Murder By Death + William Elliott Whitmore + friends - Café 939 (Boston, MA; Nov 15, 2008)

”We are now a Pink Floyd cover band” announced Murder By Death singer/guitarist Adam Turla three quarters of the way through the bands sold out concert at Café 939 Saturday night. It appears the band, who played Burlington, Vermont the night before, were by all accounts happy with the “250 or so” people that came to their show, only to be saddened to learn that in the club’s larger room, a Pink Floyd tribute band had sold out, to the tune of 950 tickets.

All joking aside, the Bloomington, Indiana quartet put rock music forward by just that one step it has needed. The band, currently touring in support of their new Vagrant Records full-length record Red of Tooth and Claw, delighted the at-capacity crowd with 70+ minutes of music that ranged from hauntingly dark and moody to full-throttle, hand-clapping, foot-stomping glee. 

The quartet, made up of singer/guitarist Adam Turla, bassist Matt Armstrong, cellist and keyboardist Sarah Balliet, and newest member Dagan Thogerson on percussion, find ways to have distorted guitars and cello sound so hauntingly appealing to the ears. Balliet and Turla have degrees in religious studies and anthropology, but the songs ranged from said subject matter all the way to all-night drinking binges. Opening with “‘52 Ford” from Red Tooth and Claw, the band set an all-business tone, at least at the outset. The band said nary a word to the audience, instead going six songs deep into the twenty-song set before saying so much as “Thank you.” Soon after, Turla, the only one with a microphone, began the witty stage banter. First, he said this was the band’s first “sober” show in Boston. Also, the guitarist had to share and show off his over-the-top blue flame-shaped guitar, saying he just liked how it looked.

The deep bass work from Armstrong held strong all evening, but, unfortunately, the cello work was a little too buried for these ears, but when it rose up out of the mix, or was a more focused instrument on a given song, every eye followed that bow back and forth.

Admittedly, this was my first experience with the band. During the evening I heard smatterings of Modest Mouse and then on the Pogues. What stood out the most was how tight the band was. Each member had his or her “flashes of brilliance,” but no one member outshone the others. The band locked into deep grooves that would have a quick flash of guitar, a rock-solid, room-shaking bass line, then a cello pass, up, over, down, and through the whole song.

A refreshing moment came late in the show, when Turla said they’d be doing a cover of William Elliott Whitmore’s “One Man’s Shame.” Whitmore, who performed in the middle slot, was an all-acoustic solo affair, so it was interesting to hear one of his songs in a band setting. Turla mentioned they loved the song and were big fans of his work.

The band left the stage, with only Turla returning to do a stunning version of “Shiola” from the In Bocca Al Lupo record. Turla joked the band had to go to the van to pound a beer, and we were wondering if they could do two during the song. 

In the end, many things left me a fan. The biggest is that this is really a band you just cannot categorize and since that is the case, the instruments and songwriting play the biggest roles possible.

Due to traffic issues and parking I was unable to see the very first band, but did see all of the set by William Elliott Whitmore. Weilding on a banjo, then later an acoustic guitar, Whitmore kept the audience’s attention with a baritone voice that filled the room. The audience was attentive and courteous for the entire set, a flat-out rarity at most rock shows where if there are not wailing guitars most folks tune out. Whitmore was a fine storyteller and at one time shared a moment with a fan and had a blue jelly bean, joking that usually he had whisky at shows, but this was a nice change of pace. Whitmore played for about thirty-five minutes, performing a few tracks from his new album that is due out in February 2009.

Murder By Death is due back at the Middle East in Cambridge on February 7, 2009 at a show where the band will perform two of their studio albums in their entirety. Act fast, this one is sure to sell out.

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