Marcus King’s return to Paris at the Bataclan showed just how far he’s come in the past year and a half since his fiery Élysée-Montmartre show. This time around, he brought material from his latest album, Mood Swings, a darker, more introspective record produced by Rick Rubin. The album leans away slightly from King’s trademark guitar-driven blues-rock, pulling in subtle shades of modern R&B.
In concert, however, King's guitar chops still blaze at the heart of his performance, and his voice, warm and gritty, brings a soulful resonance to each track, amplifying the emotional depth of his playing. He threads together the many textures of American roots music: blues, Southern rock, soul, and even a bit of psychedelia, keeping the crowd hooked from start to finish.
The band is pared down from previous shows, minus the horn section, but that hardly mattered. Keyboardist Mike Runyon added rich, soulful undertones, while guitarist Drew Smithers joined King for standout harmonized riffs that lit up the night.
Two hours of gritty, honky-tonk soul in a packed Bataclan with one of today’s modern masters. For the fans, it doesn’t get much better than that.
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