Mary’s music is very oddball, to the point that one of the songs she performed consisted of discordant instrumentation and her making bleeps, bloohs and bahhs in the mic. It is safe to say that her music is either something that you will love or hate depending on your liking.

PuSh Festival

Concert Review

Artist: Mary Margaret O’Hara ft. Peggy Lee

Venue: Club PuSh (Performance Works,1218 Cartwright St, Granville Island)

Date: January 28th, 2012

Reviewed By Alex Hutt

I thought that Regina Spektor would be the only artist that I would ever hear emit animal noises during her songs, but as Mary Margaret O’Hara demonstrates, Regina Spektor is only the tip of the iceberg (though she is much better at mixing the odd and the melodic, and as a result, the preferable alternative).

Performing for the first time in Vancouver, O’Hara received critical acclaim for her 1988 record Miss America, of which Vicki Gabereau described last night, “sounds like nobody else.” If you’ve ever heard Regina Spektor’s first few records, take those and make them even more esoteric and discordant, then you get Mary Margaret O’Hara. Ever so reclusive, Miss America was O’Hara’s only album apart from the soundtrack to the film “Apartment Hunting.” In fact, it was the initiative of Peggy Lee, the cellist in O’Hara’s band that prompted the two concerts at this year’s PuSh Festival. You may know her actress sister Catherine O’Hara, who has also done some soundtrack work.

Mary’s music is very oddball, to the point that one of the songs she performed consisted of discordant instrumentation and her making bleeps, bloohs and bahhs in the mic. It is safe to say that her music is either something that you will love or hate depending on your liking. The closest to a melody comes in one of her more famous ones “When You Know You’re Happy,” which she kicked off the show with. It’s heart-wrenching, and shows off her range from full belting voice to stuttering “oh-hhhh-hhhh-hhhh’s.” Whatever your opinion, it’s certainly a concert experience you aren’t soon to forget. “Keeping You In Mind” was also very sweet, and the song in which O’Hara kept her eccentricism mostly in check. Cellist Peggy Lee was very good in a subdued manner, as O’Hara’s score calls for very sparse and barren instrumentals.

However, due to her zaniness, O’Hara has a biting sense of humour that is downright hilarious. Her running commentary, even mid-song, will entertain you just by itself. Radio/TV personality Vicki Gabereau (formerly on CBC and CTV) introduced her, to which O’Hara later asked “Hey Vicki, do you remember him? Well first off…do you remember?” Also noteworthy is possibly the most awkward and stilted dancing I have ever seen, but somehow it fit right into her personality. There isn’t truly a way to describe it without video, so I recommend looking at couple Youtube videos of it.

Later in the set though, the constant odd noises and distinct use of off key music did wear out, and warrants a breather. It was also hard to hear O’Hara sometimes, as she would sometimes tend to mumble into the mike. Though it’s hard to say how her music would stand up over constant listens, Mary Margaret O’Hara is worth at least one try. Just don’t expect to hear any melodies when you get to the concert.

Written by :

alessandro