Marnie Stern's debut record was a bright point of my winter, as I’d long thought she would find success if her music had the chance to find an audience. Signing to Kill Rock Stars took care of that, and what was left was finally seeing her recreate her unique sound with a band. For as much as seeing her thrash alone with her iPod was endearing, I’d always thought that her live show would only become transcendent when she could recreate all the parts live. I was naturally quite excited when I heard that she’d finally put a band together. Zach Hill from Hella (who also drummed on and produced Marnie’s record) and Robby Moncrieff of WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE SON GOD joined Marnie to tour the US, Australia and Japan.

The show was at the recently remodeled Knitting Factory. They opened up the main room substantially, which makes it feel much less claustrophobic than the old room did, and gives the sound quite a bit more space to travel in, which in a venue this size makes the sound a bit richer. All in all I like what they did and look forward to seeing more shows there.

Back to Marnie: when she plays solo with her iPod, you can hear all the fabulous layers of guitar wizardry quite clearly, along with plenty of backing vocal tracks to thicken up her delivery. But it’s missing the excitement of seeing it truly recreated live, and consequently lacks a little bite. With a band, the experience takes on added virtuosity (sometimes seeing is believing) and grit. The layered polish of the record is replaced by loud, powerful guitars, weaving between melodies and counterpoint at a level I’ve only otherwise seen done by very talented metal bands. The drummer sounded like a jazzman on speed. When everything was in sync (more often than not) the effect was impressive; the hype and anticipation, justified. And in a pleasant surprise not found on the record, some of the big releases rocked heavy. The vocals were a little thin, but for fans of Marnie’s music, it was a most rewarding show.

Labels: Concert Reviews, Marnie Stern