On Friday, MODOC returns to Chelsea’s Cafe for the band’s third time.
“It’s exciting to watch [the audience] go from 20 people to 60 people to 100 people,” said lead singer and guitarist Clint Culberson about the cafe’s transformation from restaurant to concert spot. “I’m really excited to be down there again, and I really like the venue.”
The band will open for Black Joe Lewis, a blues/funk/soul singer, and his band.
“This will be our first time playing with them,” Culberson said. “Hopefully, we’ll get to know those guys a little bit and hang out. I like their music, so it’ll be cool.”
But don’t dismiss MODOC as just an opening act. The band has a storied history of its own and big things coming up.
The band formed when its members met in college. Since then, they’ve recorded two albums and played various concerts, including gigs at South By Southwest in Austin and Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival.
“It’s sort of intimidating going in there and looking at how many people are there, but it’s very humbling as well,” Culberson said. “It’s very exciting knowing that’s what you’ve built to, playing to that many people.”
The band also released a self-titled album earlier this year.
“We knew that we could do something that was something special,” Culberson said.
One of its songs, “Devil on My Shoulder,” was even used in the ABC show “666 Park Avenue” last fall.
“It’s always strange to hear your voice coming out of a TV when you’re used to hearing it from speaker monitors,” Culberson said. “It’s the stuff you thought as a kid would be the coolest shit ever, and it is.”
In addition, the band is planning to record a music video at the end of the month, even if it’s unsure of the song it will perform at the moment.
“‘Devil on My Shoulder’ is something that we could do something dark with,” Culberson said. “But we could probably do ‘Runnin’’ as well. It depends on which treatment comes back that we like better and which one we’re more excited about.”
MODOC is opening for Black Joe Lewis on Friday at Chelsea’s Cafe. The show starts at 10 p.m.