The Last of the Rock Stars

Going to the Velvet Lounge in December to see Elliott Murphy, to be honest, I didn’t know who he was. It’s fun to go to shows “cold” sometimes, not knowing what you’re going to get. With just twelve people in the audience (it really was a miserable night), he and his “right-hand man,” guitarist Olivier Durand decided to play acoustic. It was the most memorable performance I’ve seen in a very long time. I didn’t really know his story*, but I figured there was something there worth hearing in an interview with Bob. I loved learning about his career – from being labeled one of the next Bob Dylans by Rolling Stone Magazine following the release of his debut album, Aquashow in 1973, to his excitement of playing with his teenage son and Bruce Springsteen in front of 60,000 Parisians. I hope his music and story means something to you, too. If so, try to catch him this weekend. Murphy is playing Saturday night at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey and Sunday night in Amagansett, New York. See his website for more details. And if you can’t catch him this weekend, it might be more fun to see an Elliott Murphy show later this year in Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway or Austria. He’s big in Europe.

-Ariana

 *Well, to fully disclose, I did cheat a little and peaked at his website before going to the show.  I learned he had earned critical acclaim in the 70s, but I still didn’t recognize any of his songs.