Michael Marra

*****

Performing at Leith Folk Club, Feb 2007

See marra.me.uk

also see leithfolkclub.com

Review by Jack Foster

Michael Marra is one of those names that will always draw a crowd, and Leith Folk Club's booking proved no exception. Whilst I cannot help but have reservations about the extensive use of an electronic keyboard in what is described as a "folk" act, Marra is an excellent pianist and under-rated guitarist. This may have been a folk club, but it wasn't a folk gig in the traditional sense - and tended to dabble more in Blues and Jazz.

For those who haven't heard Michael Marra, it could probably be best described as Bob Dylan meets Marcus Moon (in a Piano bar). It doesn't matter what the world outside Marra's fanbase thinks, as the gig was a sell-out (as ever), and the audience were in tears of laughter for most of the show.

After finishing up the night with a rousing chorus of his classic 'Hermless', he was dragged back to the stage for for an encore, where he delivered the one truly traditional song of the evening 'Green Grow The Rushes'. And yes, the ironing board was included.

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