Winter may be over, but grim weather is still with us here in Moscow – but don’t despair, as even the darkest of situations can be a cause for celebration, as the Swiss ensemble Dead Brothers proved at B2 last Thursday for the first gig of their two-stop Russian tour.

As might be guessed from the name, Dead Brothers’ repertoire runs toward the macabre – they do sing, as their CDs loudly proclaim, "dead music for dead people." But the dirges they prefer are of the kick-ass variety: a psycho-blues stomp, drawing on sources as diverse as blues, country and sleazabilly rock icons the Cramps, the German cabaret of Kurt Weill and the king of "drunk and down-and-out" guttural crooning, Tom Waits. Singing in English, French and German, they lit up the stage with high-energy odes to passing over to the other side, including a phenomenal version of the classic "St. James Infirmary" – a song that manages to be both a love song and a paean to mortality all at the same time.

With the theatricality that comes from an interest in classical experimental cabaret, the band played its role to the hilt, clad in their signature pallbearer costumes and staggering about in a faux alcoholic stupor conveying that "I’m in the gutter and loving it" attitude so epitomized by Waits and his many epigones. And maybe it has something to do with many Russians’ generally less-than-cheery worldviews, but the band’s black ambience went over well with the crowd, who seemed to have no problem with getting down on the dance floor. Luckily, B2’s spacious floor had no problem accommodating the crowd.

With a strong stage presence, an eclectic mix of instruments including an accordion and a tuba, a range of songs spanning the gamut from country to blues to a memorable rendition of the Cramp’s "Human Fly" and attitude, Dead Brothers made a good impression. Not even the band knows when and if they’ll be bringing their spectral presence back to Moscow, but when they do, be sure to go – it’s not a show you want to miss out on.