Charm City Devils

11/8/08

Bourbon Street

by: Bob Suehs

Baltimore’s music scene has always been known for it’s diversity & originality...you can find a local band to suit whatever musical flavor it is that you’re thirsting for, whether it’s rap, punk, metal or straight up rock n roll. Charm City Devils, formerly known as FortyAcres, recently signed with Eleven Seven Music & for those not in the know, that is Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue’s Imprint. What captured Nikki Sixx’s attention about Charm City Devils was something that the Baltimore music scene had already known, these guys freakin’ rock!

John Allen’s rockin yet soulful vocals, Jason’s monster drumming, Vic & Nick’s reckless guitars & Anthony’s solid bass, overdosed with maximum volume & loads of attitude, that’s the sheer beauty of Charm City Devils...the band isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, rather, they are just trying to roll with it & add their take on the time tested formula for Rock N Roll that bands like AC/DC, The Stooges, & Cinderella made famous. At the core of the Charm City Devils sound, it’s clear to notice the blues influence, which is also laced with a healthy dose of early punk rock energy...when you see the band onstage, another interesting characteristic of the band is that each member brings their own energy & vibe to the stage & that’s something many local bands lack...the ability to have each member stand on their own as a “character” rather than just a member who’s doing their job.

Bourbon St. is an interesting club..it’s located in the last place that was called Hammerjacks, which is close to Sonar, The Side Bar & the prison...it’s a big club, but the acoustics are kinda lacking in the club & when they have live bands play there they use the large dance floor & assemble a stage there which really does have a cool small club concert kinda vibe, yet it could never compare to the old Hammerjacks or even Hammerjack’s predecessor, Ram’s Head Live, which cornered the market for bringing in larger music acts, something that Baltimore had lacked for many years after the demise of Hammerjacks.

The thing about Bourbon St. is, it almost feels like it lacks a theme...it’s supposed to be a “Mardi Gras” themed bar/club, yet, it’s basically just a big bar & when you really think about it, it kinda filled the void of Baja Beach Club closing, because when Baja closed there was an immediate void in that area for a dance club with a party vibe & it was clear to see that Iguana capitalized on that somewhat, particularly on Thursday nights, which is known as “college night” in that area where all the under 21’s hang out...Bourbon St. also has 18+ night ever Thursday as well as other daily specials on different nights.

On November 8, 2008, national act Egypt Central were playing a headlining show at Bourbon St. & Baltimore’s own Charm City Devils were picked as the opener for the show & the band delivered a great set, but what you might not have known was that John Allen almost canceled the show because he had a 102 degree fever & was rather sick that night, but, the trooper that he is, he didn’t cancel the show, as he said on the stage that night, he took a bunch o’ Tylenol & it made him feel well enough to do the show!

John might have been ill during this show, but he delivered a strong performance along with his band mates, & the entire set was played minus the encore, “Burn”, but I don’t blame John for wanting to finish the set early with 102 temperature! Mixed in the set were some songs that FortyAcres had perfected over the past few years of playing live & also mixed in were several new songs that will be on the bands soon to be released, 2009 disc! Among the newer songs performed, there was a touching ballad that had all the trappings of a metal power ballad & in all honesty, it was a really good song, & the first single to be released off the new record, “Let’s Rock N Roll”, a song that also helped them become a familiar staple on Baltimore Radio as well when 98 Rock, WIYY, began playing the song, which was never technically released since it was recorded after the debut FortyAcres cd was released...the interesting thing about the version Charm City Devils performed at this show is that the original version was much simpler & started off with John singing the chorus of “Let’s Rock N Roll” in a raspy & blues-soaked tone, whereas, the version they performed at this show featured a more drawn out beginning & it’s a slow build up as opposed to just kickin’ it off immediately & I thought the new intro was pretty cool. At one point during the show, John took his bandana from around his neck & set it on the drum riser & a female fan asked him for it & he gave it to her....I thought that was interesting for a local band, the fact that the fans are so infatuated with John that they wanted the bandana off his neck!

I have to make one quick comment regarding Charm City Devils before I end this review....John Allen used to be a drummer, & every drummer realizes how important it is to have a powerhouse drummer, because that’s the guy who’s going to hold it all together...John is a great drummer & he’s a high energy player, so I give him props for finding a killer drummer in Jason H., honestly, I’d describe Jason’s playing as very John Bonham with the exception that Jason has better control over his playing than Mr. Bonham did & the energy of Jason’s drumming is the glue that holds the music end of Charm City Devils together for sure!

check out the bands myspace page at www.myspace.com/charmcitydevils & be sure to catch them live because they deliver a brand of high energy rock n roll that you don’t see too often in the Maryland area!