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Tour Dates
11/09 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
Read More11/10 - Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub 11/12 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall 11/13 - Morgantown, WV @ Metropolitan Theatre 11/14 - Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small's Theatre 11/15 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 11/16 - Phila, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts 11/17 - Charlottesvile, VA @ Jefferson Theatre 11/19 - Baltimore, MD @ 8 x 10 Club 11/21 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall 11/22 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues 11/23 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre 11/24 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground 12/27 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore 12/28 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore 12/30 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst 12/31 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
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Santa Cruz’s The Devil Makes Three turned First Avenue into a rowdy Nashville honky tonk Thursday night, playing a wild set to a giddy, inebriated crowd. Indeed, the music seemed to spike the air with whiskey - were we drunk on actual liquor or just pleasantly numbed by that urgent, hypnotic string-led rhythm and lulled by those warm vocal harmonies? This was my first time seeing the band (they have played the Cabooze and the Triple Rock Social Club in years past) and I wasn’t sure what to expect - turns out the band knows how to work an audience with their enthralling music.
I only caught the tail end of opener Shakey Graves as he was wrapping up, but I liked what I heard. The 25-year-old musician Alejandro Rose-Garcia adopted the stage name Shakey Graves and has been making a name for himself in his current home base of Austin, Texas. The charming singer-songwriter commanded the stage with nothing more than his voice and an acoustic guitar.
Soon after, The Devil Makes Three strode out on stage, silently picked up their instruments and basked in the glow of applause. They kicked into their excellent new stomper “Stranger†off I’m a Stranger Here released last month on New West Records and kept the tempo feverish all night. Older songs like “The Bullet†from the band’s self-titled debut and “All Hail†from 2009’s Do Right Wrong encouraged a singalong from the crowd, but I was really impressed with songs off the new record. Tunes like “Forty Days†and “Dead Body Moving†were striking, with singer/guitarist Peter Bernhard singing effectively haunting lyrics like: “I won't be here for long so you got to understand/You can dance with the demon/look him dead into the eyes/I've already been where we go when we die.â€
I have to admit: I’ve gotten a little sick of the banjo in modern music as of late. It just seems like every band is utilizing it and abusing it. BUT hearing and watching Cooper McBean just pluck the crap out of his banjo (like on “Gracefully Facedownâ€) made me appreciate the instrument’s intensity. McBean and his banjo can strum me into the grave any old time. On McBean and Cooper’s left, bassist Lucia Turino grooved alongside her upright bass, effortlessly slapping out the notes while lending her pipes to round out those great three-part harmonies. Later in the set, she sang lead on a Doc Watson cover, “Walk On Boy.â€
In all my years of going to see live music, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd get so worked up over a Blind Willie McTell cover (“Statesboro Bluesâ€) or that classic blues dirge “St. James Infirmary,†which was the set closer. But when the tempo is sped up to a breathless pace, especially on “St. James,†you can’t help but shake like you’re having a banjo-induced seizure.
I only caught the tail end of opener Shakey Graves as he was wrapping up, but I liked what I heard. The 25-year-old musician Alejandro Rose-Garcia adopted the stage name Shakey Graves and has been making a name for himself in his current home base of Austin, Texas. The charming singer-songwriter commanded the stage with nothing more than his voice and an acoustic guitar.
Soon after, The Devil Makes Three strode out on stage, silently picked up their instruments and basked in the glow of applause. They kicked into their excellent new stomper “Stranger†off I’m a Stranger Here released last month on New West Records and kept the tempo feverish all night. Older songs like “The Bullet†from the band’s self-titled debut and “All Hail†from 2009’s Do Right Wrong encouraged a singalong from the crowd, but I was really impressed with songs off the new record. Tunes like “Forty Days†and “Dead Body Moving†were striking, with singer/guitarist Peter Bernhard singing effectively haunting lyrics like: “I won't be here for long so you got to understand/You can dance with the demon/look him dead into the eyes/I've already been where we go when we die.â€
I have to admit: I’ve gotten a little sick of the banjo in modern music as of late. It just seems like every band is utilizing it and abusing it. BUT hearing and watching Cooper McBean just pluck the crap out of his banjo (like on “Gracefully Facedownâ€) made me appreciate the instrument’s intensity. McBean and his banjo can strum me into the grave any old time. On McBean and Cooper’s left, bassist Lucia Turino grooved alongside her upright bass, effortlessly slapping out the notes while lending her pipes to round out those great three-part harmonies. Later in the set, she sang lead on a Doc Watson cover, “Walk On Boy.â€
In all my years of going to see live music, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd get so worked up over a Blind Willie McTell cover (“Statesboro Bluesâ€) or that classic blues dirge “St. James Infirmary,†which was the set closer. But when the tempo is sped up to a breathless pace, especially on “St. James,†you can’t help but shake like you’re having a banjo-induced seizure.
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Devil Makes Three at First Avenue, Minneapolis (11/07/13) |
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