Anya Marina Delivers Daytrotter Session

Picture from the HAD Archive

Forget that she's in cahoots with Britt Daniel on her record - Anya Marina holds her own in the live setting, and does so with aplomb. We thought so when we saw her last November, and now her Daytrotter Session only serves to underscore the awesomeness.

In a world of female musicians where far too many are content to be loosey-goosey "songstresses", or arrive on stage as band accessories, Marina is the opposite. She's spunky, killer on the guitar, and clearly delivering her songs on her own terms. In other words, damn good.

We've attached an mp3 of Marina performing one of our faves "Cut It Out", if you head over to Daytrotter you can snag a bunch more mp3s, as well as read some interview material. Win.

mp3: Anya Marina - Cut It Out (Live On Daytrotter)

Anya Marina: Spring Tour, Album On The Cheap (Today Only)

Picture from the HAD Archive

You may recall that when we last saw Anya Marina, we enjoyed the show quite a bit. Well, since then Marina's been out and about promoting her record Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II, and shown up everywhere from Rolling Stone to Jimmy Kimmel (complete with a full band and new hair-do, no less!). After completing a tour with The Virgins, she's lined up a new set of dates going all the way through April.

We do have to say, you are strongly encouraged to go and check it out: Marina's an ace on the guitar, and her songs are tasty bits of catchy goodness. That being said, if you still need a bit of encouragement, you can snag her record at Amazon for $3.99 (today only!) - if you ask us, it's worth it for "Cut It Out" alone.

Anya Marina Spring 2009 Dates
February
25 Atlanta, GA - Vinyl
26 Charlotte, NC - The Evening Muse
27 Easton, MD - Coffee East
28 Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel

March
1 New York, NY - The Canal Rooom
2 Vienna, VA - Jammin' Java
4 Syracuse, NY - Funk n' Waffles
5 Albany, NY - Red Square
6 Boston, MA - Cafe 939 at Berklee
7 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
9 Cleveland, OH - The Winchester Tavern & Music
10 Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe
11 Chicago, IL - Martyrs'
12 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
14 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
15 Oklahoma City, OK - Blue Door
16 Dallas, TX - The Prophet Bar
19-21 Austin, TX - SXSW

April
2 Los Angeles, CA - Hotel Café
3 San Diego, CA – Casbah

Anya Marina Touring With The Virgins

Picture From the HAD Archive

You may remember that we were quite taken with Anya Marina's show late last year at Cafe Du Nord. Well now word has come down the wire that Ms. Marina will be touring with The Virgins in the new year, and we couldn't be more enthused. While we've never seen The Virgins live, we keep hearing great things from friends, and it's no secret that we thought Anya's live act was killer.

Sadly, none of the dates are on the West Coast, so if you're out here with us in California you'll just have to make due with Marina's recent performance on Live Daily (link below). Once you're done with that, you can ramp up for her new record Slow And Steady Seduction Phase Two, which goes on sale next Tuesday. For those of you who are on the East coast, definitely check out this sweet double bill - it's not to be missed.

Anya Marina Winter 2009 Dates:
January 14 Boston, MA - Great Scott #
January 15 Washington, DC - DC9 #
January 16 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House #
January 17 Philadelphia, PA - The Tin Angel #
January 20 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (solo - Album Release show)
January 21 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's *
January 22 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel *
January 23 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
January 24 Athens, GA - Tasty World
January 25 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
January 26 Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley *
January 28 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
January 29 Chicago, IL - Schuba's *
January 30 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle *
January 31 Ames, IA - Maintenance Shop *
February 2 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry *
February 3 Madison, WI - The Annex *
February 4 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig *
February 5 Toronto, ON - El Mocambo *
February 6 Montreal, QC - Les Saints *
February 7 Allston, MA - Great Scott *

# = w/ Greg Laswell & Jenny Owen Youngs
* = w/ The Virgins

Video: Anya Marina - Live Daily Session

Anya Marina Played Cafe Du Nord

You may remember that yesterday we weren't really sure what to expect from Anya Marina's set at Cafe Du Nord, and that we were banking heavily on her Britt Daniel-related credentials. Well, suffice it to say, there was no need to worry: Marina, with only an acoustic guitar and a handful of beat machine backing tracks, delivered a show that was as solid as it was enjoyable, with a little comedy to boot.

The thing that struck us most immediately about the performance was Marina's highly competent guitar playing. It's far to often that you go to see an artist see a "solo set", and wind up hearing strummy strummy chord action that yields little or no original vibe. Marina's guitar playing was exactly the opposite: she had the technical chops to play intricate, syncopated parts, while at the same time giving each part it's own unique character.

On top of her guitar playing chops, Marina also had the songwriting skills to keep her tunes from just being typical folky ditties. The lyrics were sufficiently abstract, and the melodies unique enough, to yield songs that left the listener with some room for their own interpretation. Despite having a song featured on Grey's Anatomy, Marina's songs didn't feel canned, or like they were catering to some predetermined adult alternative target market.

Finally, it would be remiss to discuss the set without at least mentioning Marina's playful stage banter. She seemed completely at home on stage, and engaged the audience with a range of stories and reflections. Maybe this is sourced in her days as a DJ, or maybe it just comes naturally. Regardless, she roped in the crowd, and it was the biggest round of applause we've heard for an unfamiliar opening act in quite some time.

More pictures at the HAD Archive

Anya Marina Is At Cafe Du Nord Tonight

We have to say, after reading The Stranger Dance's post on Anya Marina, we're pretty sure we got the same press packet they did. Which is to say, Anya's people very cleverly scoped out which blogs were big Spoon fans (we happen to know that Stranger Dance <3 Spoon just like we do), and leveraged Britt Daniel's involvement with Marina's record to generate interest.

Which, to be frank, is not a particularly bad idea: The legacy of producers adding value to a record is long and storied. Transformer is essentially a Bowie album, with the added bonus of super tasty Lou Reed icing. In this case, apparently Daniel lent his production ear to an array of tracks on Ms. Marina's new record. So that being what it is, we're pretty interested to hear what she has going on. Apparently there was a bit of a writing slump, and Daniel decided to help her out by sending a disc of beats and bumps to get her on her way. How kind.

Anyway, we're sure you're wondering how this all applies to you. Well, read the title! Ms. Marina will be at the Cafe Du Nord tonight, and if the track below is any indication, she's putting out pretty tasty rock tunage. There's a taste of Macy Gray vocals in there, and when it kicks into some syncopated jamz, well, it sounds pretty fine. She's the opener, so get there early (9 PM) to get the goods.

mp3: Anya Marina - Move You (YouSendIt, click through)