Murder By Death to play hometown show

Bloomington’s beloved export, Murder By Death, will perform to a hometown crowd as the band rolls into the Bluebird on Jan. 27, touting a special 21-song set.

The band has based this latest tour on its two-album set members refer to as the “Desert Series.” Each night, the band will run through the entirety of their latest album, “Red of Tooth and Claw,” and their seminal 2003 release, “Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?,” each a concept album that completes a story about a battle of good and evil in a forgotten desert town.

Joining the band on tour is Murder By Death’s original keyboardist, Vincent Edwards, adding an extra kick to the depth and complexity of the albums’ gothic western sounds.
Along with Edwards, the group plans to hit a variety of cities that their recent tours have missed, bringing along a multimedia production team to select shows.

Nevertheless, local fans who have been treated to Murder By Death’s live shows on countless occasions, are still anticipating the night’s events.

“Murder By Death is great because although they have all sorts of national recognition, they still are completely attached to Bloomington and their original fan base,” WIUX Music Director George Drake said. “Also, because their sound is so different than any other local band, they kind of set the bar for Bloomington in terms of music.”

Sophomore Roy Hooper has seen the band twice in town and was satisfied by their live performance.

“Adam Turla opened the first show I saw with a quote that just sums up the band’s awesomeness,” he said of Murder By Death’s singer/guitarist. “‘Sometimes you just have to fill the night air with blazing hot riffs.’”