Last night could not have gone any better if I had planned it. I got to Orlando much earlier than I intended to, and while I was sitting outside the House of Blues store, killing time, Marc came out of the stage door and sat down with myself and two other people. We chatted for ten or fifteen minutes, and he told us that his new album is in fact done, but won’t be coming out for at least a year. At one point in his encore he asked the entire crowd to call Island Records every day and ask for L.A. Reid to tell him to release the album, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
 
     
Around 7:30 we headed inside for the show. First up was a local six-man a capella group called Mosaic. They were outstanding and instantly won me over by performing the recent SNL cult-favorite ‘Lazy Sunday‘. Following them was Sons of William, who I had never heard of before, but now am enamored with. Their music was great and they got me, heart and soul, when they played ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. Check out their myspace for now, and I’ll give them a separate write-up later.Â
Finally it was time for Mr. Broussard. The band consisted of Marc, singing and playing guitar, two other guitar players, a bass player, a drummer and a keyboard player.  They performed a majority of the music from  ‘Carencro’, plus ‘Momentary Setback’, and James Taylor’s ‘Never Die Young’. For the last two songs, Mosaic came back onstage and sang backup on ‘Lonely Night in Georgia’ and a rendition of ‘Home’ that almost literally brought the house down. There were 13 people onstage and at least 7 of them were singing in harmony. Talk about chills.Â
The encore began with ‘Gavin’s Song’, which showcased the simple power of Marc’s voice. He then played two songs from his next album, ‘Don’t Be Ashamed’ and ‘Real Good Thing’. From what we heard, it would be well worth your time to make a phone call or two to Island Records, because this album has huge potential.Â
Usually there’s a standout member of the band that I throw in a line or two about, but there was no way to single one out here. The drummer was phenomenal, the guitarists blew me away and the keyboards and bass could each have been featured on their own. I tried to write down names, but I had already written the setlist on my hand, and up and down my entire right arm. I was out of room. All in all, it was one of the best nights I’ve had in quite some time and if you can make it to see the man play this summer, do so.Â
Update: I just got an email saying he’s added even more dates to this summer tour so check to see if he’ll be near you.
Update Redux: My thanks to Kerri for bandmember names! “The bass player was Calvin Turner, the drummer was Chad Gilmore, and [one of] the guitar player[s] was Gibb Droll.” As my own little tidbit, I’m pretty sure the other guitarist was Joe Stark of Sons Of William, and the keys man was Tillis Verdin.
Okay, One More: If you want a copy of the show you go to, you can usually order them at the merch table during the show. I was in the dark about that option and so I just have to give obscene amount of thanks to Will H. from awarestore, which runs Marc’s online store, for going way above and beyond to find me a copy when usually he wouldn’t even be selling it.Â
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