@doricloon
Category: Review
The setlist as I recall it -
1. Liberation (Psalm 118) - Michael's narration from Martyn Bennett album "Liberation"
2. When These Shoes Were New - Everybody
3. The Midas Touch - The Hazey Janes with Christopher Marra
4. Dear Hank Williams - The Hazey Janes with Christopher Marra
5. Niel Gow's Apprentice - Rab Noakes, Eddi Reader and Dougie Maclean on fiddle
6. Frida Kahlo's Visit To The Taybridge Bar - Tom Mitchell
7. Happed In Mist - Mackenzie and Kris Drever
8. Mother Glasgow - Pat and Gregory Kane
9. The Altar Boys - Riley Briggs and Mackenzie
10. Lovely You - Dougie Maclean
11. All To Please Macushla - Eddi Reader
12. The Bawbee Birlin' - Rod Paterson
13. The Homeless Do Not seeem To Drink In Here - John Spillane
INTERVAL - The music played prior to the show and at the interval were Michael's favourite songs sung by his favourite singers.
14. Land of Golden Slippers - The Hazey Janes with Christopher Marra
15. Mrs Gorrie - Riley Briggs
16. General Grant's Visit to Dundee - Rab Noakes and Jimmie Macgregor
17. Chain Up the Swings - John Spillane
18. Under the Ullapool Moom - Sylvia Rae Tracey
19. Peddie Street - Dougie Maclean
20. Like Another Rolling Stone - Pat and Gregory Kane
21. The Lonesome Death of Francis Clarke - Mackenzie
22. Schenectady Calling Peerie Willie Johnson - Kris Drever
23. Here Comes the weak - Edii Reader and Mackenzie
24. Hamish - Rod Paterson
25.Monkey Hair - Alice Marra and Andrew Mitchell
26. All Will be Well - Everybody
27. The Optomistic Sound - Liz Lochhead - Scots Makar
28. Hermless - Everybody
The singers and musicians involved were -
Tom Mitchell
Rab Noakes
Eddi Reader
Dougie Maclean
Pat and Gregory Kane
John Spillane
Mackenzie - Fiona, Eilidh and Gillian
Rod Paterson
Jimmie Macgregor
Riley Briggs
Sylvia Rae Tracey
Kris Drever
The Hazey Janes - Andrew Mitchell, Alice Marra, Matthew Marra and Liam Brennan
Liz Lochhead - Scots Makar
The House Band were -
Christopher Marra - guitars and steel guitar
Kevin Murray - guitars and mandolin
Gregor Philp - guitars
Hilary Brooks - piano and accordian
Steve Kettley - tenor and soprano saxophone
Duncan Chisholm - fiddle
Christine Hanson - cello
Kevin McGuire - upright bass
Dave Haswell - percusssion
Also there in spirit was Pip Locherty, Rock Newtyle, Liam Reilly, Colm Calvin, Chick Singer,
Pacquet Bonheure,Fabio Lino, Lefty Wright, Francis O'Fahey, Clement Park, Beauregard Low,
Harold Walls, Alec Gorrie, Al Martini, Lochee Luciano, Peem Porteus, Blair Gowrie,
Tim O'Rourke, Sandy Limestone, Memus Slim, Hamish Watt, Philip du Beity and
Mr Michael Marra who was the reason we were all there in the first place.
PS. Please excuse any errors on my part.
"My forgetter is getting better, but my rememberer is broke"
Aberdeen playwright Mike Gibb was at The Lemon Tree on Thursday night to see Michael Marra.
There was a time not so long ago when Michael Marra could be described as Scotland’s best kept secret. Fortunately that is no longer the case as a packed Cafe Bar at the Lemon Tree last night (24 November) clearly displayed. It was obvious that the audience contained a fair sprinkling of aficionados who were keen to listen to Marra’s unbeatable blend of music and humour once again; you may know most of the stories but he delivers them with such warm, natural charm that you simply can’t help laughing along.
