Untitled Document

MARCUS KING BAND La Maladrerie St-Lazare, Beauvais,
18th of March 2018

Photos by FRED HAMELIN

Public in numbers: obviously the flattering reputation of Marcus arrived in Picardy when, at 19H30, the group starts his set.
Marcus obviously has technical problems during the first two songs that force him to knock up with the settings of his amp,
the band still made up of Jack Ryan, drums, Stephen Campbell, bass, Justin Johnson, trumpet and trombone, Matt Jennings, organ and keyboards and Dean Mitchell, saxophone, rocks during the small glitches. Then first big moment: a version
of "Self Hatred" that incorporates "Fire On the Mountain" from the Grateful Dead.

Little surprise, Marcus will not play slide during the whole concert and the first part (the show will last two hours) consists
of fairly long tunes that turn into jams. We can feel the huge influence of Gov't Mule and Warren Haynes in Marcus' playing and behavior.

Sometimes, like with the Mule, the group gets lost a bit on the way but overall it's excellent with very good interventions
by Matt Jennings keyboards. Gradually (as at Sunset in 2016 finally) the winds come into the music and are more present, turning the show into a more soulful album, a bit like the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

To compare Marcus to the last two Allman Brothers guitarists shows that our 22 year old friend has already reached quiet
a level with an enormous potential ahead. We also note that he seems more comfortable on stage, communicating with
the public, and the famous' Are 'You Doin' dear to Warren he launches the second tune is an example. We can regret,
in a relatively short show, the place left to the solos of bass and drums but everyone practices like that nowadays.
The Marcus King Band concludes a French tour and will return in October. This is really one of the bands not to be missed,
it is rare to discover a young guitarist with as much talent as he exploits with sobriety and intelligence with a stable band.

Michel Bertelle