I didn’t know that a bluegrass band from Santa Cruz, California — a pretty traditional three piece bluegrass band, albeit a really great one — could inspire such punk show mosh pit heights, but the Devil Makes Three did it last night. It’s a tribute to them, on most hands; their rocking, uptempo, hook-filled songs and Lucia Turino’s flat-out badass upright bass playing really, really move a crowd, but on the downside — and this is all on the audience, not the band, let me make that clear — last night’s audience wasn’t just wild, they were rude, and they were dangerous. No one should be throwing bottles at a roots rock show. The Devil Makes Three shouldn’t need a barrier and extra security if Gaslight Anthem doesn’t need a barrier and extra security, and yet.

Carrboro audience, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Love a band all you want; the Devil Makes Three sure as hell deserves your adoration, and it’s been great in the three years I’ve been seeing them to watch their crowds get bigger and more tuned in. But don’t behave so poorly, with such a lack of respect for the band and the people around you. Judge a crowd. Judge a show. Don’t throw beer, don’t purposefully hit people, and don’t be dumbfucks. Christ.

That said, the Devil Makes Three blew the damn doors off the Cradle last night, in fine fashion. They’re supporting a live record right now, and the record is great, but their actual live show is better. High-octane is the best way to describe it; they would be a great tour partner for the Dropkick Murphys and the fact that they play bluegrass wouldn’t be a lick out of place on that tour. (It would be loads of fun, too.) They are a delight, and it delights me to see their music, which they’ve worked very long and hard at, start to really pay off.

And, frankly, Lucia is the most talented, most bangin’ lady bass player in the world.

Phillip Roebuck, a frequent touring partner of TDM3, opened; he plays folk-punk one-man-ragtime type banjo music; he’s a fantastic songwriter and great fun to shoot, and I’m always glad when he comes to town with TDM3.

I will pay someone $50 to watch Roebuck and Durham’s Curtis Eller play Dueling Banjos.

Full set is here.