See Marah Live
“It’s mind-boggling that here-today-gone-tomorrow bands with half as much talent have gone platinum, yet Marah’s crackers-for-dinner, starving-musician tale is still waiting for its happy ending. Radio success or not, the sold-out Iota crowd clearly knew what was up when the show was announced, and folks were being turned away at the door early in the evening. The lucky fans who arrived in time got everything they wanted and more: nearly two hours of sweaty, honest, heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll.” – Washington Times review of last week’s show in Arlington, VA.
I am gearing up for this
Monday’sduh – Tuesday Marah show at the Rhythm Room here in Phoenix. I haven’t seen them live since the summer of 2000, when they played the now paved-over Long Wong’s in Tempe. It was one of the finest, most exhilarating live performances I have ever witnessed. Dave and Serge Bielanko are something to see. Bare bones, spirited, genuine guys, they pour their heart and soul into their shows.They just started out on a tour, so check out the dates below, and if they’re coming to your town, do yourself a HUGE favor, and go see them. If the Phoenix show is any indication ($9!), tickets are ridiculously cheap.
Here are a few tunes from the 2000 Tempe show…
Marah:
Faraway You(mp3)Sleepwalk (Santo & Johnny Cover) / Reservation Girl(mp3)Can’t Hardly Wait (Replacements cover)(mp3)
Live from Long Wongs, Tempe, AZ August 12, 2000- Check out their CD’s, including their latest, ‘If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry’, on Amazon.
- Marah’s Official Site
- Factoid: Marah’s fans include Stephen King, Nick Hornby, and Bruce Springsteen. Bruce brought Dave & Serge on stage for an E Street Band encore, where they joined in on “Raise Your Hand”.
Tour Dates
Wed 01/18/06 Houston, TX Continental Club
Fri 01/20/06 Austin, TX Continental Club
Sat 01/21/06 Dallas, TX Sons Of Herman Hall
Tue 01/24/06 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
Wed 01/25/06 San Diego, CA The Casbah
Thu 01/26/06 L.A. Echo
Sat 01/28/06 San Francisco Cafe Du Nord
Tue 01/31/06 Eugene, OR John Henry’s
Wed 02/01/06 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Thu 02/02/06 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
Fri 02/03/06 Vancouver, BC Richard’s On Richards
Sat 02/04/06 Bellingham, WA Night Light Lounge
Wed 02/08/06 Minneapolis 400 Bar
Thu 02/09/06 Milwaukee, WI Mad Planet
Fri 02/10/06 Lansing, MI Temple Club
Wed 02/15/06 Indianapolis Birdy’s
Thu 02/16/06 Lafayette, IN Lafayette Brewing Company
Fri 02/17/06 Chicago, IL Abbey Pub
Fri 03/17/06 Austin, TX Antone’sWhiskey in Turkish Dixieland
Happy New Year to everyone out there.
Lets start the year on a raucous note, with some up-tempo Irish-flavored rock n roll courtesy of Metallica, the Pogues, and Steve Earle. Take it away boys .
Metallica:
Whiskey in the Jar(mp3) from Garage, Inc.
The Pogues:Turkish Song of the Damned(mp3) from If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Steve Earle & the Del McCoury Band:Dixieland(mp3) from The MountainMerry Christmas from IckMusic
From the Arizona desert to the far corners of the world, Merry Christmas from IckMusic!
If you�re a frequent IckMusic visitor, you�ll like this one, trust me.
Marah: City of Dreams (mp3) � from If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry
One Year of IckMusic
Today marks exactly one year since my first post to IckMusic. My enthusiasm in maintaining it has stayed pretty strong throughout the year. Sometimes I do get a bit busy (or lazy), but rarely does 3 or 4 days go by without a post. I still get a kick out of checking my web stats on Statcounter.com, and seeing how my posts reach people all over the world. Australians, Belgians, Japanese, Argentinians, the Brits, the Spanish, the French, and the list goes on and on. Pretty cool how something I do out of my loft in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona reaches the far corners of the world. It IS a small world after all.
As for the mp3 downloads, I’m partly suspicious that a lot of people out there are eager to get as much free music as they can, but the idealist in me likes to think that I’m expanding people’s musical horizons. I don’t have my finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest obscure music, like a lot of music bloggers do. I just share what I like at the time, whether old or new, artists well known or not so well known.
I love Comments. Music is the most powerful medium out there, in my opinion, and it’s great to receive feedback from readers around the world, and to read how a particular song or artist affects them. Everyone has a story, so I once again encourage readers / listeners to leave Comments. It’s quick, it’s painless, and it reminds me that there are human beings out there in cyberspace.
So thanks for visiting, especially all you “return visitors”, as Statcounter calls you. Drop a comment or an email to me from time to time.
And so here is a song that exemplifies this and other music blogs. I first heard it courtesy of FluxBlog I believe, right when I discovered this sub culture, this hidden jewel of the internet, this MP3 Blog World AKA Audioblogosphere. I promptly bought their CD. That’s how it works, music industry, that’s how it works Clear Channel (blechh). Where in the hell else would I have heard this quirky, manic, infectiously groove-a-licious song?
