Heavy Rotation: Week Ending October 16, 2009

01. The Murder City Devils – The Murder City Devils, (Die Young Stay Pretty.1997)
02. The Murder City Devils – Empty Bottles Broken Hearts, (Sub Pop.1998)
03. The Murder City Devils – In Name and Blood, (Sub Pop.2000)
04. The Chambermaids – Down In The Berries, (Modern Radio.2009)
05. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead, (Fat Cat.2009)
06. Sin Fang Bous – Clangour, (Morr Music.2009)
07. Wavves – Wavvves, (Fat Possum.2009)
08. Heartbreak Stereo – Inspiration (Back from the Dead), (Rookie/Finetunes.2009)
09. Starflyer59 – Dial M, (Tooth & Nail.2009)
10. Paramore – Brand New Eyes, (Fueled by Ramen.2009)

On Sunday night (October 11th), I had the most wonderful and humble opportunity to catch a kind-of-sort-of-reunion show by The Murder City Devils. [I don't know if one could call it a full-blown, proper reunion, being that the band did a West Coast tour in February 2009 – that for obvious reasons, specifically, that I don't live on the West Coast, I could not attend. If I were to call it a full-blown reunion show, this would be the second leg of the tour (thus, I make the assumption that they will continue playing shows) (using the term tour may be generous as well, given they played three shows over the weekend – the 9th in Chicago, the 10th in Austin, TX … what kind of tour planning is that too? From Seattle to Chicago, then down to Austin, then back up north to Minneapolis … oh well, it's their life and planning, not mine … hahahahaha)]. So, yes, I saw The Murder City Devils play a show at the legendary First Avenue club in downtown Minneapolis. And it was … awesome.

The last time I saw the band was in 1999 in Des Moines, IA. Much has changed: lead singer Spencer Moody has a big beard, the band didn't jump around and lean hard into every chord change, the amount of alcohol consumed by the members had to be down 75% (smoking was down too, but not sure if that was due to complying w/the ban on indoor smoking – although, the lovely Ms. Leslie Hardy [keyboardist] didn't give a shit about a ban), no lighting cymbals on fire during “Every Shitty Thing” (I have a story about that from the Des Moines show). The thing that was no different, this is crucial, was the energy – the band tore through their set with rage and passion and attitude. And they sounded great. Yeah, I know discerning music listener, this is punk rock played at high volume, but the changes were tight, the faster songs didn't fall into a spitting-crying-mess on the floor.

The crowd was well-versed in Murder City, singing loud on “Press Gang”, “18 Wheels”, “Bunkhouse”, “I Want A Lot Now (So Come On)”, “Dear Hearts”, “Idle Hands”, “Rum to Whiskey”, and on and on, hit after hit. The best songs of the night were crazy, fist clenching, vitrol-laced performances of “Get Off The Floor” and “Dancin' Shoes” - no doubt, these are curious tunes about dancing at the show and feeling alright. The band pulverized them as if ten years didn't matter a single fuck. The cool part was First Avenue has a balcony, which enabled lead singer Spencer Moody to call out the stoic folks to get “their ass off the floor” and up to the balcony, pointing the way (the applicable lines: “If you're not going to dance, get your ass off the floor” and “people like you are what the balcony is made for”).

Moody still owns the stage – barking out tales of truckers and sailors and cowboys, dancing and drinking, Iggy and Johnny and Eddie Spaghetti, the pain of life and salvation of punk/rock. Sure, the same tricks were on display: obscuring his face with a scarf during a few songs (back in '99 it was pulling his sweatshirt's hood so tight there was only a hole for his mouth), stuff the mic into his mouth while still “singing”, ascending monitors to emphasize points, etc. Yeah, it's all cool. What caught me off guard was how they still connected with the audience (specifically, this nearly 40 year old corporate whore, punk rock fan). You could feel the giving and receiving the collective frustration and the odd comfort of being there in that brief 75-80-90-or-so minutes, because this is the crux of the Devils: those who are there with them get that life is fucked, there is a lot of pain and dysfunction, that punk rock is more than an escape, it's a place to belong.

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