JOE PUG & THE DEVIL MAKES THREE WARM UP THE IRVING PLAZA CROWD

Irving Plaza always holds a dear place in my heart. Joe Pug and the The Devil Makes Three proved that right yet again this past week while New York City was suffering what it felt like – minus degrees. Both made the night worth every moment with great music and a devoted, awesome crowd. Joe Pug endearingly started the night with fantastic folk rock, acoustic songs. Pug’s EPs’ and crowds have been successfully growing and we aren’t surprised. While on stage you can hear where his raspy voice helped define the tension and emotion in a song, yes, we got emotional at certain points of his songs. Girls were definitely swooning, besides that Joe Pug has great onstage personality talking about how cold it was! We New Yorkers are troopers for it, although, we do have some very delicious whiskey to get us through the mornings that seem never ending and much like Hoth.

Unlike any show, we had to dance our way with the crowd to make it through to the bar for another drink.

The Devil Makes Three surely knew how to warm up our freezing night this past week at Irving Plaza; bringing an amazing and fun crowd together. Bands like this are a always a pleasure to see because they’re also having fun along their fans. They started the night with their new single “The Stranger” which we had recently featured at Pancakes and Whiskey and continued the night by sweetly playing songs like the bittersweet “Graveyard” & waltzy “Johnson Family.” It was hard not to fall in love with the eccentric crowd who were dancing and singing along to “Johnson Family”- you can tell they were genuinely having fun and knew how to dance. Lead singer, Pete Bernhard, mentioned that they were not even close to finishing the show any time soon which was quite endearing. Their music can be best described as Americana blended with bluegrass folk, country, and jazz; they really do know how to put a great show with amazing lighting and fantastic acoustics that Irving Plaza provided. This is most definitely a band to see live even if it isn’t a genre you listen to, you’ll be greatly surprised at how much fun it is to blend in a enjoyable crowd and how entertaining it is to see them play live. We were lucky enough to interview them before the show.

The Devil Makes 3 is quite an intriguing name. How did the band name come about?

It was revealed to us by the many gods we worship.

So all of you guys come from different states, how did you all meet?

We all were raised in southern Vermont close by each other. We met in high school. We had similar interests you could say….

Listening to your NPR, Newport Folk 2014 Live set; you guys seem like so much fun see live and seeing that you guys are going on tour soon. Which city are you most excited to play in?

All of them! We just had two months off and are ready to get back on the road.

Do you all collectively write a song together or is it a one man show?

I, Pete Bernhard write the majority of the material but we all work on arrangements together.

Your sound is very eclectic which is an amazing thing because so many sounds are wonderfully blended. One song can have a fast tempo and then the next one can transition into a slower tempo. It was tough not to get goose bumps during both songs; “Johnson Family” and “Graveyard”. Who are your musical influences?

We are under the influence of so many different groups that at times we don’t even know which one were currently paying homage to.

It would take up too much time to name them all but.. Here’s a few

Firstly my family…

Django Reinhartd ,Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Fugazi, Little Walter, Howling Wolf, John Prine, & Sleep

What’s your favorite song to play live?

Different songs on different nights. Depending on the crowd and the mood of the show. Some songs are perfect for a particular setting.

Any surreal experiences during a show?

At times I forget that I’m onstage during a song. It can be hard to keep track of what’s happening 100% of the time. At one show half of the audience spontaneously decided to take off all their clothes!

True story.

Last but not least, since we’re very much into whiskey, favorite whiskey drink?

Whiskey is best when you leave it alone. No mix drinks for us.

Article by: Karen Silva

Photos by: Shayne Hanley