Murder By Death

Magic Stick was new for me. I liked it. The venue had a bit of an intimate feel, especially as compared to the places I've been in Detroit up to now. I feel like a lot of people used the balcony or went down to the bowling alley between sets, though, because I feel like it got really empty when people weren't playing and like it was really packed when bands were on stage.

Damion Suomi opened up. It was cool that he did his own instrument checks. I'm so used to a road crew doing all the setup for bands. Maybe shouldn't have worn a hoodie, though. It made it seem like he was half-assing his performance. It was excusable, though, because he was also working the merchandise table for Murder By Death.

I didn't realize he was from Detroit. His music was also more country/bluegrass than I expected it to be. It was still good, though. And he was kinda funny. He played a completely acoustic set, which was nice, too.

Damion Suomi opening for Murder By Death at the Magic Stick

Murder By Death came on next. I was surprised that they didn't go last. I feel like most of the crowd was there for them. They were sharing their trumpet/mandolin/keyboard player with Damion Suomi this tour because their own player was sick. He did a good job.

Damion's trumpet player

My favorite instrument in Murder By Death is definitely the cello, but I feel like their cellist always looks like she's bored or concentrating really hard or something. She doesn't seem like she's having fun as much as the other members do. I found the same to be the case last time I saw them play, too. The drummer, on the other hand, definitely looked like he was enjoying himself.

Most of the members of Murder By Death during their performance at the Magic Stick. You can only sorta see the drummer, and the trumpeter/keyboardist is off to the right

Actually, the band as a whole, I feel, needs to interact with the audience more. I didn't get the sense that I was being engaged very often, which is fine, because I enjoy their music a lot. But in general, a live show shouldn't just be about listening to music. It should be a more encompassing experience; I can listen to music on disc in my room.

It was still fun, though, and I learned some things about the band and a few of their songs. For instance, it turns out Murder By Death's lead singer is actually from Detroit. And one of the songs off their new album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, called "Hard World," touches on class differences. Apparently he wrote it in response to a story he read about a poor girl and a rich girl being missing and no one noticing the poor girl was even gone until after the rich girl was found. Besides little anecdotes like that, I did enjoy the sing-alongs.

Man Man closed out the night. They definitely had an interesting sound. "Experimental" is the right way to describe it. It wasn't bad, but I probably wouldn't search for it. The crowd also got crazier during their set. I wasn't really expecting that, and I'm glad I moved back before they started.

Man Man performing at Magic Stick

In terms of setup, it was weird to see the drummer at the front of the stage. Man Man also makes use of props extensively during their set, like the alien mask that the lead singer was using. I didn't end up staying for the whole thing, but I imagine they might have done some unique things later on, as well.

Man Man's singer using a weird alien mask during their set