Marshall Crenshaw

Finally got to cross this one off my "bucket list." Saw MC and his backup band "The Bottle Rockets" at the HiiFi in Indianapolis last night. Bottle Rockets opened with about an hour set and then backed Marshall for a nintey minute tour de force. MC played a few new tunes, a couple covers(Richard Thompson & Buddy Holly), and several "oldies" in a well received set. Whatta night! MC was in fine form and stayed around to sign albums and greet fans at the merchandise table. I purchased his new vinyl EP "Move Now" while he signed a copy of his debut album for me. Played "Move Now", "Favorite Waste Of Time", "Mary Ann", "Someday Someway", "Cynical Girl", "There She Goes", and many others. First visit to HiFi, capacity is 195 and tickets sold out, only about a dozen or so bar stools to sit on. Good selection of craft beers. I was not familiar with the Bottle Rockets and came away impressed and wish I had purchased their CD boxed set. Definitely a "AARP crowd" with nearly everyone age 50 & older. 5 stars

Unknown to anyone there the venue played the Movie "Imagine" prior to the concert- its a good enough movie (Although dated with a white washed image of Lennon) but was sure everyone there had already seen it and just wanted to hear music like myself. Post movie I only had about 30 mins before I had to go meet the family so I was able to see the band play about 6 songs. Marshall looked like he was really having fun ,gave some great vocals and backed up by most of the Weeklings it sounded as good as you get. It would have been great to see Glenn Burnick (also a member of the Weeklings) play with Marshall for a original cast of Beatlemania reunion but Glenn was not there - bummer. Great job APMFF but next time provide better details on the itinerary.

Marshall hasn't seemed so loose, relaxed, and happy on stage in years. A trio approach has always suited him and his Dylan and Animals covers were especially great.

What an intimate venue to see an incredible song-writing talent. The new material sounds great even with the sparseness of just Marshall and his guitar(s). There was something for everyone here, and great nuggets from his "old bag" of goodies. A true musician and a gracious performer.

I AM SO OVERWHELMED, ALL I CAN SAY I EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLET, ETC.!

I didn't know what to expect. New venue for me. I was thrilled with it though! I hope to go back soon. Marshall Crenshaw didn't disappoint! He played a lot of his old stuff which is what turned me on to him in the first place. Newer stuff showed just what a gifted songwriter he is.

Saw Marshall Crenshaw at the Magic Band in Ferndale, Michigan on Sunday night, Septermber 27th. Marshall played many songs from his new CD "Jaggedland" with a good mix of older titles like "Someday Someway", "MaryAnn", and "Cynical Girl". It doesn't matter what the guy sings...his voice and music mesmerize me.....I could have listened and watched him all night. After the concert, Marshall did a meet and greet with the fans. It was really cool to meet him and get a picture taken with him. He is a little shorter than I thought.....oh well, there goes the fantacy!

A GREAT show indeed! MC was at the top of his game, and seemed very comfortable and happy doing what he does best, playing his music for anyone that wants to listen. The band was very focused, with longtime pal Grahm Maby, multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield, and unfortunately I don't recal the drummers name, but he was great as well. Lots of home town fokls in attendance, & members of the Crenshaw family made for a nice warm event all the way around...

First visit to Lafayette Theatre, a refurbished movie theatre in downtown LFT. St Louis based "Bottle Rockets" were opening act and then backed up MC for his set. Bottle Rockets played their excellent "South Broadway Athletic Club" album in its entirety along with four or five other songs including "Radar Gun", but surprisingly skipped "Indianapolis". I own SBAC on 180 gram vinyl and highly recommend it. Crenshaw opened with "There She Goes Again" and encored with "Crying Time", Someday Someway" and "MaryAnn." MC played a spirited set of oldies along with material from his recent vinyl EP's. About 200 or so in attendance. Its disappointing that more people were there to see these high quality musicians. Saw both acts on the same bill at the HiFi in Indianapolis 13 months ago(March 2015). This pairing is one of the best kept secrets on tour-check them out!

An unusually mediocre night at the Birchmere. The sound was really a mess during Marshall's set which seems strange because the sound during the Bottle Rocket's opener was fine. The BR also backed up Marshall and that might have been part of the problem - they drowned him out. I'd never seen them before and really enjoyed their set. They were in a great mood as their current album had just returned to a number one spot on some chart somewhere. The band's leader made a great impassioned appeal for fans to buy the record and to see as much live music as possible. Marshall just seemed off. A shame because he's one of my favorite songwriters period. I've seen him four times in the last 30+ years and hope to see him under better circumstances again some time.

