So for those of you who were curious, here is the review of the Marc Broussard show last week... for those of you who aren't curious, well, you probably aren't reading this.
To start, the show was at the fabulous 20th Century Theater in Oakley (Cincinnati). A beautiful little place with a very nice sound and an intimate feel. It's definitely my favorite indoor venue. I've never seen the place as packed as it was for this show.
The opening act was Theresa Anderson who comes to us from New Orleans via Sweden. Her "style" was that of recording and looping... ala Mr. Howie Day. Her sound was a kind of funk-soul. Her set started a little rocky with some rough transitions from one recording to another and a little bit of bitching at the sound guys. She was able to smooth things out as she went along however, while impressively playing about 8 or so instruments throughout the set. She did a little skit where she sang 3 separate background vocals in setting up a song that was mildly entertaining. Her stage presence was a little rushed and uncomfortable, but worth checking out just based on the talent and variety of her sound. (She will be at Canal Street in Dayton on Oct. 29th)
2nd up was the folk string quartet "Hoots and Hellmouth". Instrumentally there were 2 acoustic guitars, an upright bass and an a mandolin. That combination along with the harmonizing vocals produced an invigorating sound. Don't let the statement about "harmonizing vocals" fool you though, these guys fucking rocked! One of the guitarists/lead vocalists had an incredible look. A slightly pudgy red-head with hair everywhere including covering his face. (For those of you who know him, picture Yoke plus 40 pounds and 5 pounds of hair.) He had a unique way of screaming out vocals while pounding the SHIT out of the strings on his guitar. I swore he was going to break them every strum (and he finally did break 3 on his last chord). I'm not sure that what they do translates to recorded musical enjoyment... however, they are a MUST SEE live. (Unfortunately, they aren't scheduled to be back around here anytime soon)
And now on to Mr. Broussard.
As much as some individuals are musicians, Marc Broussard exemplifies the description of a PERFORMER. The crowd rode the waves of emotions throughout the show... from rocking blues to smooth balladistic soul. I can't say I'm a fan of Marc's SOS (Save Our Soul) album, but I thoroughly enjoyed every track from that record he performed on this night.
There were some distractions however in the form of a (80's style) seductively dancing blond cougar in a leopard print top... an overweight amoeba-like moving pair of lesbians... and a black dude still living in the 70's with a huge ass 'fro that danced with all of the afore mentioned ladies. Oh yeah, and came up to me at one point and screamed "WHAT HE SAID! WHAT HE SAID!"
Anyway, that did not stop me, nor anyone else from enjoying the show we came to see. As is the case when an artist is touring a brand spanking new album, I was unfamiliar with about half of the selections on the evening. He did a good enough job though of mixing in the new with the standards. Of what I was familiar with, there was an appreciative energy to "Rocksteady". Conversely, you just wanted to close your eyes and feel the saloon-ish keyboard on "Lonely Night in Georgia". The night ended on an encore kick-ass version of "Home".
All in all I left just as impressed as I thought I would be. My only disappointment was the exclusion of the bluesy acoustic "Let Me Leave". He's saving that for next time I suppose... 'cause I'll definitely be seeing him again soon. (Haven't seen him since... bumma)
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