SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS: MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND

24 Mar SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS: MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND

“The kind of spectacle that deserves the word awesome,” Atlanta Journal Constitution

MarchFourth Marching Band

This story is a tease, a taunt, and a declaration that if you have the chance and if you believe in “Next Time,” you will get tickets to see MarchFourth Marching Band when they play near you … next time.

This Wednesday’s M4 appearance at the Sheridan Opera House is sold out over a week before the show, a testament to the profound impression the group made on those who witnessed their explosive performance at last year’s Telluride Blues and Brews Festival.

The approximately 20 souls who comprise the group don marching band-cum-Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test costumes and fill the senses with a kaleidoscopic performance that enthralls both musically and visually. Percussive and brassy and funky, M4’s show is a kinetic display of musical chops and circus-y visual delights. Stiltwalkers, dancing and rhythmic movement combine with a driving, infectious beat. Not dancing is simply not an option. It should come as little surprise to learn that the band’s birth was a Mardi Gras gig in their hometown Portland, OR. On March 4th, of course.

The group utterly electrified the crowd from the roomy Fred Shellman Memorial Stage in Town Park last fall … imagine how they’ll burst the seams of the intimacy that is the Opera House with their locked-in groove and visual shenanigans. Ah, but wait … you don’t have a ticket. As promised, this story is a tease.

The band pulls its myriad influences from swampy Louisiana groove to Afro-Brazilian jungle beats, with serious tips of the hat to the Gypsy traditions, all the while flying the American musical flags of funk, rock and jazz. It’s enough to make your brain explode in the best way possible.

Though they call themselves a marching band, don’t expect the precisely patterned moves of a traditional, collegiate marching band. This is something more feral, less regimented, and on the whole most unexpected.

One festival attendee, who made the trip to Telluride from Astoria, NY to experience the mythology and magic of a mountain festival in our stunning Town Park, was left gobsmacked by M4. A professional in the music business who owns her own record promotion company, Liz Cousins thought she’d seen it all.

“Cirque du Soliel for the gutter punk set. Truly amazing musicianship as tight as winter is long. You will dance, absolutely no question of that. Musically schizophrenic, but it wouldn’t work any other way. Highly recommended for anyone who breathes. And the right party for those who no longer do.”

Now you’ve heard someone testify, and you’ve read these words of adulation, how can you possibly miss this show? As mentioned, it is sold out. Here’s a sold-out show primer on how to find A Miracle (because that’s what it will take to get in the door this Thursday).

* Call the local community radio station, KOTO, at 728-4333 and ask the DJ if the radio station has been made aware of any tickets floating around town. KOTO is information central on all manner of things, hard-to-find concert tickets among them. It’s worth a shot.

* Talk it up wherever you are … standing in line for coffee, a street corner conversation, or with your office colleagues. You never know who might have an extra, or who might know someone who knows someone who heard that so-and-so was unable to use their ticket. It’s a small town with far fewer degrees of separation than the legendary 6.

* Show up at the box office when doors open. Sometimes people bring their spares right to the heart of the matter. Sometimes Will Call patrons never show up. Sometimes miracles happen.

MarchFourth Marching Band
Sheridan Opera House
Thursday, March 28
Doors 8:30/show 9 p.m.

Enjoy this video.

And happy hunting.