It is hard to remain indifferent in front of this band. You feel trapped by their music, drunk with it.
Every performance by MARAH is an explosion of vitality, energy and authentic passion for pure, un-distilled rock&roll. Their melodies are so wonderful that they almost hurt, hitting you with well-aimed blows of honesty. Getting through them is entering a magical universe of deep lyrical poetry, across which parade the dark side of the street, the soul’s emotions and dreams. Stories that scratch the surface looking for deeper meanings, that go right through your skin and broaden your heart.
Without a break, without respite, they knit a moving visceral rock which they spit from deep inside, making bitterness turn out beautiful if you truly feel it. Without renouncing the freshness of present time, they integrate their chords together with ancestral roots which they re-invent time and time again, shaking your blood and soul to the point of distorting your senses. The result is a sort of gorgeous music they generously give away to make the world look more inhabitable to us, with more room for goodness and beauty.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010. 8:30pm. $10. Advance tickets on sale NOW!
One of the most celebrated country-folk performers of her day, singer/songwriter Iris Dement was born on January 5, 1961, in rural Paragould, AR, the youngest of 14 children. At the age of three, her devoutly religious family moved to California, where she grew up singing gospel music; during her teenaged years, however, she was first exposed to country, folk, and R&B, drawing influence from Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. Upon graduating high school, she relocated to Kansas City to attend college.
After a series of jobs waitressing and typing, Dement first began composing songs at the age of 25. Honing her skills at open-mic nights, in 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she contacted producer Jim Rooney, who helped her land a record contract. Dement did not make her recording debut until 1992, when her independent label offering, Infamous Angel, won almost universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and spare, heartfelt songcraft. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the record's word-of-mouth praise earned her a deal with Warner Bros., which reissued Infamous Angel in 1993 as well as its follow-up, 1994's stunning My Life. Her third LP, 1996's eclectic The Way I Should, marked a dramatic change not only in its more rock-influenced sound but also in its subject matter; where Dement's prior work was introspective and deeply personal, The Way I Should was fiercely political, tackling topics like sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam. In 1999, she collaborated with country man John Prine on his album, In Spite of Ourselves. Dement recorded four duets with Prine that earned her a Grammy nod the following year.
Saturday, June 19, 2010. 8pm. $25 advance / $27 day of show. Advance tickets available NOW at Harvest Records, Orbit DVD and The Grey Eagle after 5pm.
