Every now and then, Jeremy tells me I need to see someone in concert. I trusted him with Styx, which was fantastic, and Big Wreck (despite knowing nearly no songs) was amazing. I sucked it up for The Tea Party, which had a bit of a bad rap with me from the 90s, but was rewarded with a truly great concert. And while I might draw the line with Our Lady Peace (I truly hate the lyric of “she wished she was a dancer/and that she’d never heard of cancer”), I tend to agree with his recommendations.
Marcus King is definitely a win. Jeremy had seen Marcus when he’d played The Palace last year and had told me what I’d missed. So this time, I couldn’t say “no”.
I couldn’t name a single Marcus King song, nor does it really matter. This guy – and the folks he brings along with him – are top-tier musicians that I could listen to for hours. Even his opener, a young woman named Leah Blevins, had a voice fit for angels, not us poor shmucks in Calgary.
King’s background is blues and rock, and that shows through every note he plays, with a virtuosity that shouldn’t be allowed in someone that young. I wish I had gotten to see another King – B. B. – play before he died, but I think, in a way, Marcus is carrying that spirit forward, even if he’s playing a multitude of different guitars.
Jeremy, of course, knew about them all. He’s a music nerd of high degree, knowing the pedigree of many musicians, including stories of how they came to own particular instruments. For me, it makes the experience all the better, sort of like my own personal Pop Up Video (remember those?).
The only song played that night was The Allman Brothers’ Ramblin’ Man, though he had tossed in a few other covers along the way that I didn’t know. And, frankly, couldn’t care if I knew the songs or not.
One thing I’ve learned, having gone to so many concerts (a mere fraction of a fraction of the ones Jeremy’s seen), is that good music is good to hear, regardless of whether you know the song or not. Good music is always good, and good new music is great, no matter who plays it.
And when you have someone as talented as Marcus King, it makes it all the better.
