Capitol Hill Block Party: Murder City Devils reunion?

The Capitol Hill Block Party already had a potent lineup: Band of Horses, Smoosh, Pretty Girls Make Graves, up-and-comers like the Lonely H, Schoolyard Heroes, Thee Emergency ...

Then came the coup de rock: A Murder City Devils reunion show.

The Murder City Devils reigned as Seattle's favorite bar band, back in the late-'90s, a garage-punk six-piece led by howling, unpredictable singer Spencer Moody. Swaggering, boozing, border-line obnoxious, the Devils were known for fiery shows. Literally — the band liked to ignite lighter fluid for effect.

The band split up after a Halloween show in 2001, and hasn't played together since.

Any kind of reunion seemed unlikely, as Moody moved to New York, Dann Gallucci joined Modest Mouse, Derek Fudesco launched Pretty Girls Make Graves, Cody Willis started Big Business, Nate Manny settled into fatherhood and Leslie Hardy moved to Detroit.

But a casual conversation between Moody and Fudesco about possibly playing together was overheard by promoter Chad Queirolo from the Showbox. He kept his ears open for a good spot and encouraged them to get together for the Block Party. Everyone in the band eventually agreed, so this show is to be a full-scale reunion.

Maybe.

With the Murder City Devils, there's always the chance something could go wrong — somebody could say the wrong thing, somebody else could get ticked off and the whole thing could explode.

Moody laughed knowingly when asked what the odds are that the reunion could blow up before it even starts. "I don't think the chances are too good ... less than 10 percent. I think it'll be all right. But we've got a lot of personalities," he said. "We just have to be ourselves and do what we do. There's no point in doing it if we can't have a good time with it.

"We'll see if everyone's learned anything or not," he added with a laugh. "We're not going to play music with people we can't hang around with and enjoy hanging around with."

Moody is now 31. He was 21 when the Murder City Devils started, and the band had a quick rise, selling out local shows, touring and developing followings both around Seattle and nationally. The Devils signed with Sub Pop, which would release four of the band's recordings, including "R.I.P.," a recording of the Halloween 2001 farewell concert at the Showbox.

"We weren't really on the best of terms when the band ended. There were some personal things," Moody said.

The reunion is viewed as a one-shot deal, though Moody is open to the idea of more MCD shows down the road.

"I don't know. We haven't had all the members of the band in the same room together. Personally I think there's the possibility of doing shows in the future — but we haven't talked about it."

As of last Friday afternoon, the Murder City Devils had not done a full-scale practice. Moody, Gallucci and Fudesco went over some songs together, but the band as a whole would not practice until just two days before the Block Party.

Moody and Gallucci — who, according to Moody, is no longer in Modest Mouse — also will be touring with a band called Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death.

That should be a piece of cake, compared to the MCD get-together.

"I'm feeling excited about seeing everybody again, I think it'll be fun. I've sort of generally feeling I'm against it — I'm not against it, but I'm not a big fan of reunion concerts. I'm trying not to think about it like that, I'm kind of trying to think of it as just a show with my friends."

Moody said the Devils will play "more than 10, less than 20" songs, including a cover or two. Likely candidates include "Boom Swagger Boom," "Cradle to Grave," "Press Gang," "18 Wheels" and "I Drink the Wine."

And how's Moody feeling about the show?

"I'm nervous about the fact that we're only going to have a couple band practices — and I didn't know the songs that well when the band broke up!"

Tom Scanlon: tscanlon@seattletimes.com