Marah put on a heck of a show here in Iowa City last night. Most impressive was the fact that the band could clearly fill a theater or small arena with sound and connect with the last person in the place, and did so for about 25 people in a dank club on a weeknight. Perhaps most importantly, the band was having fun, ripping through a well-chosen and diverse cross section of its back catalog while giving the proper promotional support to its latest disc, If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry. That disc is worthy of the attention, offering the best music the band has made since it's sophomore stab at the big time, Kids in Philly. Some in the crowd remarked that they'd lost track of the band after the over-produced flop that was Float Away with the Friday Night Gods. The band has recovered nicely and has even taken steps to rescue the music that most have chosen to ignore from that disc. Last night's set featured a gorgeous, stripped-down sing along version of "Float Away," and the band is hawking a self-released disc on tour called Float Away - Deconstructed. I didn't pony up for it, but the tracklisting mixing demos, live acoustic tracks and alternate takes would seem to suggest that it offers an alternate look at the album that fits more seamlessly with the rest of the band's back catalog.

That catalog is full of good discs and great songs that make me, on further reflection, realize they're one the better bands we have these days. More to the point, last night's show proved that on any given night, they may just be the best live band out there. With a mix of roots rock, Springsteen bombast, Philly Soul and punk spirit, they play music that sounds like a lot of different things while all still sounding like Marah.