Murder City Devils and Tweens Sell-Out show Friday at Union Transfer

by Michelle Singer

Entering the venue, the crowd seemed pretty sparse near the stage.  A common occurrence and struggle opening bands often face, the trash-pop punk-tinged trio Tweens rocketed through the crowd with thier sound and before long a mosh pit was born.  With influences such as The Donnas, The Trashwomen, and The Bobbyteens, singer Bridget Battle’s voice egged the crowd on with honest lyrics and attitude.  Their new single, “Be Mean”, was a crowd favorite and their debut album comes out April 8^th.  Starting in 2012, this band has brought their garage girl-gang sound to a new level and already toured with bands such as Black Lips and The Breeders.

Tweens left the stage and with everyone primed and ready, Murder City Devils took the stage.  If you do not know the Murder City Devils, take a quick look on YouTube to get an easy idea of what their live shows are like.  The band’s been around since 1996 and are still going hard. Opening with “It’s In My Heart” they hammered straight through a 19-song setlist.  No in-between banter, no stopping, no encore.

The best part of the show had to be vibe.  There was nothing between the band, the music, and the fans.  The holy trinity of concert magic where you can feel the music and energy vibrate through your being. The crowd was wild with fans moshing and crowd-surfing all over the venue.  There are some concerts you go to where the fans and the crowd you are with really make the show, and this was one of them.  You fall down in the pit; someone’s already picking you up before you hit the ground. If you ever wanted to crowd surf before but were too scared to try, this was the night.

The band closed with “Broken Glass” and the crowd left sweaty and satisfied.  Everyone entered as strangers and came out with a kind of camaraderie. Both Murder City Devils and Tweens turned Union Transfer into an intimate punk garage party.  I can only imagine what madness it inspired for the after-parties.