In the history of rock ‘n’ roll, the devil has made a lot of cameos: “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones; “Runnin’ with the Devil” by Van Halen; even “Devils Haircut” by Beck. But a story about the devil visiting a Mexican bar and engaging in warfare with local townsfolk? Only Indiana rock band Murder by Death can get away with that scenario.
The four-piece band from Bloomington stopped in Washington Wednesday, headlining the Black Cat as part of a tour in support of its latest album, Red of Tooth and Claw. Though Murder by Death put on a solid show – and played a significant smattering of songs from its album about the devil, entitled Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? – the spotlight was stolen by opener O’Death, a band specializing in a brand of Southern, gothic folk that Diamondback photographer Adam Fried describes as “haunted carnival music.”
Barely 45 minutes after Black Cat’s 8 p.m. doors, opening band Kiss Kiss, a five-piece from New York with a slow-breakneck-slow speed of play, took the stage. Less than an hour later, second opening band O’Death grabbed the limelight from Kiss Kiss in the best of ways. Whereas the first opening band was a juxtaposed mess of dueling instruments and shrieking vocals, O’Death exhibited a wonderfully orchestrated harmony of bluegrass, punk, gothic and even gypsy styles.
Almost resembling a pack of crazed woodsmen with their long hair, scraggly beards and eye-catching tattoos (see: a huge elephant’s head on drummer David Rogers-Berry’s side), the band launched into a mix of songs from its album Head Home and new tracks, with highlights including “Spider Home,” “Down to Rest” (which included the entire band in a howling sing-along) and the fast-paced “Adelita,” before which the band shared a shot of whiskey (it makes sense; the band has the liquor listed as an influence on its MySpace page).
As sung by guitarist and enjoyably nasal lead vocalist Greg Jamie, all the songs took on an old-school quality – almost as if they were transmitted through an ancient gramophone or radio – that was quite strange but also quite catchy. But the band’s fantastic set was cut a song short when member Jesse Newman’s bass started acting up and sounding ear-splittingly fuzzy.
The crowd cheered up, however, when Murder by Death hit the stage at 10:30 p.m. Led by vocalist Adam Turla, the band jumped into “Sometimes the Line Walks You” (a possible Johnny Cash reference?) from 2006 album In Bocca al Lupo and “’52 Ford” from their most recent endeavor.
To first-time listeners, the band may just seem like cowboy music with a cello thrown in for good measure, but the lyrics to songs such as “A Masters in Reverse Psychology” (“Keep the girls inside of the little church/ With their bruised knees on the pews”) and “The Devil In Mexico” (“Like slivers of lead inside your food/ He’s the poison inside you”) create such vivid imagery that you can’t help but be enthralled. And songs about zombies and pirates (“Killbot 2000” and “Dead Men and Sinners,” performed back-to-back) are “irresistible,” a smiling Turla said to the crowd. “We should just write a song about zombies and pirates and just get it done in three minutes,” he added.
But as beautifully as band member Sarah Balliet plays the cello and as similar to Cash as Turla sounds, Murder by Death’s new stuff simply isn’t as captivating as anything on Who Will Survive. That concept album was a masterpiece, an example of how stupendously well orchestral and saloon rock can play off one another. New single “Fuego!” is good, but it’s no “The Desert is On Fire” (the band’s ending encore), and it looks like Murder by Death knows it: The band almost seemed to be going through the motions, performing just the right songs and giving just enough to keep the audience engaged – but not much more.
Not to be too harsh – even with little effort, Turla and Co. still put on a crowd-pleaser. They just should have paid more attention to O’Death’s charisma before getting onstage themselves.
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