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February 18, 2008
Havin' a Ball
I have this friend, we’ll call him Wilbur, who has been raving to me about Marcia Ball for years now and I never truly got it. I heard of couple of her studio albums and they were OK, but nothing that could trigger such devotion as Wilbur’s.
“You have to see her live,” he’d say again and again.
Well, I finally got the chance to catch her on stage Friday night at Fairfield University’s Quick Center and all I can say is: “You were right, Wilbur.”
Watching this slender, 58-year-old grandmother tear through her New Orleans/Texas boogie-woogie blues was a sight to behold. She was a force of nature, her crossed leg in constant motion as she sat at the keyboards.
Of course, I had an inkling it would be a good show after listening to her last album, "Live! Down the Road," which captured a Ball live performance from 2004.
But now, I know something Wilbur doesn’t know: the songs from her new album, "Peace, Love & BBQ," are a blast. Ball tried out tunes from the record, due out in early April, during Friday’s concert and they are all keepers.
I only hope she translated some of her live energy onto the record.
Opening the concert was BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, a veteran band of Cajun musicians from Louisiana. I didn’t know what to expect from this group, but I was amazed at how much I liked the music.
I was even going to break down and buy a copy of BeauSoleil’s new live CD, but I didn’t feel like plunking down $20 in the lobby. I’m sure I’ll find it at a much more reasonable price online.
Posted by Sean on February 18, 2008 5:07 PM
