The Devil Makes Three

The Devil Makes Three doesn't have a drummer, but the band doesn't need one. Cooper McBean's percussive banjo accents and Lucia Turino's forceful slaps on her bass supply more than enough rhythm. Guitarist and lead singer Pete Bernhard completes the trio with a bluesy vocal style that's part Louis Prima, part Merle Haggard. The group has been carving a niche since arriving on the scene six years ago, with a sound that combines bluegrass, old-time music, folk, rockabilly, and Piedmont blues and ragtime, all played with a blazing punk-rock attitude.

Details

The Devil Makes Three plays Friday, Nov. 23, and Saturday, Nov. 24, at 9 p.m. Admission is $15; call 771-1422 or visit www.theindependentsf.com for more info.

The Independent

Related Content

• Saturday at Hardly Strictly: Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson Become the Great HSB Unifiers
  October 3, 2011
• Merle Haggard vs. San Francisco: Five Songs in Which Country's Best Works Through His Issues With the Bay
  August 11, 2011
• Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music
  October 5, 2011
• You Can Now Get General Tso's Chicken in Beijing
  February 8, 2012
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011: Robert Plant, Thurston Moore, Broken Social Scene, and More
  August 10, 2011

More About

• Lucia Turino
• Milan
• Pete Bernhard
• Merle Haggard
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

After the band put out three CDs independently, Milan is rereleasing its eponymous debut with four bonus tracks. The songs on The Devil Makes Three are the backbone of the band's live shows and grab your attention with sprightly energy, mordant humor, and timeless lyrics. Old favorites like the pirate-flavored "The Plank," the boozy ode to underage drinking "Shades," and the macabre cowboy ballad "The Bullet" sound better than ever. The extra cuts are welcome additions to the band's canon. "Nobody's Dirty Business" is a Mississippi John Hurt cover driven by Turino's propulsive bass. Bad-man ballad "Dynamite" is full of the band's trademark dark humor, and "Fun Has Just Begun" is a celebration of debauchery with a cheerful ragtime rhythm. The Devil Makes Three may be more sedate than the band's concerts, but it gives a deeper appreciation of the group's impressive songwriting talent.