Murder City Devils – Live in Philly and NYC (2/12 & 2/13)

P’s Take: It was a fine weekend for Rock and Roll, beards, and aggressive females. The FSS saw the Murder City Devils 3 times in two days. So suck it.

Friday – Philadelphia is fuckin’ far away. From everywhere. But sister Michele, Uncle T and I drove straight from work all the way out to see the Devils on the coldest ass night of the year. We got there just in time for their first set and the place went fuckin’ bananas. I gotta say Philadelphia was down for some drinking and flailing that night. Also there were more beards being rocked there than at a Taliban conference. I’m just saying. The Devils were awesome and louder than hell. They even debuted a new song, something about the 7 deadly sins or something.  At 10:30 we were shooed out of the club so they could set up for the second set to begin at midnight. We got some food at the coldest bar and grill on earth and watched a catfight on the street corner to pass the time till the second set. It was awesome. The catfight was, the food was aight.

The Devils second set of the night, it must be said, was pretty much exactly the same as the first, just drunker and beardier. They played great definitely, but by this time I am exhausted and sober. A fight broke out toward the end of the show and contrary to form , I decided to break it up. It was between some drunk dude, his drunk girl and some guy who looked like John The Baptist. So I go in and take drunk guy off the Baptist and then drunk guy’s girl flanks me and starts going to town on Johnny, fists flying. So then I go to grab drunk girl and drunk guy starts lacing into the Baptist. Finally they are all dragged away from each other by the crowd and the whole time drunk girl is pointing to her eyes, giving the John the Baptist the finger with both hands, and then pointing at him. Eye fuck you, get it? Aint that clever? Awesome.

Saturday – So Fridays MCD marathon was in a dive, like it’s s’posed to be, Saturday’s was at the Nokia Theatre in New York. It looks like it’s from the future, beer cost like 10 dollars and the place just generally sucks ass. Also, whereas the Philly crowd were bearded (the women too) and rowdy the New York crowd were posing. I’m from round the way, so I don’t like to bash the home people but there was really a lot of too-cool-for-school posing motherfuckers there. I’m just saying.

The performance was awesome though, again. The Murder City Devils believe in Rock like some believe in the Jesus, and it shows. I dropped 2 bills in two days to see this band and if they played next month I’d do it again. They have never let me down.

Now back to catfights. So I’m standing there watching the show and right in front of me some drunk guy bumbles into this girl who in turn fucking FLOORS him and starts wailing on him while he’s on the ground. Again, I go in to help for some reason, and the girl starts explaining to me why this cat deserves the beating, evidently cause he “touched my bag”. But she didn’t need to explain, I was with her completely. Some people were born to Rock and Roll.

T’s Take: Remember that Mike Ness line about dreaming all week of a rock and roll weekend? That’s pretty much how this week went down. Three shows..two nights…following a work week and a blizzard??? Fuck yes, bring on the rock and roll. Went down like this…

Jet outta work, pick up P from the Passaic train station, fight parkway traffic to get to the little lady and head straight down to Philly. We literally walked into the venue 2 minutes before the Devils took the stage. Look I’m getting old. I’m not in the business much of flailing about at shows like I did fifteen years ago. I’m not saying I never dance anymore, just that it’s gotta be the right amount of rock and roll to get me out there. The Murder City Devils are such a band that I lose my shit any time I’m listening to them and live even more so. Within seconds I’m rushing the front, fist in the air, screaming at the top of my fucking lungs. The Philly crowd (unlike last years Seattle crowd) were no slouches. We all waited a long time for this. If you check the video we posted of the show someone yells out to the band before they began “you guys better not fuckin’ suck”. Like there was a chance.

During the first set I had no idea where anybody was nor did i care.  I looked for P a few times but his beard didn’t help.  As P was breaking up fights, I was making strange friends… err friends strangely.  Seriously if you’re reading this and you’re the “guy” hit me with an email and I’ll send you an FSS shirt gratis. Basically I clashed with some dude in the pit at one point and… man, if I tell you this you won’t fucking believe it… but I swear it’s true. Some fellow Murder City fan and I slammed into each other so hard and at such an odd angle that our key carabiners locked together and we were fused to each other at the waist like some sort of fucked up dancing rock and roll Siamese twin. We had to move to the side of the action for a good minute or two to figure out how in the fuck to cut each other loose. Fucking odd indeed. In between sets we hit up a nearby bar for some food and beer and then it was back to the venue for the midnight show. Spencer joked that they weren’t going to play Midnight Service at the Mutter Museum because it would have been too hokey (the Mutter Museum resides in Philly after all), but they played it later anyway.  Both Philly crowds were great as always but the first edged out the second for the mere fact that during the second set myself, my wife, and some dude with a Bukowski gravestone tattoo had to constantly and unsuccessfully ward off some drunk asshole that deserved the having the boot put to him hard style.  If you’re reading this and you’re the dude with the Buk tattoo… again… hit me with an email and you’ll have a shirt coming.

The following night we headed into Times Square, NYC for the last of the three shows. It was a little surreal seeing the enormous led billboard outside the Nokia with the crowned skull and crossed switchblade logo and all kinds of video of the band. But it was the punkest thing Times Square probably ever had on display, so as surreal as it was it was pretty fucking boss too. Saw a couple familiar faces from the Philly show. I had a feeling we weren’t the only ones going to all of them. Before Murder City took the stage I listened in on a conversation between a dude from Denmark and a dude from Connecticut. People had come far and wide for this one. I was a little drunk at this point but I’m pretty sure Connecticut was speaking as if he came just as far as Denmark.  If you’re reading this and you’re the dude from Connecticut stay there, don’t email me and forget the free shirt.  The Nokia held a shit load more people than the Philly venue and it was packed. The second the band started all hell broke loose. It was easily my favorite show of the three. I’m not sure that it was any better… performance wise they were all fucking great… but I went more apeshit at this one than the other two and that’s saying a lot so by default it was my favorite. My voice will be gone for the next couple days and I’m a little sore to be honest but man the Devils made my weekend.  Like P said if they came back again next weekend we’d be there.  They’re probably the only band around in the past couple decades that did the rock and roll they way it should be done.  If you don’t know, now you know.

Highlights from the shows included: Press Gang, Broken Glass, Rum To Whiskey, Johnny Thunders, 18 Wheels, Dancehall Music, I Want A Lot Now, Idle Hands, I Drink The Wine, Fields of Fire, and Bear Away.

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