If you enjoy acoustic and roots music drenched in the American West you ought to listen to Marc Berger’s recent album “Ride,” most of the songs from which he and his tight band played at the Living Room last night. I had happened on them by accident when they played the same venue in April, missing the start of their set, so this time I went to hear them deliberately.

I wrote about that earlier show, in this post, quoting first from Berger’s website: “Clouds that forever stampede the endless sky, shadows gliding over canyon walls–the West is a vast expanse of magic and mystery. American artists from John Ford to Frederick Remington to A.B. Guthrie have used film, canvas and the printed page to convey the essence of its unique landscape and mythology.” I added, “To those associations, I would add the 1962 Kirk Douglas film, ‘Lonely Are the Brave,‘ where he plays a latter day cowboy unable to conform to modern society. The movie was based on  Brave Cowboy, a novel by legendary iconoclast of the American West, Edward Abbey. Relatedly, Kirk Douglas also played the lead role in the 1952 adaptation of Guthrie’s novel, The Big Sky.

Last night, I met most of the members of Berger’s fine band: Deni Bonet, fiddle and accordion; Mike Ricciardi, drums; Jeff Eyrich, bass; and Rich DePaulo, lead guitar. They achieved a powerful yet restrained sound, a true ensemble. I also got the CD of “Ride” this time around. It’s pictured below, along with a shot of Bonet, Berger, and Eyrich. Please click here to see all pictures.