The name Murder City Devils alone could be enough to raise your curiosity enough to get you to come out and see this band play live. However, the band played to a modest, but in all fairness, very enthusiastic, crowd at The Fillmore Silver Spring this past Sunday night. I personally thought that all the psychopaths and punkers left in our lovely city would be killing each other to get into this show, but I guess the light snow flurries scared them away.
The riff-heavy Seattle-based Murder City Devils formed in 1996 and has put out four full-length albums, one live album, a box set, and has released more than a handful of singles, not to mention about a bazillion cool t-shirts and old-school show fliers.
Murder City Devils had been on my radar for a number of years now, but I have never had the opportunity to see them play live. I have to say, the band was everything I thought they would be: solid, loud, and energetic. The Devils certainly didn’t disappoint, and in fact, I thought they played their guts out.
MCD’s frontman Spencer Moodey has a searing presence as he commands the stage and belts out rough, growly vocal tones while Dann Gallucci’s fast-paced hollow guitar sounds hold down the hooks and harmony section of the band. Some of you might recognize Gallucci from his other projects, with acts like Cold War Kids and Modest Mouse in his repertoire. Moodey, however, has this erie, yet unintentional Neil-Fallon-like quality to his stage persona. No one owns the stage like Clutch does when they play a show, but Murder City Devils’ Spencer Moodey also definitely demands attention. It takes a lot to stand there toughly and deliver kick-ass vocals and stage presence, and Moodey certainly delivers more then his fair share.
Judging by the turnout alone, I guess DC is not quite ready for the MCD, and that’s a shame because they put on one hell of a rocking show. I think the show count was something like 350 attendees, which is by no means a small group, but on the Fillmore’s large floor, it looks a little thin. The good news for all the street toughs, punk-o’s, and psychos that showed up was that there was no line at the bar.
War On Women from Baltimore kicked off the night’s festivities with their short, fast, old-school-style punk-metal songs and banshee-like vocals. I really enjoyed their set and their energy. The second opener was Tweens, a pop-punk band out of Cincinnati.
TWEENS
WAR ON WOMEN
