Murder by Death - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA

Murder by Death kick off their 2015 US tour to a sold out crowd in Seattle. Adam Turla enters the stage most appropriately with a large glass of whisky in hand. Waving to the crowd nonchalantly with a smile, he picks up his vintage hollow Gibson and breaks into 'I Came Around'.

The setlist includs a broad range of songs from their catalog. As some of them have not officially been released, Adam would normally introduce them as the new ones. 

The band also try to spread out the energetic songs and the slower sad songs. “Thank you for letting us play a couple sad songs in a row. We want to play a couple slow ones then kick it back up again, it’s a concert, you know how it goes,” Adam jestfully states over the mike between songs and sips of whisky. Adam introduces his bandmates, Dagan Thogerson on the drums, Matt Armstrong on bass guitar, and David Fountain who handles keys, percussion, trumpet and backup vocals. 

Sarah Balliet on the cello is something of a role model for the females in the crowd, with more girls blowing kisses and yelling out “I love you!” than guys. Her enigmatic style fluctuates from a soothing and melodic lull to a ferocious explosion with the ability to resonate across the room. Give her credit for holding her own in a band full of males and being the strongest presence, second only to Adam, if not more so at times.

The crowd seems to come from far and away to see the show, many of them singing every lyric to every song. The bar must be doing swimmingly well with beer and whisky sales, as it seems as though everyone has a drink in hand. Not until the apex of the show, just before the encore, does the crowd start to get unruly with songs such as 'I’m Comin’ Home'

What we've had tonight is an energy filled show played to a loyal group of fans. The band's setlists are sure to be diverse and vary from city to city, spanning across their works from 2002 to the present.  

Big Dark Love will be released on Feburary 2 and the tour continues with a number of US dates through May:

01/30 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile

01/31 – Portland, OR @ Star Theater

02/03 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Bar Deluxe

02/05 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

02/06 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium

02/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy

02/08 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room

02/09 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

02/10 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad

02/12 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada

02/13 – Austin, TX @ Red 7

02/14 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s (Downstairs)

02/15 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Café

02/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls

02/25 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop

02/27 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

02/28 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

03/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

03/04 – Hamden, CT @ The Ballroom at The Outer Space

03/05 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern

03/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

03/07 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat

03/08 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade

03/10 – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum

03/11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social

03/12 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West

03/13 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge

03/14 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird

05/28 – St Paul, MN @ Turf Club

05/29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom

05/31 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean