BY B AO L E - H U U MARC WITH A C | PHOTO BY VIKKA LEONI
LOCAL RELEASES
If you haven’t been keeping up with Orlando indie-pop star Marc With a C lately then — holy drama, mama — have you got some catching up to do. In a nutshell, it’s been a bombshell. Actually, a surreal chain of them that’s entailed devastating life upheavals and a stunning overhaul of the famous Marc With a C concept that’s built a considerable following over the past two decades. He’s been pretty open about everything, so scroll through his social media for the fuller story. But, essentially, the “Phase II” chapter of Marc With a C’s career gets real and drops the act. It’s a sweeping sea change that jettisons the whole MWAC persona and shifts to the direct perspective of Marc Sirdoreus, the actual genderfluid person behind the iconic male veil. Now, the new and true Marc With a C is finally out with the recently released Thanatophobia album. Marc’s always been an artist of extraordinary detail, but the launch of this new era is especially involved. Lyrically, Marc’s first-person explorations here draw from his deep well of recent IRL struggles. It’s a maskless journey into personal saga that’s acutely intimate and naked. As for the music, MWAC devotees can breathe easy. Although his perspective has shifted dramatically, his musical instincts haven’t. A vibrant hive of pop, psych, folk and his unmistakable expression, these 11 tracks ring familiar with Marc’s touch. To grandly mark the momentous new epoch, Thanatophobia is designed as an elaborate and high-concept work. The album comes with a companion piece titled Phobophobia to be played simultaneously for an augmented and surrounding experience. Marc’s powers of examination, commentary and delivery are what made him a
Ministry, Melvins, Corrosion of Conformity: OK, for real this time. After several COVID postponements since 2020, it looks like Ministry’s Industrial Strength Tour is finally coming through. It was originally intended as a 30-year celebration of their game-changing masterpiece album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (which, incidentally, was the first CD I ever owned and terrorized my parents with). But the industrial-metal pioneers have since released an entirely new album, Moral Hygiene. So, rewarding your pandemic patience, this show will be a twofer featuring both the hits and new material debuts. The bill’s further maxed out with openers who are legends in their own right, assuming you can get past Buzz Osborne’s cringey interview appearances with Proud Boy Gavin McInnes and cult hero. Now, they’re all pointed direct- Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld. (7 p.m. Thursday, ly at his own personal experience. As the March 23, Hard Rock Live, $39.50-$50.50) debut of Marc coming out as his real self, Spirit and the Cosmic Heart, The Thanatophobia is an unflinching gaze into the Dewars, Rickolus: Although not local, inner world of a unique artist. Thanatophobia now streams everywhere. this pan-Florida bill is an excellent and And in yet another career development for diverse sampler of our state’s indie talent. Marc, the longtime DIY warrior is now Lakeland’s Spirit and the Cosmic Heart spereleasing as a signed artist on notable indie cialize in gorgeous indie pop that sounds label Needlejuice Records, where he’ll be like the Ocean Blue high on Lush. The among the likes of King Gizzard, Bryan Scary Dewars are South Florida brothers whose and MC Lars. fetching indie folk has garnered national acclaim. Jacksonville’s Rickolus packs deep cred CONCERT PICKS THIS WEEK Of Montreal; Locate S,1; Someday with a sterling career of long and wide River: Of Montreal is proof that success and span, from fronting standout 2000s indieweirdness need not be mutually exclusive. pop band the Julius Airwave to his current Since emerging from the Elephant 6 boom of post as the singer half of Hurricane Party the 1990s, the legendary Athens psych-pop alongside brilliant Fort Lauderdale rapper band has become and remained a major indie Bleubird. It’s a cross section of Floridian name for the past quarter-century, all while music as respectable they come. (8 p.m. maintaining their wildly arty streak. (7 p.m. Friday, March 24, Will’s Pub, $10-$12) Saturday, March 19, The Abbey, $22) baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
“Phase II” of Marc With a C’s career is a sweeping sea change that jettisons the whole MWAC persona and shifts to the direct perspective of Marc Sirdoreus, the actual genderfluid person behind the creative veil
orlandoweekly.com ● MARCH 16-22, 2022 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
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