Should I Go See Marshall Crenshaw This Weekend?

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He's playing sans band. Is he any good solo?

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:08 (eighteen years ago) link

Is he any good with a band?

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 14:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes to both. I've seen him a couple times, he's really good.

I'm not nuts about his recent solo live album, though - his voice sounds strained.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:00 (eighteen years ago) link

I saw him at the Bottom Line about ten years ago, with a band. He's really good. His voice is a bit strained these days, I think, but he's a great guitarist. Worth seeing, I'd say.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:21 (eighteen years ago) link

I saw him once where it was a solo show plus multi-instrumentalist sidekick. It would have been better without the sidekick.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link

I saw him when he opened for Yo La Tengo in 2003 – a solo tour. He was damn good but not spectacular.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:40 (eighteen years ago) link

been a while since i've seen him, but to emphasize what edd said, marshall is an absolutely terrific guitarist, which separates him by miles from the half-assed strummy singer-songwriters with whom you might compare him when he plays solo. (and i like a lot of those half-assed strummy singer-songwriters, but marshall's an entirely different kind of performer, getting by on the depth and dexterity of his music, rather than the alleged depth and dexterity of the words that his competition gets by on.) he's also got a lot more soul than you might expect.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:57 (eighteen years ago) link

Marshall is indeed a great guitarist--he fills, he uses space, he thinks. I remember seeing MC and Alex Chilton/Ben Vaughan/Alan Vega a few days apart in NYC, and I was struck by the total commitment MC had, and the lack of commitment from Alex, who is a different kind of great player himself. Altho Marshall tries to hide his bald spot with a hat and was always wiping sweat out of his eyes, whereas Alex didn't care and was too cool for school. In my dreams, I'd love to see those two make a record together, the contrast between their guitar styles would make for perhaps interesting results. The best stuff on MC's "Miracle of Science" and "#449" (I think that's the right number?) are perhaps the instrumentals, too, altho "Seven Miles an Hour" is a totally awesome recording.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:14 (eighteen years ago) link

Also expect some interesting cover versions. The last time I saw him with his own band he did "Journey to the Center of Your Mind."

The most recent time I saw him was with the surviving members of the MC5, where he held his own amidst all the tumult.

― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 16:59 (eighteen years ago) link

The best stuff on MC's "Miracle of Science" and "#449" (I think that's the right number?) are perhaps the instrumentals, too
That "Theme from 'Flaregun'" is awesome.

Also expect some interesting cover versions
There is an excellent version of Grant Hart's "2541" on Miracle of Science

Yeah, he is a great guitar player. That's why I was kind of annoyed by the guy he brought with him to the Mercury Lounge- I would rather have heard him play guitar the whole time than some "versatile" alt-country sideman play some weird Prince-guitar-shaped mandolin or ukelele.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes, he's good live. And that's true about the cover versions, which he always manages to make sound vaguely Buddy Holly-ish. Which is kinda great when the song in question is, say, Molly Hatchet's "Flirting With Disaster."

― Dark Horse, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Thanks to all for your comments.
BTW if anyone lives in the Mass/RI area, he's playing at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Mass. (http://ncfta.org). It's a great space, with church pews as seats, BYOB. Graham Parker is playing a solo show there in April. Caught him last year there and he was incredible.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link

So did you go? I went. I thought it was great, except for the people next to me who talked - loudly - through the whole thing.

Except for the four songs they knew.

Which they sang along to.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 16:51 (eighteen years ago) link

And those four songs were?

Guess 1) Cynical Girl

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 16:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Guess 1) Cynical Girl

Bingo. When they shouted "I'M GOIN' OUT!" at the top of their lungs I gave up and stood in the back.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 17:08 (eighteen years ago) link

Were the other three songs all from that album? What songs would that kind of fan know? "You're My Favorite Waste of Time"? No, that doesn't make sense, unless it was in a movie somewhere.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 17:42 (eighteen years ago) link

2) someday someway
3) whenever you're on my mind
4) mary anne???

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 17:45 (eighteen years ago) link

cover versions, which he always manages to make sound vaguely Buddy Holly-ish. Which is kinda great when the song in question is, say, Molly Hatchet's "Flirting With Disaster."

Well, there goes that great cover idea I had. :) "Flirting With Disaster" works amazingly well with a rockabilly or skiffle beat.

― mike a, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 17:48 (eighteen years ago) link

2) someday someway
3) whenever you're on my mind
4) mary anne???

They might've sung along to "Mary Anne," but I was standing in back by then so I can't be sure. #4 would be "There She Goes Again," although a few of their number also sang along with "Dime a Dozen Guy." Just not the loudest.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 17:56 (eighteen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

Rick, I never answered your question from 12 years ago! Yes, I went and I loved it. Saw him last night with Los Straitjackets at the same place, too. Not as good, although the Straitjackets alone were fun as always. I think the Bottle Rockets are a more suitable backing band for Marshall.
Loved your Newport Folk Festival book, BTW.

― Jazzbo, Thursday, 17 August 2017 14:13 (five years ago) link

five years pass...

He's touring again (though to be fair he plays often in NY). I've only heard him via 30 or 40 year old records, so I wasn't prepare to hear how much his voice has aged and thickened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVgFZzZmIik

I may still go see him just because I never have.

― birdistheword, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 00:33 (one week ago) link

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