HomeARTSJack’s Place Hosts Awareness Night

Jack’s Place Hosts Awareness Night

By KATIE KIERSTEAD
Arts Editor

Alternative folk artist Brian Marquis stopped by Jack’s Place recently to raise awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in early childhood. He rode his bike all the way from his last stop in Brooklyn, and he’ll be continuing with that mode of transportation for his entire tour.
Before the show started, Marquis hung out with the students setting up the stage and made casual conversation, comfortably assimilating himself into Saint Rose culture. He has played Jack’s Place before, in February 2014 for the Acoustic Basement Tour with Transit, Front Porch Step, and Hit the Lights. Marquis’ friends, one of whom has DMD, accompanied him on his tour. The audience turnout was impressive for the first show of the season.
Sophomore Sydney Schizzano opened the show with a jazzy acoustic cover of The Commodores’ 1977 funk hit, “Brick House.” Her electric energy resonated with the crowd as she continued her set with a few original songs. The Ed Sheeran-esque rap/pop tune “Felt” described a harsh breakup. “Flowers” showed Sydney’s softer, lighter side. Her song “Gibberish” is a quirky collection of thoughts from a car ride. She closed with her unique rendition of Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money,” with Bud Scheer accompanying on cajon.
Next up was The Bonnie Masons, an alternative rock band comprised of guitarist Pat Flores, guitarist and lead vocalist Matt Dalton, and bassist Kevin Bohen. They played a set of original songs written by Dalton. The setlist included, “Colors,” “Whatever It Was,” “If You Can,” “Fate,” and “Are You There?” The band’s experimental polyrhythms and uncommon chords, paired with Dalton’s pun-filled banter, kept the audience intrigued and entertained.
Brian Marquis broke a guitar string in the middle of his first song, so he stopped to talk while someone put a new string on for him. He is embarking on A Bike & A Mic For A Cure Tour, where he will ride his bike over 1,200 miles across New England to play several shows to raise money for Spaghetti Arms and to raise awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
He believes touring is much more effective than social media or other digital campaigns in supporting his cause.
“The purpose is to slow it down and have a conversation,” explained Marquis. His music moved the audience in a way that they listened to what he had to say.
Marquis grabbed his newly-strung guitar and continued with an upbeat folk song titled “Run.” He brought out a harmonica for his next tune, then went on to cover Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” during which he asked the audience to sing the guitar solo. His goofy manner made the concertgoers laugh through his set.
The mood shifted when he introduced his next song, “Breathing In Ghosts.” He wrote the song 13 years after his experience during 9/11; it took him that long to recollect his thoughts and make something out of those emotions.
His last song, “From Boston,” proudly declared the stereotypes of Bostonians which he fit. The chorus went, “when you’re from Boston, you join an Irish gang / you’re surely Roman Catholic, you eat chowder every day / you park your car at Harvard Yard, you’ll be buried at Fenway.”
After his set was finished, Marquis emphasized the importance of biking and touring to spread the word about causes he cares about: “It’s really being here in the moment and seeing people and talking to people that makes a change happen.”
Raffle tickets for Marquis’ guitar, vinyl collections, hats, posters, and other merchandise from his record label, Equal Vision Records, were sold. The proceeds are going to research for DMD.

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