But it was clear from the number who had to “rehearse” communal singing of the like “Baps ‘n Paste” and “Hermless” that there were a lot of new faces there as well. And after witnessing Marra’s masterful performance they’ll be back the next time Dundee’s finest export ventures north even forgiving him for his jibes at the Aiberdeen in “I Don’t Like Methil” and “If Dundee Were Africa”.
The two sets contained many of Michael’s finest moments, and there are plenty of those in his vast and varied repertoire, and yet began with a inspired rendition of Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney's famous depression era anthem “Brother Can You Spare A Dime” showing a very relevant link with today's economic turmoil. What followed was a master class in writing, brilliant lyrics happily married to fascinating tunes perfectly performed on the piano, and occasionally, the guitar with sometimes hilarious introductions populated with characters from Michael's past. The Bothy Cat, The Angry Cat. The Man with No Nickname and the Singing Moth.
Devotee favourites abounded – the wonderful unaccompanied tribute to Dundee drunks “Muggie Sha”, the imaginative blending of a famous Mexican artist Freda Kahlo with one of Dundee’s less salubrious drinking establishments (“Freda Kahlo’s Visit To The Tay Bridge Bar&rdquo
and his tribute to a castrated and wayward cat “Pious Portious”. "Farlow", "The Lonesome Death of Francis Clarke"," Bob Dylan's Visit to Embra", "Big Wide World Beyond The Seedlies", a hilarious testament to the perils of Lonely Heart’s columns “He Said, She Said” and a new song on the setlist, the ravishing “Heaven’s Hound” (inspired by the Mississippi travels of long time Marra friends and supporters from Kintore).
Michael left the stage to a tumultuous, well deserved and heartfelt ovation returning to treat us a encore featuring a couple of songs from his own songwriter heroes. A beautuful tribute to the late Gerry Rafferty with his "Mary Skeffington" followed by a poignant treatment of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Rocking Chair” before finishing with the Marra anthem “Hermless”, to my mind the saddest “comedy song” I’ve heard in many a long day.
The audience could have stayed all night so haste you back Michael. And when he does return I’m sure all who attended last night will be there once again bringing a few more friends with them. For Michael Marra is no longer Scotland’s best kept secret but is indeed one of Scotland’s greatest treasures.
OUT NOW - New book on Dundee music scene titled " Take It To The Bridge " written by Lorraine Wilson and published by Black and White Publishing .
Rare wee interview with Lorraine on STV talking about the book
Roddy Woomble releases his long awaited second album’ The Impossible Song & Other Songs’ on March 21st. Recorded at his local arts centre, An Tobar in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, ‘The Impossible Song & Other Songs’ follows his acclaimed solo debut ‘My Secret Is My Silence’ (2006).
Roddy began writing & demoing the songs that appear on ‘The Impossible Song & Other Songs’ at An Tobar with local guitarist and singer Sorren MacLean in January 2010. Then in the summer of 2010, Dublin bassist Gavin Fox (a member of Idlewild from 2003-2005) and Glaswegian drummer and singer Gregor Donaldson (from the band Sparrow & The Workshop) arrived in Mull and with Sorren & Roddy, the four piece recorded the bulk of the album.
As Roddy explains, “The nature of An Tobar, being a working centre for the arts on the island including a gallery, café and performance space meant that there were always interesting people around and musicians coming to the venue to play concerts. We made the most of this. Gordon MacLean, An Tobar’s artistic director and the album’s engineer, would set up a few microphones after a performer’s sound check, or even after their gig, let them hear the song a few times and then record a contribution”
As a result the album includes a magical mix of musical contributions from jazz pianist Chick Lyall, saxophonist Rob Hall, fiddler Aidian O’Rourke (Lau), accordion legend Phil Cunningham and famed Dundonian songwriter Michael Marra.
A multi -faceted singer and songwriter, Roddy has a broad palate of styles & influences and so the album moves from folk rock (Work Like You Can); to country (New Frontier); to upbeat horn-led pop (Roll Along); to indie rock (Leaving Without Gold); to the dark, jazzy ‘Between The Old Moon’, all held together by his soft Scottish baritone and thoughtful, often mysterious lyrics.
