Marahctoberfest

When I "discover" a band through their live show, my immediate urge is to physically grab hold of everyone I know, plop them right in front of the stage at the next show the band does, and share with them the feeling that that particular band gave me the first time I saw them (if you are a regular reader, the fact that I have this urge likely comes as little surprise). My hope is that they'll get the same feeling I did, and if they don't, well, at least I tried. And, of course, if they don't get the same feeling, there is obviously something physically wrong with them (not the band), and their friendship automatically becomes trite and meaningless.

I kid.

But the first time I saw Marah (rhymes with "hurrah"), after hearing about them for a few months and missing a couple of shows, I got that feeling, that feeling that I had to see them again immediately. I needed to see them do that song again about the history of where someone was killed, I needed to watch the lead singer bob and weave his way through a guitar solo, and I just needed to hear that sound again, that perfect, unrefined sound that only comes from bands whose aim is true. More important, I had to bring witnesses along to verify that this band may just be the greatest rock band I'd ever seen.

So I saw that Marah was playing a club called the Joyous Lake in Woodstock, NY, not too far away from my parents' place in Windham, NY, and not too far of a drive for the people we today call the Chambalas, who at the time were living in...um...oh, wait, it was...screw it, somewhere in New York. Somewhere reasonably close to Woodstock. That much I'm sure of. Except maybe not.

Anyway, point is that soon the three of us were walking through the village of Woodstock, dodging hippies and wondering if that nondescript building across the street, the one that looked abandoned, was indeed the Joyous Lake.

It was, and a few hours later, Marah was playing, Dave Bielanko was bobbing and weaving through a guitar solo, free drinks were coming from the bartender, and, on a ride to Windham full of hope and euphoria, all agreed that, yeah, this might just be a really great rock-and-roll band.

And then there was that December afternoon a few years later, in the middle of a blizzard and after a morning spent waiting for furniture to arrive in my new apartment, that I boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Philadelphia. Along for the ride was Esa Tikkanen Fan Club president Anthony Iaffaldano, who hadn't seen Marah before and had finally given in to my pleas to see them. Unfortunately, after moving about ten miles in two hours, enduring the entire remake of "The In-Laws" and an incomprehensible bus driver in the process, it didn't look good that he'd be seeing Marah this time either.

But the traffic eventually broke and we made it to Indre Studios in Philadelphia, where Marah was throwing a fans-only Christmas party. And after a few hours of holiday cheer and rock-and-roll sweat, Mr. Iaffaldano turned to me with a smile on his face and said, "You know all those times you told me about this great band Marah that I should go see, and then how I bailed out on going to the shows? Well..." I believe at this point, I gave him the finger. And he took it in stride, because he knew he should've gone to those shows, because, dammit, Marah was a helluva rock-and-roll band.

I could go on with other tales of conversion, but I think you get the point. And if you don't, here it is: Marah kicks ass. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but it's true. Sure, there's that difficult third album we don't really need to talk about, but, generally speaking, Marah's track record is pretty damn strong. And, having been given an advance copy of their new CD, "If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry" (which will be available in all your finer music stores on Tuesday the 18th, along with a Christmas album, "A Christmas Kind of Town") a little while ago, I can assure you that they're still a pretty great rock band on CD, and, of course, a phenomenal one on the stage.

So, with two shows in the NYC area this weekend (Friday at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, and Saturday at Southpaw in Brooklyn) and the new CD(s) in stores tomorrow, it's never been easier to invite Marah into your life. If you love rock and roll, if you love that raw power that only comes from the electric guitar, if you love seeing and/or hearing a band who plays loud, hard, fast, and true, then you oughta check out Marah.

And if you like 'em, tell a friend.

LINKS

Maxwell's

Southpaw