Last summer I finally got to see Marian Call live. Twice! And thus confirmed she is a super-awesome musician and person. I grabbed her two existing albums then, and the new double-disc set soon after it came out, and enjoyed them periodically, but I didn’t have a CD player in my car, and don’t really listen to music much anywhere else, so the only time I’d really listen to anything but the radio is when I’d hook up my slightly spastic phone to both the charger (since it liked to spontaneously turn itself off and refused to turn back on unless it was plugged in, even if fully charged) and the cassette adapter, which I usually only bother to do for longer drives. So Marian Call = roadtrip music.
But now that my new car has an actual CD player, I busted out the Something Fierce
You’d think I’d get sick of it after a while, but I don’t! I get tired of certain songs at times, but there’s enough variety that I can just skip a track or two and I’ll find something that feels fresh and better suited to my mood. And some other time, that song I was tired of will be exactly what I want to listen to! And a few songs, I could (and sometimes do) just listen to on repeat over and over again, because they’re just perfect. I won’t color your perceptions by saying which, or even attempting to describe it. Just listen for yourself. →
Okay, that’s a cop-out. I tried to think of how to describe her music and just can’t. (Without resorting to some rather odd similes, anyway, typically involving food.) Some of it’s silly; some of it’s sad; some of it is sassy. Some is hopeful, some soulful, all lovely, occasionally absolutely beautifully baffling. Overall, it’s kind of like she’s singing a book… biography by anthology, maybe… of herself, but not just herself… You can see now why I wanted to not attempt to describe it! It’s just damn good music, okay?
(I eventually did throw another CD into the mix – her earlier release, Vanilla, plus more NPR. One of these days I’ll find the rest of my CDs…)
Anyways, she’s out touring again, and stopped in PA last Saturday to play at one of my favorite local places, MilkBoy Coffee in Ardmore!
It was a great show! Allison and Vahe (and friends) are also very talented, so a lovely evening of great music overall! And my Dad came out and enjoyed it, too! And I even made a friend, since we happened to park next to each other and be heading to the same place, and he was wearing a Captain Hammer tshirt. 🙂 So, lots of win all around!
I had offered our couches for Marian and Scott to have somewhere to sleep in PA, since as of a few days prior, they did not. So they followed me home, and we hung out a very little bit before everybody was too exhausted to be social, and my sneaky little dog peed on one of her bags and had to be banished (again, sorry Marian!), and then there was sleep. I actually ended up having really crappy and minimal sleep, but they apparently slept quite well, which is good, because after a bit of breakfast, they were back on the road! (Thanks for stopping by!)
They’ve got shows coming up around New England and southeast Canada over the next week, and then they’re off to Europe! So, if you’re in one of those places, be sure to check out MarianCall.com and find one to go to! (And if you’re not in one of those places, check back periodically, she’ll probably come near you sometime soon! She does that.) And wherever you are, November 13th is the global (re)release of Something Fierce, so there’s going to be a party… on the internet! Prepare for awesomeness.