BAND – MARISA AND THE MOTHS

VENUE – The Waterloo, Blackpool

DATE – 27th October 2024

Words and Photographs-Graeme Wright

REVIEW

Marisa And The Moths are a band who for some reason have eluded me in the live arena despite being regulars on the touring circuit for the last few years. Everyone I know who has seen them has been hugely positive, so when the stars finally aligned myself and a few others made our way to my favourite UK venue (The Waterloo) in a rain-sodden Blackpool. The weather and the fact that it was a Sunday night meant that the venue wasn’t quite full, but the crowd was big enough to roar their approval when the band hit the stage after two high quality support acts.

As soon as the first bars of opener ‘Get It Off My Chest’ hit me it was clear that we were in the hands of a collection of musicians of the highest quality. Marisa prowls the stage with a huge grin on her face while Liam on the bass guitar and Alez on lead are clearly hugely talented and have big personalities to match their abilities. If you add in Alex on the drums who makes everything seem effortless, but in reality is as tight as a drum (no pun intended), the big question would always be “But what about the songs?” Well you’ve nothing to worry about in this case because every song is hugely melodic, instantly memorable and whether it’s a fast paced rocker or a slower ballad there is more than a hint of high emotion to each song.

The band are difficult to pin down, with influences varying from Foo Fighters (Wither Away), through to the Blues tinged ‘69’ or the slightest hint of Halestorm when the band picks the pace up. Ultimately though this band has a huge original sound all of their own with a fresh modern aura about all of their songs and the subtle gear changes throughout the set keeps an appreciative audience on their toes. In a set full of highlights my favourite song was the beautiful rendition of ‘Choke’ which saw Marisa in devastating form in the performance of an incredibly moving song. Sheer perfection from start to finish.

Another highlight of the evening was when bass player Liam stepped up to the plate to perform a song with more than a hint of Country about it. Discussing the show with friends afterwards we all agreed that we’d pay good money to see him perform a full set of this kind of music as a side project because he has a great voice and this was excellent stuff.

So, in conclusion you can now consider me to be a fully paid up member of the Moth’s fan club and there are plenty of dates left on this tour for you to catch up with them. Excellent stuff and highly recommended, what are you waiting for.

Band

Marisa Rodriguez – Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Songwriter

Liam James Barnes – Bass, BV’s

Alex Ribchester – Drums

Alez D’Elia – Lead Guitar

SETLIST

1. Get It Off My Chest

2. Wither Away

3. Fake It Till You Make It

4. 69

5. Slave

6. Choke

7. Borderline

8. Who Are You Waiting For?

9. Gaslight

10. Devil

11. Sad

12. Just Like Me

13. Serotonin

14. Skin

15. Baby Goodnight/Needy