Travis Morrison Hellfighters and Poor But Sexy at The Black Cat
Hellfighters battle break-up rumors; Poor But Sexy rich with lasciviousness
In response to the deluge of alt-indie-brit-electro-pop DJ nights and out-of-town acts, The Black Cat has started a concert series that hosts D.C. and D.C.-affiliated bands on the Backstage every second Saturday of the month. The shows start early—before the mainstage opens—and end early, which leaves time to dance upstairs or “go home and be in bed by midnight—it’s amazing,” exclaimed Poor But Sexy frontman David Brown, who performed with his band as well as Travis Morrison Hellfighters last Satuday night.
If the rest of the Second Saturday lineups are anything like last weekend’s, the event is likely to become a monthly family reunion. The Saturday night crowd included the entire Dismemberment Plan crew (Jason Caddell plays guitar for Poor But Sexy; D-Plan rhythm section members Eric Axelson and Joe Easly were also in attendence.) And there was plenty of overlap: Brown sits behind the drum kit in Hellfighters and Brandon Kalber plays bass in both bands.
When Brown took the stage with Poor But Sexy, his skinny, red-headed exterior gave way to an Otis Redding-like soul crooning alter-ego. “I was so passionate about that last one, my hand cramped,” Brown said, after the set. The band released a new self-titled EP, which has garnered comparisons to Steely Dan for pairing ridiculous, salacious lyrics with smooth tunes, but the songs also manage to evoke Dirty Projectors and Elvis Costello.
The Hellfighters took the stage in time to end the early-to-bed gig. Morrison may have abandoned his spazzy, bookish rock with Dismemberment Plan for a jammier, guitar-riffed sound in this new incarnation, but he’s still the same needy, petulant frontman. And his motormouth shtick is growing a little old now that he’s—well—a little old. “When you have the mic, nothing is apropos of anything,” Morrison claimed, after jokingly screaming at Jason Caddell to play his guitar during the last number. His onstage asides also included an awkward introduction to “Cruisin' All Night Long” (“It’s about gay cop sex, and who doesn’t support that?”) and a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to a friend in the crowd, sung in that familiar D-Plan minor key. Apparently when you’re performing among family, you can afford to be a little tangential.
Rumors may be circulating that Morrison’s relocation to Brooklyn last year marked the end of the Hellfighters, but nothing at the show seemed to confirm or disperse the murmers that this was the band’s last performance together.
