Tonight I went to see Okkervil River—the band, that is, not the river in St. Petersburg.

Okkervil River isn’t one of my all-time favorite bands, but I do think they’re very good (and especially good live), and they have one song—“Westfall”—which I absolutely adore because it has to be one of the best, creepiest murder ballads ever.

I’ve seen Okkervil River live once before, and their performance of “Westfall” on that particular night was one of those perfect gig moments that stick in your mind for a long, long time afterwards. They played in a very small venue in Brighton (the Albert), and we were sitting right at the front (which, in the Albert, means you’re practically sitting on stage with the musicians). It was a nice, intimate, low-key gig, and I was enjoying it well enough in a nice, low-key way—and then they played “Westfall”.

“Westfall” starts softly and chugs along in a folksy/ballady manner, with a strumming guitar, a plinking mandolin and a subtle bass drum thump. It doesn’t initially feel particularly dark, but there’s definitely a certain menace and melancholy about it. The song builds up almost imperceptibly, with new instruments creeping in and weaving around the lyrics. The instrumentation is nice, but the lyrics are really what keep you listening. As the song progresses, you’re reeled in by the unfolding tale and its deceptively laconic delivery. Then, halfway through the song, the drums explode out of nowhere into a full-on rythym, the lyrics take the darkest turn imaginable, and from that point on it’s just flat out rocking to the end, culminating in a repeated, wailed chorus of “evil don’t look like anything” while the band blasts away in the background.

I never tire of the recording of the song, and it was wonderful when they played it tonight (as the last song in their set), but nothing can compare to hearing it that first time, in that cozy venue, when I didn’t know what was coming so it completely bowled me over. For whatever reason, I do so like my music dark, and “Westfall” has darkness in spades. It’s great musically, it’s great lyrically, it’s terrifying morally, and it completely rocks. If that were the only song Okkervil River had ever written, I’d still think they were a darn fine band.