From the crunchy opening chords of Poppies, from their debut album, to the closing song, a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, Marcy captivated myself and their fans that came to see them.  Admittedly, there’s always the douche bags in the crowd that only came to see them play Sex and Candy and apparently wanted them to play it for two hours straight but luckily this isn’t a review on them.  Like the drunk douche bag I almost got into a fight with because he kept smacking into my pregnant wife.  I thought that I was going to have to throw down and that was right before my favorite song, Wave Motion Gun.  I think I would have been pretty pissed to have missed that one.

But, as I said, this isn’t a review on Herkimer’s fine, upstanding citizen’s but  a review on Marcy’s performance.  Marcy played 17 of their songs, with a pretty even mix from their 4 studio albums.  They started the evening out with the aforementioned Poppies.  The set list  was as follows:
1. Poppies
2. Devil Woman
3. Rock and Roll Heroes
4. Special
5. Good Times
6. Punk Rock Superstar
7. Blackbird
8. Rebel Sodville
9. Sherry Frasier
10. Saint Joe on the School Bus
11. Secret Squirrel
12. Sex and Candy
13. Star Baby
14. Opium
15. Bang Bang
16. Wave Motion Gun
17. Hallelujah

I was personally ecstatic that they  included Opium and Wave Motion Gun, two of my favorites with the latter not played as often live but its popularity has seemed the help it make it into more sets as of late.  We were treated to a new song, Bang Bang (?) which excited me because that means they’re still making new music and maybe the gap between new albums won’t be as long this time.

There were a few songs I would have loved for them to play, such as Bye, Bye and It’s Saturday (A surprising one because it was a reasonably popular song from their second album) but I can’t say I had any complaints.  Marcy just oozes with passion for their music and obviously loves playing for the crowd.  I hope that Hi-Rat makes it as a long time member of the band because he just oozed charisma all over the venue.

This show was Marcy Playground ‘s last show of the year but as the new year comes, if you have the opportunity to see this band, do yourself a favor and see them.  If you love high energy shows, with a band that loves their music, you won’t be disappointed.

This album has a different feel to it than the prior two.  The album as a whole doesn’t feel as fun or as tongue in cheek.  But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.  The roller coaster range of emotions still rides on in this release.  Songs like Death of a Cheerleader and Jesse Went to War will tug at your heart strings and Flag and Finger will make you want to stick it where the sun don’t shine.  Flag and Finger should have been released as a single because I believe it would have been huge.  It really felt like they completely understood where the country stood when this album was released.

You probably missed this album because there was no touring to back this album.  Luckily, they’re touring now and I will seem them this weekend.  That’s why I have a focus on them currently in my Albums You Missed series.

I wouldn’t recommend this album to a Marcy Playground virgin because this is definitely not their best release but if you enjoyed their first or second album, you will enjoy this one.

This albums is leaps and bounds beyond their first album but was sadly ignored by most.  I’m glad they released the song Sex and Candy from the first album but at the same time I realize that the song also ruined the band.  They”ll probably never return to their former glory but I know that they still exist and I know that I can pop their albums in anytime I want.  You’re doing yourself a discredit if you don’t take the time to find this album.  It’s out of print but is available at most MP3 Stores.  Check it out if you enjoyed the first album if for no other reason that this album has Wave Motion Gun, MP’s best song.  You won’t be disappointed.

I know that there have been some abortions passed out like they were Sierra games.  Leisure Suit Larry, I’m looking at you. What were they thinking?  But there are some great games that could be remade or rebooted or even continued that would be totally awesome.

1.  Quest For Glory – For me, this was the crown jewel of Sierra Games.  There was so much crammed into one little game.  You could pick your class;  a fighter, magic users or thief.  You had to solve the mystery to become a hero.  It had some fighting in it, it had puzzles, it had humor and most of all it had a great story.  One of the coolest features that the game had was the ability to save your character at the end of the game and import him into the next one.  I haven’t seen this feature in years, next year’s Mass Effect 2 will be the first in a long time.   Of course, importing your character really didn’t

make too much of a difference unless you finally became a Paladin.  It didn’t have the universe shaking repercussions that Mass Effect apparently will have but it help you to become emotionally invested in your character.  You cared that your character became a hero or saved the world.  Think of all the things that could be done in the land of Gloriana.  Think of a game like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion where you can do whatever you want but having the familiar locals of

Spielburg, Shapeir or Mordavia.  Think of the familiar creatures like the Katta.  I think of all the things they could do and I feel giddy inside.  I know this is just a pipe dream but I can dream of how wonderful it could be.  (Or how terrible, L

eisure Suit Larry, I’m still looking at you.)

