Fiddle While You Burn

I’d planned for weeks to catch Deadboy & the Elephantmen with Wolfmother at Webster Hall a couple of nights before this show but passed in order to attend a surprise birthday blowout for some old friends. It was a tough call so I was psyched to find out the band was doing his early showcase show a couple of days later at Mercury Lounge. The turnout for the gig was excellent & the small dark back room of the legendary lower east side club quickly swelled to capacity as Deadboy took the stage. The source of the buzz surrounding this was obvious from the first note - frontman Dax Riggs has one of the best voices around; a full-throated soulful boom, the perfect complement to the bands pounding Graveyard Soul sound. Each song from the bands two excellent albums "We Are Night Sky" & "If this is Hell, Then I'm Lucky" rang out with a deep potent immediacy at times even surpassing the studio versions. By the time the band ended with a roaring cover of the Pixies "Wave of Mutilation" it was clear has this band has tapped into something beyond delta doom & gloom. Maybe there's light at the end of this tunnel after all?

I caught up with the band's cool & charismatic drummer Tessie Brunet after the set and she mentioned the Webster Hall was her new all-time favorite show that they had played so far and she was excited about things to come. Don't miss this band when they come your way.

Labels: Dax Riggs, Deadboy and the Elephantmen, Mercury Lounge

Posted by Nev Brown for FWYB on Monday, June 05, 2006 at 6/05/2006 05:26:00 PM | Comments