Marnie Stern – The Mohawk, Austin, Texas 23/02/11

It’s hard to dislike Marnie Stern, especially when you’re standing right in front of her. The New York guitar experimentalist is vulgar, irreverent, sardonically-sweet, and 100% charming, offering hilarious, comedienne-ready quips at every lull. She’s a lovable character, something that’s cherished in the patchy realm of weekday rock-club touring.

But no amount of banter can fully salvage the muggy interiors of Austin’s Mohawk – especially on a Wednesday night. The crowd wasn’t especially dense, and the patrons that did make their way downtown seemed weighed down by middle-of-the-week gloom. Stern herself was struggling through a persistent cold (“we get sick together, and we drink Nyquil together!”) as well as a 5-margarita haze.

It was a sloppy night on both sides of the stage, the crystal-strewn vocals of Stern’s records replaced with a soggy bleat, the otherworldly tightness of her guitar work dissolved into awkward, treble-blazed shrieks – everything about her performance seemed stuck in a stuttered gear. It served as an unflatteringly grim look at the average touring indie band. No sick days, no tour busses, and no coconut water.

Stern was still there though, and Stern was hilarious. She talked about her depression, her health, her apparent lack of sex, (“my lonely, empty vagina” was a reoccurring motif) and it generated a lot of goodwill amidst a set doomed from the start. Eventually the crowd seemed to view the songs as the tedious gaps between the real entertainment. Stern can command a room without a guitar in her hands; it sorta makes you wonder why she chose music in the first place. Her records are great, but the music wasn’t, and only so much of that can be blamed on colds, alcohol, and an off-night out.

But despite my pessimism, I sure hope Stern stays optimistic, the sludgy plod of touring must certainly get old quickly, but I’m glad our favorite bands can persevere – through sleep-deprivation and low pay-checks – to give their fans some cheap fun. This low on the totem pole they play the role as martyrs more than anything else.