2. Phantasmagoria – I understand that this would be on top of most people’s list since this was technically an “Interactive Movie” that wasn’t well received by the fans of Sierra, including myself.  But this could be a great jumping on point for a horror anthology series.  Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, while great games, are the same game over and over again.  Video games are an exciting medium and you could do new exciting things with it.  Much like what Roberta Williams did with the first Phantasmagoria game.  The chills are all here in these games.  I remember being terrified in sections of this game.  These games could be remade with traditional graphics so a whole new generation could enjoy them.  And yes, I realize that the second one was made with traditional graphics. A 3rd person game similar to Resident Evil could be used and the story could be the focus.

3. Laura Bow – Laura bow was the star of Colonel’s Bequest and the Dagger of Amon Ra.  These mystery games led you through places as bodies dropped around you and you need to figure out who the culprit is.  As I write this, however, I realize why this would never work.  There’s not enough violence.  You’re not dropping enemies like flies.  You actually have to use your brain to solve the puzzles and the mysteries around you.  This probably wouldn’t work but once again, it was a great concept and it deserves to be looked at again.  I personally can’t think of how it would work but then again, I’m just writing a blog about it, I don’t get paid the big bucks to design a game.  Make it happen anyways!

4. King’s Quest – This is another series that I can’t think of how it would work in today’s audience but I know someone out there could make it work.  King’s Quest was a ground breaking series.  It took the games like Adventure House and Zork and but graphics in, taking away the need for the room descriptions.  So many games owe a great debt to this series.  This series borrowed from fairy tales and made interesting stories around them.  This is another nonviolent series that would probably be hard pressed to work in today’s kill them all mentality but I think some great stories could still be told.  These games could easily be remade for the Wii with expanded stories and better graphics.  I think the thing I miss the most from this style of game is the story.   This series had a wealth of great characters and ideas that could be translated into some great games if someone would take the time.

5.  Gabriel Knight -  What another great series this was.  Strong characters, a great story.  This game had it all.  Gabriel Knight is a book store owner in New Orleans discovering his destiny as a Schattenjager, or Shadow Hunter.  I could imagine some great things coming from the return of this character.  If Heavy Rain does well, a game in that style could work wonders with this character.

Activision probably doesn’t realize the importance of the properties that they are sitting on.  Just nostalgia alone could bring in some revenue.  As long as the property is treated properly, Leisure Suit Larry, just go and die already.  I hope that someday, these properties will be revived and returned to the glory that they once had.  Until then, I always have DOSBox and my memories.

The Sheila Divine was a Boston based rock band that just blew me away the first time  I saw them live.  This was a band that I thought would be huge in a few years.  Time would prove me wrong as it has so many times before and the Sheila Divine never got the glory and recognition that they deserved.  Each one of their albums are worthy of an Albums You Missed article but their debut album is by far their best and my most played album ever.

This is an album that you can sit down and listen to the entire album straight through without skipping any tracks.  The lyrics are excellent and the vocals by Aaron Perrino soar above the guitars.  While this album doesn’t live up to their live shows, I can still shut my eyes and imagine Perrino’s face turning red as he belts out the end of Like a Criminal, the album’s second track.  On a humorous note, when my son was two,  he used to sit in the back seat of my car and attempt to sing along to that song.

It would be hard to pick out the best tracks off the album but my personal favorites are: Opportune Moment, Automatic Buffalo and The Amendment.  The downside to this album, besides no one purchasing it, is the production feels muddled on many of the tracks.  The songs don’t sound as clear as they could be.  Sheila Divine’s second album Where Have My Countrymen Gone? had a much cleaner sound to it without succumbing to the Secret Society EPs overproduced sound.

The Sheila Divine is gone now.  This band was just ahead of its time. They do play an occasional show in Boston so if you do have a chance, you should see them.  You can also check out The Sheila Divine Archive, a collection of live shows.  You could also check out Aaron Perrino’s new band, Dear Leader, a band with many albums you no doubt missed.