This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ). Follow this LINK to video from Semi-Finals Night Two!
I said it before, but Duncan Wilder Johnson is a madman. He performs with the rare ability of striking fear and imbalance into the audience. He seems so incredibly unpredictable and creates a web of spectacle. I’ve had Nick Cave strike this fear in me, and not too many others. Destruct-A-thon was incredibly tight, Duncan has great moves: wizard hands, devil horns, crazy eyes, proselytizing arms in the air, general fist pumping, and climbing up the poles at the Mid East like King Kong. They were highly entertaining, but so far in the Rumble, no one has overcome the handicap of playing first.
The Luxury took the stage next, and it was a total gear shift. They played their hearts out, nailing every melody within their extremely lush arrangements.
The Dirty Truckers followed them, launching into their southern blues rock, chock full of twangy solos. They are definitely the dark horse (if I can steal Michael Marotta’s line here) in the competition, swooping in for win after win.
Gravehaven played last and totally killed it. Their set was incredibly tight and they sounded way better than even last week when they won their night. They are a proggier Muse with more screaming. At the end of their set it was totally up in the air for us as to who was going to take the night.
The Dirty Truckers though, glided past the three other incredible sets from the night for the win.
The Wild Card seems like it could go to anyone from either night. I guess we’ll all find out together tomorrow on Boston Emissions (WBCN 104.1 10-midnight).