Carolyn Mark

Canadian alt-country sweetheart Caroyln Mark passed for a solo gig, opening the show with "Catscan" and loosely ripping through a selection of songs from last year's Terrible Hostess and her first CD, Party Girl, as well as a spattering of new ones. One new song had to do with a friend's problematic dirty dreams concerning a romance with Buffalo 66/Brown Bunny director Vincent Gallo. Another one was an evocative story that recounted a recent visit with friends in Oakland, CA, showing Mark's growing maturity as a songwriter. Up until now Mark has basically worked two major themes — how drunk she got and why she's not famous yet — but her new songs show detail and depth, continuing to move beyond roads previously travelled. But while seriousness and depth is fine and dandy, she's still so god damn funny about the whole thing.