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Marlon Funaki
at 7th St Entry (04 Apr 2025)
Tour Dates Read More
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Californian singer/songwriter Marlon Funaki made his Minneapolis debut last night at the 7th Street Entry. His music came highly recommended from our Italian partner Kalporz (see MARLON FUNAKI, “Monterey Village”), so, as a favor, we decided to stop in and send them a live report… and personally speaking, for me, it was a final goodbye to the small venue as I will be leaving for warmer climate next week.
Opening the show was Chicago’s The Back Alley. Their biography lists that this is a solo project for singer Ralph Porter, who started recording and releasing under that stagename, starting in 2022. Currently, it is a full five-piece band, sharing band members with acclaimed rock band Ax and The Hatchetmen (bassist Hunter Olshefke, guitarist Sal Defilippis).
This would explain why The Back Alley was added to Ax and the Hatchetmen show on 22 Feb 2025, when they weren’t originally listed on the bill. So, according to the band, this was the second time the band played the 7th Street Entry.
They also mentioned that the band will return back in September for a headlining gig.
A few tidbits from their set, after playing “Flower Girl” and “Your Love”, they mentioned that the previous night, they were playing “a phat show” in Madison, Wisconsin, when the police came by to shut it down. I don’t know all the details, but I am assuming they were playing a house show and the neighbors probably complained about the noise.
They covered a few songs, including a song by The Moss. After “Neon Jeans” was played, the band announced that one of their biggest fan, Elliot was celebrating his birthday and sang “Happy Birthday To You” to the fan, before ending with “Gump”.
Before Marlon Funaki came on stage, I did ask his fans how they discover the musician. The audience is mostly college age, so a friend would play some songs and soon they were all sharing his music around the school. Another girl said that she heard his music on TikTok, apparently some of his songs went viral. All this to say is that it sounds like fans are discovering Marlon through word of mouth and sharing.
Marlon didn’t talk much during his set… instead letting his guitar speak for itself. Musically, it’s a landscape of desert psychedelic with jazz elements. His set includes songs from his album Monterey Village.
Marlon’s latest EP Overdue is out now.
Opening the show was Chicago’s The Back Alley. Their biography lists that this is a solo project for singer Ralph Porter, who started recording and releasing under that stagename, starting in 2022. Currently, it is a full five-piece band, sharing band members with acclaimed rock band Ax and The Hatchetmen (bassist Hunter Olshefke, guitarist Sal Defilippis).
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Ax and the Hatchetmen
at 7th St Entry
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They also mentioned that the band will return back in September for a headlining gig.
A few tidbits from their set, after playing “Flower Girl” and “Your Love”, they mentioned that the previous night, they were playing “a phat show” in Madison, Wisconsin, when the police came by to shut it down. I don’t know all the details, but I am assuming they were playing a house show and the neighbors probably complained about the noise.
They covered a few songs, including a song by The Moss. After “Neon Jeans” was played, the band announced that one of their biggest fan, Elliot was celebrating his birthday and sang “Happy Birthday To You” to the fan, before ending with “Gump”.
Before Marlon Funaki came on stage, I did ask his fans how they discover the musician. The audience is mostly college age, so a friend would play some songs and soon they were all sharing his music around the school. Another girl said that she heard his music on TikTok, apparently some of his songs went viral. All this to say is that it sounds like fans are discovering Marlon through word of mouth and sharing.
Marlon didn’t talk much during his set… instead letting his guitar speak for itself. Musically, it’s a landscape of desert psychedelic with jazz elements. His set includes songs from his album Monterey Village.
Marlon’s latest EP Overdue is out now.
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