Ball opens great season at The Grand

BY: ANN MIRE

The sounds of Louisiana swamp blues and Texas honky-tonk mixed with a New Orleans piano beat filled the Grand Opera House on Friday night as Marcia Ball opened the sixth season to a packed house.

Throughout her 40 years of entertaining, Ball has developed a style of performing that is very personal for the audience. 

Backing Ball was an excellent band that added much excitement and energy to the performance. 

Throughout the show, she generously showcased the talents of guitarist Mike Schermer and saxophonist Thad Scott. Drummer Damien Llanes and bass player Don Bennett completed the backup foursome. They entertained an enthusiastic and appreciative audience 

for over two hours.

From the moment Ball strolled across the stage at the opening of the show, she made herself comfortable at the keyboard and began the show with the rocking “Red Beans Cooking,” followed by the bluesy “Just Kiss Me.” 

At that point, there was no denying that a party had begun. With her legs crossed and continuingly swinging to the beat, Ball pounded the piano keys as her head bobbed to the music. There was no doubt that she was enjoying the show as much as her audience. 

There was some occasional banter with the crowd, but the music was nearly non-stop as Ball moved right from one song into another. Included in the first set which lasted one hour were several songs from her latest album. Besides the title song “Roadside Attractions,” she performed “That’s How It Goes,” “Look Before You Leap,” and “The Party’s Still Going On.” 

In delivering the haunting ballad “Where Do You Go When You Can’t Go Home?” written after Hurricane Katrina, Ball mentioned that this song was one of the songs she did on the HBO series “Treme.”

The first set closed with a couple of great rhythm and blues songs, “Party Town” and “Crawfishing.” The latter included a sort of “dueling sounds” between guitarist Schermer and saxophonist Scott. 

On a personal note, this reviewer was happy to hear Ball’s song “Thibodaux, Louisiana.” In introducing the song, she mentioned that love songs aren’t always about people; they can also be about a place. For me that was true since Thibodaux is my hometown. 

Overall, this was a very successful concert. One definitely left with the feeling that Ball and the band would have been happy to go on playing for hours.

Kudos go out to the Grand for opening the season with a “Louisiana” artist who has a deep passion for the music of this state. Furthermore, Ball continued the tradition of Grand performers appearing in the lobby after the show to meet and take pictures with any of the audience who wanted to stop by.

The next event at the Grand Opera House will be the venue’s Christmas show on Dec. 9, which will feature the Halie Loren Trio.