An intimate evening with Marc Broussard

Review: Marc Broussard rewarded a small audience with an intimate show Saturday night at The Westcott Theater.

With an audience of approximately 50 people (including theater employees), Marc Broussard started his concert at The Westcott Theater Saturday night. Paying no attention to the turnout, Broussard gave it his all in what ended up being a very intimate concert.

Broussard opened with “Makin’ My Way Back Home,” and didn’t stop singing and playing for the next two hours. Not fazed by the underwhelming turnout (which didn’t even filled a quarter of the theater) Broussard kept encouraging his audience – with relative success – to sing along to some of his songs.

The concert was part of a promotional tour for Broussard’s self-titled new album, which was released in June. Despite its promotional nature, however, he kept the repertoire well balanced. Broussard played songs from his previous three albums, and even some from his first EP, pleasing those who’ve followed him since the beginning.

After playing a few songs, he invited the singers from Chic Gamine, the opening band, to join him on stage. The four Canadian girls lined up and sang backup vocals on “Lucky,” the first single of his latest record, and “Yes Man,” from the same album.

Seven songs into the concert, the band took a break and Broussard stayed onstage with his acoustic guitar.

“What do you want to hear?” he asked the audience. For the next half hour, the already intimate concert became almost a one-on-one experience for the crowd. Broussard’s voice filled the theater.

“I love his raspy voice, it’s awesome,” said Susan Sutherlend who came from Ottawa, ON, to see Broussard for the first time.

During the acoustic set he sang “Gavin’s song,” inspired by his oldest son.

“I loved that song, it’s beautiful,” said Kim Williams, also from Ottawa.

“Oh yeah, she cried,” said Sutherlend laughing.

Marc Broussard at Westcott Theater

After singing “Let Me Leave,” Broussard called the band back to the stage and the group played together for another hour. They started with “Rocksteady,” from his first album, and continued with a few songs from S.O.S.: Save Our Soul. This is his second album where he covers a variety of songs from artist such as Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Marvin Gaye.

During “The Beauty Of Who You Are,” he sat on the edge of the stage and serenaded his fans.

For the last song of the show, “Home,” Broussard invited all the musicians from both of the opening bands Chic Gamine and Scars on 45, for a grand finale that got the both audience and the musicians dancing. Broussard even surprised his fans with a handstand in the middle of the stage.

Broussard responded to the small crowd’s cries for an encore with “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,” a Donny Hathaway song.

Some fans stayed for a few minutes following his final exit, hoping he would come back and sign autographs, as he some times does. After a while people gave up and went home still pleased with the show.

“I loved it, it was fantastic,” Williams said.

Photo: Veronica Magan

 

 

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