I've never been to the Birchmere before. Nice place, good organization, parking is easy, and the idea, at least for some of the shows, of having a sit down dinner prior to some rock is easy, very easy, to like. Marshall Crenshaw - a good show. It's been a long time since my first introduction to Mr. Crenshaw's music, and I have to say I was excited as the first time to hear his lyrics. He's a great poet. The vocal chords needed to stretch, but by the third song he was hitting his stride. Bottle Rockets - a good band, solid tune-smithing. they were great as his back-up, especially their bassist, how rocked the vocals along with Marshall. Main disappointment - no back catalog CDs of Marshall's work

This was a great pairing of artists. M. Crenshaw was awesome as were the Bottle Rockets. The only reason this is not 5 stars is due to the less than stellar sound quality at the Birchmere. It's loud, which is desired and expected, but there is also distortion which detracts from the concert and the appreciation of these stellar artists. Loud is great, but clarity is paramount! Please fix this Birchmere!

this is our second time seeing the bottle rockets and marshall crenshaw at the birchmere. It's the kind of show you want to bring all your friends to.

Bottle Rockets are the best 'unknown' Americana/roots band currently around. The sound at the Birchmere was perfect - perfect volume. BR's overshadowed the opening act.

There is a hole in the universe somewhere. I should never be seeing Marshall Crenshaw in a small venue. This guy should be a mega star. He is loved by the critics and largely ignored by the populace. Why? When I told people that I went to see him, they invariably said, he is great or named a couple of their favorite songs. He did not disappoint on this night. He played a mix of new songs, some covers, and his absolute classics. I have one complaint: he did not play long enough. I would have the same complaint if he played for seven hours. He is coming around my area in a few weeks. I am going again. And I am trying to arrange family trips around some of his later concerts. EXCELLENT

Great show, all venue seats are pretty good. Food is institutional, but to get there early enough to sit up close count on eating dinner anyway, just stick with the simple stuff. Bottle Rockets are of course a great act. Crenshaw is an institution with DC audiences.

Two top acts for the price of one ticket. The Rockets go first and because of the recent rerelease of their first two albums, the set was heavy with songs from that era. Which is another way of saying it was a killer song selection: Kerosene, Radar Gun, 1000 Car, I'll Be Coming Around, Welfare Music and Indy. The band was tight and Brian H made some witty comments. Several new songs were mixed in and at least two were top notch. Marshall also did a number of new/newer songs but, unfortunately only one really stood out. But mixed in were some of the best songs written in the 80's and 90's. Marshall sang them with real joy and the Rockets gave stellar support. Time truly stopped for Someday Someway, Whenever Your On My Mind, Cynical Girl, Mary Ann, Crying Waiting Hoping, Valerie, Crying Time and What Do You Dream Of. Magical stuff almost like seeing the Beatles at their best when you add in the charm, musicianship and thoughtful lyrics. Go go and go!!!! Support two criminally under appreciated artists.

The Bottle Rockets opened with a really enjoyable one-hour set ... as you'd expect from a long-established band, they were air tight, and they offered great versions of "Thousand Dollar Car" and "Smokin' 100s Alone". Marshall Crenshaw, on the other hand, seemed content to let the Bottle Rockets (who served as his back-up band) do the heavy lifting ... I felt a little gypped because his guitar was mixed way down by the sound guy and every once in awhile he seemed content to wear his guitar rather than play it. His song selection wasn't a club-friendly as it could have been as well. Simply put, he wasn't awful but I didn't hear a single song during his set that I haven't heard him do better on other nights.

The Bottle Rockets had a muddy sound, too much guitar and not any varietal sounds. There was also too much gab and not very interesting. Marshall Crenshaw was good, not sensational. Should play his old stuff and forget the new. Don't do an Everly Brothers obscure tune. There's a good reason it's obscure.

This concert was amazing.... I enjoyed the concert. I would see any of the 3 performs again

I'm a big Marshall Crenshaw fan (First Show - July 22, 1986) and his voice still sounds great. His new songs are just as great as his classics live. The big surprise to me was the opening act , The Bottle Rockets. They've been together for 20 years and this band is as tight as you'll ever see. After their performance, there was a long line to buy their CD's. I hope to see both bands together again in the near future. 5 stars

One the best, but most under-rated songwriters ever.

This was the 6th time I ve seen Marshall Crenshaw, and sadly will probably be the last. Every time I see him (most recently about a year ago at the Birch) he does fewer of his old songs, and kind of screws around with them. His opening band, the Bottle Rockets, did about 13-14 songs, which was too many (and more than they played last time they were at the Birch). Then Marshall opened with 2 new songs, which was not particularly well received because its almost a slap in the face to the audience. He only played about 14-16 songs, of which 6-7 were his hits and they were all over the map in terms of quality/adherence to the original form. The only song that was completely spot on was a Buddy Holly cover ("Crying, Waiting, Hoping"), which he NAILED. In fact, I would have been happier hearing him do another 4-5 more Buddy Holly songs (he's clearly a huge fan, and so am I) and fewer of some obscure tracks off an album he released 10 + years ago which I never heard. After the show, the people I went with all pretty much agreed that we ve scratched that itch. And that's too bad, because I love his first 3-4 albums. Apparently more than he does, since he left SO many songs he must know people wanted to hear unplayed. Honestly, this was a one star performance: I only gave him a second star because I have great memories of how good he used to be live.

Great show! Marshall and the Bottle Rockets were tight and rocked the whole night. Go see them if you have the chance.

While the show was supposed to start at 7:30, Crenshaw's band played without him for 90 minutes. Only then did Crenshaw grace us with his presence. While all are good musicians, the music was not what I expected. The advance billing implied more "Buddy Holly" and "Beatlemania" type music. Instead he played his own music and only played one Buddy Holly song.

Perfectly enjoyable evening with Marshall Crenshaw playing a nice mix of old and new. Frankly, I was only familiar with his older stuff, so much of the night was new to me. The Bottle Rockets were a good back up band, but it would have been nice if they had played 20 minutes less and Crenshaw 20 minutes more. The Rockets are fine musicians but the lead singer gets tiresome after 3 or 4 songs.

I remember this from last time -- Bottle Rockets played way too long, and lead is an edgy Marshall wantabe. Marshall sweet as alway but, when I left at 10, he had played exactly one of his "old" songs -- the ones that made us laugh and maybe cry just a bit.

Gotta love what these guys are doing! Playing under the moniker of the Simulators, this quintet tore through a set of Beatles tunes that spanned their entire history. Really, no period was spared. From Please Please Me to I Want You, the show went on for about 1.5 hours and you could tell these guys were having a blast playing this stuff as much as the audience enjoyed listening! I hope the Simulators become a semi regular thing around NYC. Truly a humble, but rocking tribute.

Led by two members of the original cast of Beatlemania (Marshall Crenshaw and Glen Burtnik), along with Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel) and John Merjave, they dug deep into The Beatles' catalog, so there were plenty of pleasant surprises in the set. These musicians are masters, and the show was a revelation, both for their musicianship and performances and also for how relevant the Beatles' catalog remains today. I'd highly recommend catching them if they ever do this again!

Love Marshall Crenshaw! I have a ton of his music, I've seen his shows from the 80's thru this last effort. This was by far the worst. The Bottle Rockets are great and did there best to make it better but he was off and it's not the first time I've been disappointed by Marshall. Thanks for the memories but I'll only dial him up on the iPod the next time i want to listen to him.

Saw Marshall Crenshaw the other night at the Birchmere. Awesome. Been listening for 20 years and finally got the chance. Played a mixed list of old and new and got the place rockin'. Every head in the place was bobbing and every foot was tapping. The guy has a talent with power pop like no one else. His guitar work and voice were the biggest surprise to me. See the show if you get a chance.

Marshall Crenshaw rocked the Birchmere. He was on fire! With the Bottle Rockets backing him tightly, he played all sorts of gems such as Valerie, MaryAnne, Cynical Girl, Someday, Someway, Whenever You're on My Mind, 2 Buddy Holly covers, Rockin' Around in NYC, Starlit Summer Sky, Rave On, and What Do You Dream Of?. Fantastic!

The combination of Marshall with The Bottle Rockets (who put on a great first set) is terrific!

Marshall was great as usual! I liked all the familiar songs.

Great venue, great artist, great set list, what more could you ask for? A good time was had by all...The reincarnation of Buddy Holly was here. Come back soon Marshall we can always use a solid dose of real rock and roll.

About 30 years ago, I started listening to this guy who grew up in the Detroit area and who, to me, represented all that rock'n'roll was meant to be. The voice, the guitar work, even the themes in the songs, felt like grown-up 50's and 60's rock. Thirty years later, Marshall Crenshaw still exhibits the voice that drew me in and the guitar work that amazes and moves at the same time. Marshall followed Freedy Johnston (an admirable talent in his own right), playing several pieces from his last compilation (Jaggedland) as well as plenty of material which spanned his 30 years in the business. "Whenever You're On My Mind" will always be my favorite, but I was just as thrilled to hear "Live and Learn" being played live. The lack of accompaniment had no impact on anything he played, and in fact, the purity of voice and guitar combined were spectacular. I could have listened to hours more. I hope I get to see him in the area again.

With his low key presence and guitar virtuoso, Marshall Crenshaw really reached out to the crowd gathered at the Ark. After a great first set from Freedy Johnston, Marshall quietly walked out and started to play newer material from his considerable catalog. Later into the set, he played earlier hits from his first two albums that the crowd really picked up on. Nice solo work on the guitar. Missed the encore, but I am pretty sure Freedy Johnston came out on stage with him and tore it up.

I thought Marshall sounded great. Would like to have seen a better turn out since he is a Detroit icon.