Marble Rye CD release party Friday May 8th
w/ The Matinee and Analog Bell Service

The Railway is a decent room to watch a few amazing local bands tear it up. Even with a totally irrational layout that makes it appear packed to the gills when there are only 10 people in the room, it hardly stops people from crowding in like greasy fish during spawning season when the pickings are right. This last Friday May 8th was no exception as droves of people came out in support of Marble Rye and friends as they partied in celebration of their new CD, and judging from the head count and constantly having to make way for more bodies, I’d say this night was a big success.
Unfortunately, showing up at 10 pm proved to be a fatal mistake as I ended up waiting in the stairwell for a good forty minutes while The Matinee opened the show. I eventually got myself inside with just enough time to find a space to plant myself while Analog Bell Service took to the stage. This band can’t be accused of lacking in rip-roaring spunk. Tearing through their songs at near breakneck speed and sounding like a steam engine plowing full bore into the ocean, their instruments got a workout and so did the crowd. Creatively I found them to be trying a tad too hard to be different. Too many hooky tricks and not enough letting the music come into itself left me waiting for that defining magical moment. Also, the idea of a dancing bear onstage during a Daft Punk cover was cute but it came off as a little uninspired. A little more hype in the vein of Flavor Flav would have been nice. But these minor issues aside, Analog whipped the crowd into a frothy fervour, complete with chants of “one more song”.
Little time passed in between sets and before I could say ‘sardine’, the room packed even tighter and Marble Rye was on stage and ready to rock. A hell of a talented band with catchy songs played in the name of good light-hearted fun. Known for stirring crowds into a tiz with their piano-driven alterna-pop that can easily veer into the pretty, the massive and sometimes the massively pretty, and with high-energy shows and a happy message, Marble Rye clearly enjoy what they do. Their use of tag-team vocals is top drawer and drummer Mike Durrant (of Bike Fame) keeps a hell of a solid, strong beat. The crowd was super supportive, giving rousing cheers all around, even complying with gusto when asked to boo. Such happy boos have nary been heard in this town! The sound quality was great and very little was lost in the mix, a pleasant surprise for a live setting. And so with big beautiful sound and the exuberance that comes with playing a gig in support of a new album, Marble Rye made the room move, sway and dance all silly like. They came, they saw, they gave it their all and hopefully sold a few cds because these good people deserve your ear.
~Nathan Pike Posted: May 23, 2009