The Marian Call concert was a blast and I was excited to see so many folks show. It was a great atmosphere and Marian and her guitarist, Scott Barkan were very friendly and gracious. With our 10 people alone we brought in $200 for the Wildhorse Ranch, not counting what we spent on drinks (total I think they brought in at the very least twice that). The Wildhorse Ranch Rescue spends over $4000 a month to take care of the abused and abandoned horses in their care, so every penny is valuable to them. They're wonderful people and I hope we can do some work with them again in the future. Make sure to visit their website and find out a little more about what the local organization does.

As for Marian, her live shows are just as wonderful if not better than anything you'd hear on her albums or YouTube. She has an amazing vocal range and her ability to belt out what she does despite the humidity, dust, and allergens was downright unearthly. With her singing and songwriting talent (she's been compared favorably to Joni Mitchell), she's most definitely making a name for herself in indie music circles and I really think she'll be making her way up the digital media charts over the coming years and we'll be able to say we know her. Scott Barkan, who she travels with at least any time she's within range of LA where he hails from, is a spectacular guitarist and can keep up with her full ranged jazzy style better than seems humanly possible. You can hear some of his solo work on his myspace.

After the concert, as is customary these days, we went to Applebees for an after-shindig. Marian and Scott came along and shared their unique perspectives from everything from Michael Jackson (Thriller and Billy Jean are masterpieces and Cameron has no soul) to Polar Bear safety (as it turns out there are shelters built out in the tundra with weeks of provisions to wait out the polar bear, and they cover their black noses with their paw as they attack). We had a great waitress who played into our antics, and a general fun time was had by all. Too bad for you!

Well, not entirely. On Tuesday night at 10pm she has booked another gig at 10pm at the Goathead Saloon in Mesa (some of you may remember we had a Bedlam Bards concert there a year or so back) at 1423 S Country Club Dr. right across the street from the Bookmans there. I'm not yet sure of any cover charge but it'll be most likely in the couple of dollars range if anything. Hopefully some folks who couldn't make it Saturday can drop by and enjoy the fun on Tuesday night. You'll be glad you did. She will be in town for the next few days so keep an eye here or her twitter in case any other gigs pop up.

For more pictures, check out my web gallery. Keep an eye on this space because others were taking pictures as well and I'll link to their pictures as well once I get hold of them.


While we're talking music, I should mention that our own Becky Wolfe has a musical claim to fame in the great local Celtic group Inis. The trio plays regularly around the valley with Becky stealing the show on her violin, and greatly appreciates support from us Browncoats. Sunday was their last performance until June but we'll try to keep updates coming here, and otherwise you can keep up with them and hear some of their music on their myspace page.