Twin Temple W/ Midnight Cowgirls

Sold-out show. Packed room. Camera in hand. And apparently I was spending my Wednesday night in the pit at a satanic rock ’n’ roll séance.

Sure. Why not?

The Midnight Cowgirls kicked things off and immediately gave the room a reason to get off the wall and pay attention. They brought plenty of energy to the stage, with the kind of unapologetic rock ’n’ roll attitude that made them a perfect fit for a night that was eventually going to involve Twin Temple.

There’s always a little bit of a gamble with an opening act. Sometimes you’re still wandering around looking for the bar. Sometimes you’re checking your camera settings and waiting for the headliner. And sometimes the opening band walks out and makes you forget you were supposed to be doing either of those things.

The Midnight Cowgirls were definitely in that last category.

They came out swinging, put some personality behind the performance, and did their job exactly the way a good opener should — by making sure the room was already fired up before the headliner ever stepped onstage. By the time they wrapped up, Beer City Music Hall was feeling considerably less like a room full of people waiting for Twin Temple and more like a crowd that was already having a damn good night.

Then the lights went down, the crowd got considerably more excited, and Alexandra and Zachary James came out looking like they had just escaped from the coolest 1950s nightclub imaginable.

Twin Temple is one of those bands that makes photographing from the pit almost too easy. There’s always something happening. The costumes, the lighting, the expressions, the theatrics — you basically just point the camera and try not to screw it up.

Of course, being in the pit also means trying to simultaneously compose a shot, avoid getting kicked in the head, stay out of everyone’s way, and remember that I am, in fact, supposed to be photographing the show and not just standing there thinking, “Well, this is fucking awesome.”

Mission accomplished. Mostly.

Musically, Twin Temple’s mix of vintage rock ’n’ roll, doo-wop, surf, and occult theatrics is ridiculously fun. They somehow take the sound and style of another era, throw it into a blender with Satan, and come out with something that feels completely their own.

The sold-out Beer City crowd was more than happy to participate in whatever ritual was taking place onstage. By the end of the night, there wasn’t much question that Twin Temple had the room exactly where they wanted it.

I came for the photos.

I stayed for the demonically catchy rock ’n’ roll.

And I’m pretty sure I left with my soul still attached.

Probably.