So as IckMusic celebrates its first anniversary, I thank the other bloggers out there, and I thank Sirius Satellite Radio, both who have turned me on to some great music in the past year, and who will continue to do so.
Need New Body:
Show Me Your Heart(mp3) – buy the CD, ‘UFO’Jack Bruce – Waiting on a Word
I watched part of the Cream reunion at the Royal Albert Hall from this past May. It was a treat to sit and watch this legendary trio wail through some of their tunes. Ginger Baker on drums, Clapton on guitar of course, and Jack Bruce on the bass.
I havent followed Jack Bruces solo stuff or other work through the years, but there is one tune of his that I love. It was released on 1993s ’Somethin Els.’ It goes a little something like this .
Jack Bruce: Waiting on a Word
- Buy The Collectors Edition
- Jack Bruce Official Site
I Like My Morning Jacket
During my work trip to L.A. this week, I had the privilege of seeing My Morning Jacket at the Music Box @ the Henry Fonda Theater. Their latest album, Z, really has endeared me to these guys. But the highlight last night was most definitely ”One Big Holiday” (from 2003’s ’It Still Moves’) - pure unadulterated guitar driven assault on the senses (and the eardrums). One of those concert moments where you take a look around and everyone is beaming and totally in the moment. The band was tight as hell throughout, and their manic head-banging during the heavy parts of the night was infectious and fun to watch.Another favorite of mine was Dondante (from Z). Starting off quiet, building up to the crescendo (”You had me worried, so worried that this would last”), and finishing off with a sax solo great stuff. Check out their stuff, and definitely catch them live if you can.
As a whole, awesome show; though I’m starting to get rude reminders that Im getting old. The first half of the show I was standing 5 deep from the stage, but damn if didn’t get really tired of standing. So I made my way to a nice seat in the balcony for the second half. Oh cruel hands of time!
My Morning Jacket:
One Big Holiday(mp3)Dondante(mp3)- Buy Z
- Download tons of MMJ live shows at Archive.org.
- See MMJ perform “One Big Holiday” on Conan (from 2003)
The Boss’ Lost Radio Show
It’s been a while since I’ve paid homage to the Boss, so tonight is the night. On March 9th, 1974, a 24 year old Bruce and the boys strolled into Houston’s KLOL-FM for a sit down interview and performance. The show made its way on to a bootleg entitled ‘The Lost Radio Show’. It’s an amazing snapshot of Bruce’s life at the time. ‘Born to Run‘ would be released a year later, and he had released his 2nd album ‘The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle‘ several months earlier (Sept. 11, 1973).
So here’s my picks. “The Fever” is a Bruce-penned tune that stayed in the vaults until it was finally released on 1999’s ‘18 Tracks‘. “Something you Got” was written by New Orleans native Chris Kenner (1929-1976), and was covered by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Dr. John, and Jimmy Johnson. Kenner is best known for writing “Land of 1000 Dances”.
Bruce Springsteen:
The FeverSomething you Got
Climbing with JJ and the Jackmormons
File this one under Power Trio. Jerry Joseph on guitar. Junior Ruppel on bass. Brad Rosen on Drums. Together they are Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons. Jerry used to front a reggae/rock band called Little Women in Boulder, Colorado through the 80’s and early 90’s. “Joseph continued to record before an oft-publicized drug addiction temporarily sidelined his career. The process of getting clean took Joseph to New York, Montana, Salt Lake City, where the Jackmormons were formed in 1996, and eventually to Portland.” [from JJ official web site]
Joseph penned this tune to describe the hell of drug addiction. It’s a 15 minute journey powered by a driving rhythm section (a great bass line in particular) and Joseph’s wicked guitar. The louder the better folks.
Check out Mouthful of Copper, the live double CD, on Amazon. Recorded live over 3 nights in Butte, Montana (from August 2002).
Hey Joe, Happy Birthday
Joe Strummer should be a young 53 years old today, but as fate would have it, he was plucked from this world almost three years ago. Thanks to this post at Berkeley Place, reminding me of fact that Joe’s birthday is upon us.
Instead of focusing on his legendary Clash days, I offer one pre-Clash and one post-Clash selection. The first comes from ‘Elgin Avenue Breakdown‘, a collection of tunes from Joe’s pre-Clash pub-rock band The 101’ers. Next up is from Joe’s first solo album: 1989’s ‘Earthquake Weather‘. It’s the last cut on the album, the mellow “Sleepwalk” (not to be confused with Santo & Johnny’s popular instrumental).
The 101’ers:
Motor Boys Motor(mp3)Joe Strummer:
Sleepwalk(mp3)- Read Joe’s All Music Bio.
- More rare Joe music on SIART.
New Marah Tune
I’ve posted about Marah a few times before: here here and here. I will always follow these guys because they pretty much carried me through the summer of 2000. Their album ‘Kids in Philly’ was always in the background, and I saw them in Tempe at the sweltering Long Wongs, and a week earlier opening for Steve Earle at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.
So their new album, ‘If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry’ comes out on October 18th on Yep Roc Records. Here’s a sneak peek at the album. This comes from the Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show on BBC 6 Music. The audio is from the 64kbbs stream of the show. Really a cool show. You can check out the playlists on the web site, and listen to the last week’s worth of shows.
Marah: Demon of White Sadness
- Check them out on Amazon.
