It was freezing outside and we had a bit of a time squeezing
into the crowded foyer. The bar was wrist-banding people over 21 because many
of the attendees looked so young (Or maybe they always do it, I don’t know!) There was also a nice supply of gray hair present. The concert was billed as a CD release party
and there were piles of reasonably priced CDs on tables.
Eric Bettencourt sauntered into a cheering, sold-out room.
There was a big Willie Nelson-esque hole in his acoustic guitar. He’s slim and
his face reminded me of a young Frank Sinatra morphed with Johnny Depp. Seth
Kearns joined him on drums and Pete Morse on bass. He could be Melissa Etheridge’s
younger brother -- his voice was raspy-dry, hoarse and full of soul – a
graduate of the musical school of Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, and Bonnie Raitt. He
delivered song after song in tight arrangements with an interesting relay going
on between alternating drummers Seth Kearns and Charles C. Gagne, and
alternating backup singers, Amanda Gervasi, Monique Barrett, Megan Jo Wilson
and Sara Hallie Richardson. The backup singers had gorgeous voices and made
harmonies like the girls who sang with Bob Seger or Van Morrison. Eric’s gifts
were obvious. His songs were unique, albeit with familiar, genetic roots. He was
likable and sweet. Someone yelled, “I love you Eric” and he said almost shyly,
“I love you, too” and later when they persisted, “Aw, stop”. I had never heard him before, but I was quite
carried away by his heart and soul. The audience was very enthusiastic and all
I could think was that this boy’s gonna go far. There are quite a few videos of him on youtube.com. Also, you can
check out his website at http://www.eric-bettencourt.com.
Make sure you don’t type just ericbettencourt.com because if you do, you’ll end
up on an astronomy site -- which I’m sure is very nice, and might feature the
music of the spheres, but it won’t be this guy’s music!
photo by Matt Crosby
