The Devil Makes Three w/ Lost Dog Street
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
10.07.16
Tattoos and bluegrass, crowd-surfing and banjos, when the Devil Makes Three comes knocking on your city’s door you never know what kind of rocking and odd combinations will surface during a show. On this night at the Showbox Sodo, it was a beautiful contrast of atmosphere and music that melded together to give the crowd a raucous and fun experience.
The Lost Dog Street Band – a duo made up of Benjamin Todd Flippo on guitar/vocals and Ashley Mae on fiddle/vocals – opened the night with a set of classic melancholy country. Not shy to get deep with the crowd, their songs touched on heart wrenching subjects like drug use, loss of loved ones, riding the rails, and the hard (but fulfilling) life of the travelling singer/songwriter. Their presence and look was a throwback to the “wild west” with Mae looking like Annie Oakley and Flippo standing tall like a gunfighter. They paid tributes to dearly departed friends and songwriters of the past with their soulful, deliberate sound. It wasn’t the most dynamic of sets, but their heart truly was left on stage and that is what will be remembered the most.
Anticipation grew amongst the nearly sold out crowd as they awaited the trio of The Devil Makes Three. The stage was adorned with hanging lightbulbs and standing lamps, a very simple setup for a simple band. As the lights flickered on, the crowd erupted to the sounds of the opening tune, “Bullet,” an intense tune to set the tone. TDM3 are touring in support of their most recent release, Redemption and Ruin, which is a carefully curated record of cover songs in the study of the dark side of gospel music and human vice. The first song performed for the Seattle masses off the album was Robert Johnson’s classic “Drunken Hearted Man,” a tale of man’s struggle in life because of a tragic past.
The crowd was treated to a 24-song set that had wonderful ebbs and flows from the heavy hearted themes of R&R to their earlier, more lighthearted songs that made them a popular draw on the festival scene. “Facedown” was a definite highlight as the crowd became split between couples dancing and hardcore fans crowd-surfing. Later into the night, the band played “Old #7,” a crowd favorite and tribute to Jack Daniels. I’m sure that many a shot of whiskey were swallowed during that 3:45.
Travelling the world and making music since 2002, TDM3 have certainly earned their cult following and success. They have crafted a sound from the roots of Americana and successfully incorporated rockabilly, blues, soul, and a bit of rock which has set them apart and solidified their wide appeal. What didn’t escape the crowd was the amount of fun the trio has had after 15 years of hard touring, and that fun was equally had by the Seattle faithful.
Review and photos by Phillip Johnson
The Devil Makes Three
Lost Dog Street
Absolutely love lost dog street band seen them in Asheville. Ready to see em again