By Bryan Menegus, Staff Writer
“You kids…you’ve got the internet, and Facebook, and YouTube” were the quizzical words of Jesse Malin, the punk-rock poseur openers and apparent Luddites who went on to explain to a packed but uninterested audience that “rock ‘n roll is president, punk rock is president”, which, could have been an attempt at a political statement, but it’s blandly enigmatic message proved to be a perfect backdrop for the egoism of the group.
Despite their repeated insistence on their connection to punk, the ‘group’ sounded more like a lackluster combination of Lynard Skynard and Motley Crue, and from the reactions they garnered, they seemed to be their biggest fans. The crowd, both those of and not of age, used this time to get hammered. The only positive aspect of Jesse Malin & His Showboating Buffoons was a mercifully short set.
Murder by Death, Indiana’s whiskey-swilling alt-country quartet made their way on stage, eschewing the demand for attention of the opening band. They quickly introduced themselves before pummeling into “Sometimes the Line Walks You,” one of the singles of their third album, “In Bocca al Lupo.” Frontman Adam Turla belted a surly Johnny Cash-esque baritone, leading the band through slight unscripted tempo changes, while bassist Matt Armstrong followed along loyally. Sarah Balliet sawed away at her cello like a frustrated lover, both in a world of her own and completely aware of her band mates.
Besides one unrecorded song of Adam Turla solo, their set consisted almost entirely of their latest album, “Red of Tooth and Claw,” which garnered them great praise, and landed them a spot on the Inglorious Basterds trailer with opening track “Comin’ Home”.
Murder by Death played with the sort of certainty that only seasoned musicians develop.
But at no point in their set did they flaunt it, despite opening for The Gaslight Anthem, a band five years their younger, and who’s catalogue is less than half that of Murder by Death. By any logical assessment, it would seem Gaslight Anthem would have been the openers. But logic gave out, in favor of ‘flavor of the month’ thinking. While Gaslight played a totally respectable set, their Springsteen fancier pop-punk which managed to skyrocket them into the musical consciousness will never outlive the tenacity hard-working bands.
Murder by Death frontman, Adam Turla, rocks the crowd at Terminal 5 (Caity Gilvary/ The Chronicle)
