Cowboy Mouth at the House of Blues - Dallas 5/27/2007

The curtain draws back as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey is playing in the background and Fred LeBlanc, King of Intensity from the Big Easy and lead in Cowboy Mouth, is center stage, barefoot and dressed in shorts a bit like a UPS deliveryman. With drums surrounding him, about 800 fans are ready to get this party started.

If you have never seen Fred LeBlanc in action, he is akin to a can of Red Bull on amphetamines. He has more energy in his little finger than most people have at all. He made it very clear that he did not make the trip from New Orleans to Dallas on a Sunday night to have people just watch him in action, he wanted everybody in the place in action. He had no trouble calling out those in the crowd who seemed a bit subdued for his taste, who complied for fear of getting a drumstick thrown in their direction.

The night starts off with "Light It On Fire" off their 2004 album, Live at the Zoo. He paid Bo Diddley a tribute with "You Don’t Love Me ( You Don’t Care)". He slowed it down a bit with "The Avenue", a song written post-Katrina about St. Charles Ave., Mardi Gras parades and what make New Orleans the city it is. In true Fred fashion though, he quickly upped the electricity level by barking at the crowd for more rhythm and pointing at people in the balcony level to get off their ass and get in the mood.

The band jammed on with "Joe Strummer" off their latest album, Voodoo Shoppe, an ode to the lead singer of The Clash and then delighted the masses with a comical song about Kelly Ripa of  "Live with Regis and Kelly" fame. Then it changed to a bit of a reggae sound with "Everybody Loves Jill" and on cue with verse, the red spoons are hurled toward the stage.

The night starts winding down with "How Do You Tell Someone", a song I first heard in the mid-90’s while bebopping around in the French Quarter one long weekend. After much yelling and screaming from the crowd, Fred makes a solo appearance and does an a cappella rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".

At the end of an almost 2 hour riveting performance, "Glad To Be Alive" and an homage to Bruce Springsteen with "Born To Run" were the final songs to an amped up Memorial weekend Sunday. Just glad I had Monday off for my ears to recover… and my hands from clapping… and my voice from screaming.

You can never get the true feel of the band off of their albums, because Fred can not easily get across that drill sargeant attitude unless you see the band in person and watch the audience do his will. So take a gander at their schedule and see if they are in your area. If you decide to go, be prepared to get your groove on or be prepared to duck.