Lyrically the album touches on themes that have often cropped up in Roddy’s work - the troubled alliance between Nature and Man, the onset of modernization and the end of old ways, what it means and what is worth giving up in order to achieve it.
Roddy says of his lyrics, “Song lyrics have a unique ability to blend magical elements into a realistic setting. It’s not a requirement to me that they make sense - the music can give them their meaning. Books I go back to again and again - Lewis Grassic Gibbon ‘Sunset Song’, Knut Hamsun ‘Growth Of The Soil’, Halldor Laxness ‘Independent People’. Stories that manage to be both epic in scale and yet intimate in their humanity, the way that any good song can be. I think this is as strong a collection of songs that I’ve ever put my name to and I’m proud that I managed to write and record them in such a collaborative and resourceful way. The record, in many ways, is a scrapbook of six months at An Tobar, with me in the centre”
Roddy spent fifteen years releasing albums and touring worldwide with Idlewild and the band are now on hiatus. He is fast gaining a reputation as a solo artist in his own right and as part of the trio ‘Drever, McCusker & Woomble’ (with guitarist Kris Drever and multi-instrumentalist John McCusker) having released their acclaimed album ‘Before The Ruin’ in 2008.
Can I recommend a wee programme I watched last night on BBC Alba -
"ANGUS PETER CAMPBELL – FRUIT ON BRANCHES -
Angus Peter Campbell, the award-winning poet, novelist, journalist, broadcaster
and actor discusses his life and his work, in a frank and open interview with
Father Colin MacInnes for BBC ALBA.
Starting with Angus Peter's roots in South Uist, he charts his early success as
a journalist at Grampian TV, through turbulent years battling alcohol addiction,
to his acclaimed success as a novelist, actor and poet.
The programme features dramatised re-enactments of Angus Peter's novel, Tilleadh
Dhachaigh, which tells the story of a WW1 ghost returning home from the Somme.
The ghost, representing the Gaelic language, is given the kiss of life.
With performances from Mary Ann Kennedy, Michael Marra, Cathy MacDonald and AL
Kennedy, this celebration of modern Gaelic writing is a treat not to be missed"
The programme is being repeated on Monday 25 October 2010 at 10.30pm. You can watch it
live on the BBC iplayer.
Joe Hawthorn has put the painting forward for the Aspect Prize exhibition which runs in the Paisley Museum and Art Galleries from 12 June to 10 July.
Mr Hawthorn, who will watch the singer perform in concert at Howden Park Centre on 19 May, said: "I am pleased to say that Michael has viewed my painting and is happy with it.
"I am always happy to see visiting artists coming to perform here, and it doesn't get much better than Michael Marra. It promises to be a cracking gig."
The artwork can be viewed at Joe Hawthorn's website
l Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini (Johnny Moscardini's Salute) - A new Blair Douglas Composition
Blair Douglas, one of Scotland’s foremost musicians, has just penned a composition in honour of the Scots-Italian footballer, Giovanni or Johnny Moscardini, who though born in Falkirk in 1897, took to the field a total of nine times for ‘Azzurri’ between 1921 and 1925.
The tune “Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini”, (Johnny Moscardini’s Salute) is a reel for pipes and drums, brass band, strings, and percussion. Whilst composed in the Scottish traditional idiom, it has distinct Mediterranean influences. Il Saluto is up-tempo and exhilarating as would befit a tune named for a prolific striker such as Johnny Moscardini.
Giovanni Moscardini’s father was one of three brothers from Barga in Tuscany who moved to Scotland to set up fish and chips shops and ice-cream parlours. At the outbreak of the First World War, Johnnie enlisted in the Italian army and after demobilisation he settled in his father’s hometown.
A talented footballer, he turned out for the local team but was soon spotted by the local senior club Lucca, then playing in the Italian League - Tuscany Section. He later signed for near neighbours Pisa, becoming the club's top scorer and the first choice at centre-forward for the national side. Latterly, he joined Genoa, then the top Italian club and he made his last appearance for Italy against France on March 22nd, 1925 marking the occasion by scoring twice in a 7-0 win.
