With summer winding down a very warm and humid night took over NYC on Wednesday September 3rd. While most commuters were in a mad dash to get home, some New Yorkers, as well as out-of-towners, were heading over to the Mercury Lounge in the East Village on Houston Street to see an early show from the Baltimore rock band Charm City Devils followed by Midwest band The Missing Letters.
Just weeks prior to the release of their highly anticipated third studio album Battles, Charm City Devils were ready to rock this enthusiastic crowd who made sure they arrived just in time for the show. Beginning a little after 7:30 PM with their hard-hitting track “Spite” from their second album Sins they then went into “Let’s Rock-n-Roll” off their debut album as they made everyone forget it was still daylight outside. Moving along they played an even combination of tunes from their first two albums along with some newbies from Battles. Lead vocalist John Allen’s voice packed a punch that had everyone pumped up as they went into their the heavily played single on SiriusXM Octane “Devil is a Woman,” along with “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” and Black Keys cover “I Got Mine.” Sending the crowd into a new level of excitement, new track “Crucify” provoked a positive reaction and is bound to be a song fans will want to play on repeat once they get their hand on Battles.
Charm City Devils split their summer touring, either opening on the Slash headlining dates or doing one-off headlining gigs of their own in clubs around America. The band proved, no matter how little or how much time they are given on stage, they will grab the audience by the balls by end of their performance. They may not be overly flashy, they do not have the pyro or the huge stage set-up, but all they need is their stage personas and giving it all in a show. For those new to Charm City Devils be prepared for a thoroughly impressive show.
Directly after Charm City Devils performance was Minneapolis-based band by the name of The Missing Letters. Formed only two years ago the band has settled on a line-up after founders Jake Hall (guitar/vocals) and Shannon Drymalski (drums) joined up with Cole Mickelson (guitar) and Matt Whitaker (bass). Having played generously around the Midwest, The Missing Letters were making an exciting visit to the Northeast to show New York City what they are all about.
With a classic alternative rock sound deriving clear influence from bands like Soul Asylum, Nirvana, and The Replacements, The Missing Letters had a warm inviting style. Lead vocalist Hall sang affectionately as the rest of the band provided a raw rock-n-roll sound behind each tune. Playing their new single “Let Me Shine” showed a mature band ready to make a splash on the national scene. Their debut album will feature eleven tracks and is due out sometime in the coming months so be on the look out for this talented young band with a knack for quality songwriting.
Charm City Devils Battles review:
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