It was an evening tryst with the Devil. As the sun ran like hell from the ivory moon and her black shadows of night, rock fury descended onto the stage as the Nekromantix had their pleasure with the Vinyl Music Hall crowd.

If Jerry Lee Lewis, Dally Winston (of S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders”) and Ludwig van Beethoven got in a bar fight, Nik Flagstar would be the product of their battle royale. Pushing buttons and punching a sound that smells of the road, rough women and hard-livin’, Nik Flagstar and His Dirty Mangy Dogs (Pecker (bass), Isaac (drums) make no-apologies for their content and make a hell of a rockin’ sound that got the night started right.

Next on stage were The Howlers (Eli Misery (vocals), Josh (guitar), Peter Panic (upright bass), Vince (drums), Horacio (guitar). With a switchblade sharp cut of pure-punk energy and rockabilly dipped in the pools of hell, the San Gabriel Valley, California band cranked a sound that was reminiscent of Danzig-era Misfits courtesy of Misery’s growl and stage presence. The band loved every minute on stage and even carried their energy into the venue after their performance as they joined in the pit and hung out with the crowd during the Nekromantix set.

Touring in support of their lasted album “What Happens in Hell, Stays in Hell” the Nekromantix began their set in near darkness which gave way to a burst of white lights throughout the first few songs.

Formed in 1989 by Kim Nekroman after a stint in the Danish Navy, the group have toured the world converting the masses onto their psychobilly sound. With Nekroman leading the charge on bass, Francisco Mesa assaulting the night on guitar and Lux calling the demons of hell with her drums, the trio worked the Vinyl Music Hall audience into a ghoulish frenzy well into the night.

Michael L. Smith