Marianne Dissard – Lucha Lounge, 16 April 2011

French-born, but now living in Tuscon, Arizona, Marianne Dissard has been a frequent visitor to New Zealand. Her latest tour took her to Dunedin, Napier and even Lyttelton, where she put on a couple of benefit shows.

The 13th Floor caught her performance at Auckland’s Lucha Lounge on Saturday, April 16th. Located in Newmarket, the Lucha Lounge is no larger than the average living room. About 25 patrons were witness to Marianne’s very intimate show.

The diminutive singer was already belting out a number when The 13th Floor arrived. She was singing to a pre-recorded backing track and was projecting her new film on the wall behind her. The film, shot in just 23 hours, was inspired by an Andy Warhol film, also shot in New Mexico, in the 1960s. Western-themed footage with sexual overtones flickered away while Marianne sang tunes from her new album, L’Abandon.

She interacted quite a bit with the audience, teaching them to sing along in French and walking through the room blowing bubbles. After the show, I spoke to Marianne and she talked bit more about the film, how she was excited to be able to play in Lyttelton and that she would be returning to New Zealand in May to play one more show on the 15th at Auckland’s Golden Dawn in Ponsonby.

Marty Duda

Click here to listen in to Marianne Dissard’s performance at the Lucha Lounge: