Apparently the last time Murder by Death played at the Orpheum, one of their crew members (or maybe it was a friend) was thrown through a window, so I’m happy that didn’t deter them from returning. The band recently hit the road in support of their latest album, ‘Good Morning, Magpie’, however, the setlist wasn’t really centered around their shiny new material. Which is not a complaint…just an observation.
The four-piece kicked off their set with a few ‘Red of Tooth and Claw’ tracks, such as, “52 Ford”, “Ball & Chain” and “Rumbrave”. Actually, I don’t think it was until mid-way through the show that ‘Magpie’ material appeared in the form of, “You Don’t Miss Twice (When You’re Shavin’ With a Knife)”. Murder By Death trudged along to the end playing mostly older material like, “Comin’ Home”, “Dynamite Mine” and “Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue”.
There were no batty antics during the performance, simply a talented band perched on a dark stage illuminated with red lights. They sounded great live, very rabble rousing, and the lyric howling crowd seemed to be happily drenched in whiskey fumes; I dug it!
And to top off the evening, Murder By Death ( or Adam Turla) came back out for an encore and slightly hushed the bleary-eyed crowd with a cover of, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”.