That year, however, he returned to Scotland to help run his uncle's Royal Cafe in Campbeltown, and there his distinguished footballing career came to an end playing for Campbeltown Pupils AFC. He subsequently moved to Prestwick where he died in 1985. Being the only player from Barga ever to play in the Italian national team, the local football stadium is named in his honour.
Blair Douglas came across Moscardini’s story by chance. His daughter, Ceitidh (Katie), wrote about him for a school project and asked her father to proof-read her work. “I was immediately intrigued with Johnny Moscardini. Here was a young man who was born of an immigrant family in Scotland but pursued a highly successful professional football career in Italy and who gave it up to help out in a family business in Kintyre. How times have changed. It was also a revelation to read about Barga’s strong connections with Scotland through the numerous local families who came over to this country. The tune Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini, is in honour of Johnny, one of Barga’s most famous sons, but it is also in recognition of the huge contribution Scots-Italians in general have made to our nation. I plan to record the reel on my next album, but would relish the idea of premiering the tune in Barga itself. The idea of playing the tune in the Johnny Moscardini’s home town greatly appeals to me, particularly if it could be done in collaboration with local Barga musicians. I don’t know the Italian for ‘great crack’, but undoubtedly that’s what the premiere would be.”
Fit like,
Michael Marra has written the forward to Andy Hall and Francis Boag's new book " The Mearns Distilled" - A painter and photographer's inspiration.
The Mearns in Kincardineshire has indeed provided inpiration for Francis Boag, the painter and Andy Hall, the photographer. There are some wonderful images contained in the book including a photograph of a newly ploughed field covered in mist. Michael lyric's for "Happed In Mist" completes the picture. The Mearns
Distilled is also dedicated to James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbon). A beautifully designed booked with images, words and lyrics all inpired by The Mearns.
The book is available to buy online
at -
< http://www.andyhallphotography.com/homepage.htm >
or
< http://www.francisboag.com/ >
Enjoy
Rob Adam's review from today's Herald
Robert Burns's Worldly Friends, The Hub
Robert Burns was an intelligent, creative man who enjoyed the company of like minds, nay visionaries ,who in Edinburgh-based Italian tenor Pietro Urbani's case, anticipated the advent of the silent movie and, as James Gilchrist's interpretation of Allan Ramsay's The Tippling Philosophers implied, foretold of The Laughing Policeman.
Urbani's The Ever Memorable Battle of Bannockburn, slipped in here as waggish retaliation for EIF's opening celebration of Culloden, was the centrepiece of this final Caledonia Session.
A musical, almost blow-by-blow enactment, with much amusingly breathless playing and swashbuckling bow-wielding, it seemed tailor-made for Rudolph Valentino as Robert the Bruce and offered Michael Marra, as the marvellously sceptical narrator, the chance to mark his card for the Vivian Stanshall role should Mike Oldfield ever consider a Scottish remake of Tubular Bells.
Marra's craggy tones and superbly timed oratory have found him a growing number of speaking parts in recent times - who can forget his delivered from on high' psalm recitation in Martyn Bennett's Liberation? - but his restriction here to readings and only two songs seemed like another of this series' missed opportunities.
The songs chosen suited Gilchrist more, of course, and he sang well, just as the ensemble played the works of Burns's German cellist friend Christoph Schetky and Francesco Geminiani, whose inclusion was a little more obscure, with skill and attention to detail.
However, Marra's opening O a' the Airts and his closing Green Grow the Rashes, which almost induced a full-scale singalong, simply whetted the appetite to hear more of this most distinctive voice working with the musicians at hand on further music from the period in question.
Also visit David McGuinness's blog at -
http://www.concal.org/diary.htm
for a blow by blow account and pictures of the gigs
I see that Michael Marra topped the poll of favourite performers who appeared at Edinburgh Folk Club in 2008.
Full listing at -
http://www.footstompin.com/public/forum?threadid=388940