Friday, March 16   8:00 p.m.
Beerland   (711 1/2 Red River St)

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  Beat the Devil - Shine In Exile
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Beat the Devil formed in 2004 when Shilpa Ray, a tired, tiny Soho shop girl, stumbled into the Sidewalk Caf� Anti-Hootenanny to sing an a cappella version of her song �Idiot�s Guide.� Lach, the Anti-folk overlord, was so impressed by her fearless performance that he told her if she could find an instrument and write some more songs, he�d give her a show. Unable to learn how to play guitar, she strapped her first instrument, a large harmonium, in a case shaped like a baby�s coffin and rolled it with a hand truck over the Williamsburg Bridge. This trafficking of songs and harmonium, through rain, sleet, snow and general world devastations occurred for several months until she met a drummer and a bassist, nearly-defeated indie outlaw giant, Mishka Shubaly. He responded to her Craig�s List ad thinking she was a man; after a few phone calls, meetings, and rehearsals, he figured out that she wasn�t. He brought a much-needed muscularity to Ray�s songs as well as a nearly-defeated van to help her carry her stuff. For the next year, Beat the Devil played as a three-piece all over the city in clubs such as Pianos, Mercury Lounge, and the Knitting Factory. During the summer of 2006, they met their Ginger Baker/ Catholic School Music Teacher, the wild-eyed mid-sized Joshua Fleischmann. Josh�s solid, heavy hitting drumming expanded their loose voodoo blues sound to a kind of throbbing, guitar-less voodoo howl. They have recently released a self-titled EP and continue to write and perform in the city and on the road.