage. The crowd gladly obliged as they became vicarious members of the band if even just for a moment.

Bass player Matt Dowling took a few minutes to follow up with We Love DC about Friday’s show and what it felt like to be back in the DC area.

How did it feel to play back in the DC area after some time away?

It’s always great for us to play DC. Prior to last month’s show with the D-Plan, it had been a while. Getting to do both that show at 9:30, and then this one at Iota has been a really fun/fortunate double-header in DC.

When crafting your set list, what was your song selection process like?

We’re playing a lot of stuff from our upcoming record, Lithium Burn. Come to think of it, we’re probably playing too much from that record given that it’s not even out yet, but that’s just where we are as band right now, and it would feel dishonest and stale only playing stuff that represents us from 2 or more years ago. So it’s really about striking a balance between keeping stuff feeling fresh for us from a performance perspective, but also sprinkling in a bunch of oldies that people like to hear from us.

What did it feel like to play to a packed room on a Friday night?

Playing DC is a really special thing for us. It has always seemed like people view our music as a “grower,” i.e. it takes a while to get into it, but if you stick with it, it’s rewarding. In DC, more than anywhere else, people have stuck with it, and the showgoers genuinely seem to vibe with the energy we’re putting off onstage. There’s also the factor of our music having a lot of stylistic roots in DC, which helps people “get us” more so than, say, Portland. So within the last couple years particularly, DC crowds have begun to really connect with us as a live band. Playing at Iota felt awesome and right, and those moments are the fuel for continuing to do what we do. If every city connected with us like DC does, tours would feel like a continuous IV injection of high-grade heroin.

What’s next for Deleted Scenes for the rest of the year and into 2014?

Starting with this tour, we’ve initiated the process of releasing our 3rd LP, which is out early next year. Leading up to that, we’re hoping to do some support slots for bigger tours, and we’ll also release a couple more singles from the record and some music videos as well. In March, we’ll go down to SXSW, and then do a headlining tour around the official release of the record. In short, 2014 is going to be a really active year for us, so stay tuned.