By By Elyssa A. Goldstein

Taking a break from their grueling tours, long-time friends Marc Broussard and Ari Hest treated fans in Philly to a special one-night-only performance. The two talented pop-rock-singer-songwriters-guitarists delighted the energetic crowd at the Dec. 3 concert in the Theatre of The Living Arts for nearly four hours.

The Gibb Droll Band opened the show with a rocking five-song set that wowed the crowd and included tracks from their new record, Ten Days. The band is comprised of the entire Marc Broussard support band minus Broussard. Droll plays the guitar and sings lead vocals, and is backed by Calvin on bass and Chad Gilmore on drums.

Droll is similar to Ben Folds in terms of looks and vocal ability. While his voice is not the best, his lyrics are insightful, and his skills on his instrument are unprecedented. Droll plays the electric guitar with a feverish intensity, moving his fingers at lightning speed without glancing at them in the process. His incredible skills reach new heights when Droll flips the guitar on its side and plays with his teeth without skipping a beat.

Broussard sauntered on stage for Droll’s last number, playing the tambourine and singing background vocals.

Their interaction was just a small teaser of what was to come, when Broussard would play front-man and Droll would move to the background.

Hest followed Droll minutes later. He played as a trio with bass and drums, percussion and programming. Hest opened his more laidback, acoustic set with “A Different Song,” one of the efforts from his latest release, Guilty Hearts EP. The crowd was extremely receptive to the new music, but it was evident throughout Hest’s entire set that the fans were eager to hear old favorites.

Hest did indulge his fans, however, playing such tracks as “Anne Marie” and “Strangers Again” from his major-label debut, Someone to Tell, as well as a newly-arranged version of “Caught Up in Your Love” from one of his self-releases, Come Home.

Hest also played a few recently written tracks, such as “Easy Together,” in which he threw in a stunning quote from “Roxanne” by The Police. Hest’s true talent lies in his poignant lyrics and incredible voice. His mid-range singing voice is low and raspy, but his falsetto is as light and pure as Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

There were times during Hest’s set when the bass and drum effects would overshadow Hest himself. The most emotionally satisfying performance of Hest’s appearance was during “Sleep Tonight,” when only an acoustic guitar was backing his vocals. Each intricacy of Hest’s voice was heard, and his gift for performing was reaffirmed without question.

The crowd erupted when Broussard strolled onto the stage just after eleven. Broussard is a twenty-something Caucasian from Carencro, Louisiana, yet he has more jazz, soul and funk in his stout frame than the entire Bayou region.

Broussard opened his set with “Don’t Change,” a new song that got the crowd swaying, dancing and drinking. The first five songs of his set Broussard played furiously without stopping his dancing, singing, or rhythm guitar-playing. Songs like “Come Around” and “Rocksteady” from his Island Records debut, Carencro, and newer compositions such as “In the Groove” flowed naturally and literally rocked the house.

Broussard slowed things down with “I Belong to You,” a new song he dedicated to all the women in his life. Tracks from Carencro like “Save Me,” “The Beauty of Who You Are,” “The Wanderer,” “Lonely Night in Georgia,” and “Home” appeared throughout the set and were sung note-for-note by the entire audience.

The crowd delighted in “Gotta Be More,” a cut from Broussard’s self-released album, Momentary Setback. Broussard also paid homage to Bob Marley, James Brown (quoting “Sex Machine”) and James Taylor (with a cover of “Never Die Young”) throughout his set.

Broussard’s stage presence is illuminating and his voice soars above the crowd with a perfect balance of grit and warmth. After thunderous applause, Broussard re-appeared for a three-song encore. He performed a cover of Dave Barnes’ “Grace’s Amazing Hands” and “Gavin’s Song,” an overwhelming fan favorite, and most importantly, a song written for Broussard’s young son.

Broussard’s band joined him for the final performance of the evening, “Let Me Leave.” Broussard proved his worth time and again throughout his set, and captured the attention of casual fans for life.

(Image Courtesy pollstar.com)