We saw a truncated version of Marah last night: singer and guitarist Dave Bielanko (the only original member), a stand-up bassist and a keyboard player. The rest of the band quit/was fired - except for Bielanko's brother, who is busy being a new father. But that's not a problem; Dave Bielanko can sell a song without them.

I suppose it'd be better if he could sell some tickets though. There were probably no more than 40 people there last night. My wife and I were the only people to buy tickets in advance, so the guy at the door knew our name as soon as I said the words "will call" - ours was the only name on the list. I started thinking, during the show, that Marah could be this generation's Big Star - they're excellent but almost completely overlooked because their sound's a few years behind the times. Though maybe that was the $3 quarts of Guinness talking. Check back in 15 years, to see if I was right.

Bielanko has a really great rockNroll voice, and he's a surprisingly good guitar player, too. Very entertaining. Fantastic show. Catch it if you can - they're on a short tour of the south right now.

I'm far too tired to write anything more, though. Friggin show didn't end till 1AM.

(not from last night)