What does a band name mean? This was a question posed by a coworker of mine as we attended Morcheeba‘s show on Friday at the Danforth Music Hall. According to the ever so accurate Urban Dictionary, Morcheeba is a mixture of latin and slang and means “the way of marijuana”. It’s rare that a band’s name describes a band quite perfectly, but when you listen to Morcheeba, you just get this cool, laid back good feeling vibe. Not too differently than when you experience Marijuana, according to people who I vaguely know who may or may not have partaken in such a delinquent act. The group was in town to promote their most recent release, Head Up High, which was released last October.
Mixing in old crowd favorites with the new material, Morcheeba cultivated a very pleasant evening. Skye Edwards was as charming as ever, playfully addressing the crowd and involving them in many of the songs. Her self made black and white dress easily made her the center of attention and her enthusiastic attitude permeated through the crowd, who was more than willing to sing back whatever the band wished.
For a band known for their relative mellowness, the show at the Danforth was far more involved then anyone could have imagined. It wasn’t to my surprise that their last album was released without much of a murmur, but it’s a solid album and this show proved that as tracks like Make Believer and Release Me Now fit perfectly in with the rest of the material (including Part of the Process and The Sea, two classics). For someone new to the band, you could describe the sound as some sort of mixture of trip hop and rock.
All in all, an energetic show that not only showed off the band’s splendid music (including a surprise cover of Let’s Dance), but their excellent showmanship that can only come with years of experience. The show was Morcheeba’s last show as part of this international tour, and being an older band, they could have mailed it in, but instead they went out with a flourish, and for that, I am thankful.