June 29, 2007

Marc Broussard Raises the Roof at the House of Blues

Last night at the House of Blues – Dallas, Marc Broussard rides into town fresh off the release of his new album, S.O.S.: Save Our Soul and being one of the first stops on the tour, he was ready to bring a little Cajun-infused soul music to this fair city.

The first time I saw Marc was back in 2005 as he opened for Robert Randolph & The Family Band at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans during Jazzfest. I had heard through the grapevine he had a great stage presence and certainly warmed the house up for Robert that night. Not to be outdone, Robert put on one of the best shows I have ever seen from his band.

But I haven’t seen Marc since and was glad to see the Louisiana boy making a sachet through the Metroplex. I had read rave reviews for his new album and bluesy voice and was curious to see his spin on some Motown classics that I had not heard since the 80’s ( back when I was a young lad).

Shannon McNally was due to open up and I wanted to see if she brought anything different to the stage since I saw her at Wakarusa a few weeks ago. The curtain draws back and there stands Marc and I thought another opening act has bailed at the House Of Blues. But I peer over offstage and there stands Shannon with a huge smile on her face, so I guess the main act was opening for the opening act…Cool….

After Marc struts around stage singing Randy Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On”, Shannon appears for a duet with Marc singing “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You”, an old Marvin Gaye tune that I have not heard in over 20 years….Nice…

Marc exits stage right and leaves Shannon to fend for herself with “Down And Dirty” and then stripped off the guitar for “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and an Etta James classic “Tell Mama”. Finally by the end of her set, the sound man got the guitar, bass and vocals in sync that made for more pleasant listening. With the bass booming through the place, I thought Les Claypool was going to make an grand entrance.

Marc enters stage left to start his Motown showdown with Stevie Wonder’s "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" before heading off to Al Green territory with "Love And Happiness". Marc flips his jacket and hat off as the temperature was getting hotter (as were the ladies) by the time Marc gets to his favorite song, "I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know". Marc and his bandmates each downed a shot of some brand of alcohol and that just seemed to prime his vocal cords even more.

"Try Me" was next in the order, a song off a still to be released album and "Come Around" off of Marc’s debut album, Carencro, which brought him much acclaim and respect as an artist . Still he is still trying to find room in the mainstream music scene even though he has opened up for acts such as Maroon 5, Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson and G-Love & Special Sauce, but at 25 years old, his day will come…hopefully soon.

Much to the screaming dismay of the estrogen sect lingering in front of the stage, Marc comes out for an encore with his keyboardist for "For All We Know", a Nat King Cole tune that brought a much too soon end to the night.

Marc is touring all over the states over the next few months so bring out your significant other (or your significant lover) and I am sure by the end of the evening that the Bayou soul of Marc’s voice will bring a smile on your face…maybe in more ways than one.