01. Let's Have A Natural Ball
02. Red Beans Cookin'
03. How Big A Fool
04. Watermelon Time
05. Peace, Love & BBQ
06. Married Life
07. Hurricane On China Lake
08. Snake Dance
09. I'm Coming Down With The Blues
10. talk/intro
11. Thibodaux, Louisiana
12. The Right Tool For The Job
13. Falling Back In Love With You
14. That's Enough Of That Stuff
15. Woke Up Screaming
16. Crawfishin'
17. St. Gabriel
18. Party Town
19. Louisiana 1927
20. Let Me Play With Your Poodle
21. Outro/encore call
22. E: //Louella
23. My Big Sister's Transistor Radio 
24. You Make My World Go 'Round
25. The Power Of Love

Note: Louella missing 1st minute

Line up:
Marcia Ball - Piano, Vocals
Mike Schermer - Guitar, Vocals (23)
Thad Scott - Saxophone
Damien Llanes - Drums
Don Bennett – Bass

Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA 2010-06-08

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1. Soulful Dress 3:26
2. Made Your Move Too Soon 3:26
3. I'd Rather Go Blind 5:23
4. Jailbird 3:04
5. Eugene 3:54
6. My Mind's Made Up 2:38
7. A Thousand Times 3:36
8. That's Why I Love You 3:52
9. Soul On Fire 5:01
10. Don't Want No Man 3:09

Musicians:
Marcia Ball - piano and vocals
Kenny Ray - guitar
Mark Kazanoff - tenor and alto saxophones
Don Bennett - bass
Wes Starr - drums
+
Nick Connolly - organ
David Murray - first guitar solo on tracks 5 and 8
Stevie Ray Vaughan - first guitar solo on track 1
Keith Winking, Keith Winking and Pat
Mackrell (The Mighty Big Horns) - horn ensemble on tracks 2, 5, 6, 7 and 9

Pianist and singer/songwriter Marcia Ball is a living example of how East Texas blues meets southwest Louisiana swamp rock. Ball was born March 20, 1949, in Orange, Texas, but grew up across the border in Vinton, Louisiana. That town is squarely in the heart of "the Texas triangle," an area that includes portions of both states and that has produced some of the country's greatest blues talents: Janis Joplin, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Queen Ida Guillory, Lonnie Brooks, Zachary Richard, Clifton Chenier, and Kenny Neal, to name a few. Ball's earliest awareness of blues came over the radio, where she heard people like Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, and Etta James, all of whom she now credits as influences. She began playing piano at age five, learning from her grandmother and aunt and also taking formal lessons from a teacher.

Ball entered Louisiana State University in the late '60s as an English major. In college, she played in the psychedelic rock & roll band Gum. In 1970, Ball and her first husband were headed West in their car to San Francisco, but the car needed repairs in Austin, where they had stopped off to visit one of their former bandmates. After hearing, seeing, and tasting some of the music, sights, and food in Austin, the two decided to stay there. Ball has been based in Austin ever since.

Her piano style, which mixes equal parts boogie-woogie with zydeco and Louisiana swamp rock, is best exemplified on her series of excellent recordings for the Rounder label. They include Soulful Dress (1983), Hot Tamale Baby (1985), Gatorhythms (1989), and Blue House (1994). Also worthy of checking out is her collaboration with Angela Strehli and Lou Ann Barton on the Antone's label, Dreams Come True (1990). Ball, like her peer Strehli, is an educated business woman fully aware of all the realities of the record business. Ball never records until she feels she's got a batch of top-notch, quality songs. Most of the songs on her albums are her own creations, so songwriting is a big part of her job description.

Although Ball is a splendid piano player and a more than adequate vocalist, "the songwriting process is the most fulfilling part of the whole deal for me," she said in a 1994 interview, "so I always keep my ears and eyes open for things I might hear or see....I like my songs to go back to blues in some fashion." As much a student of the music as she is a player, some of Ball's albums include covers of material by O.V. Wright, Dr. John, Joe Ely, Clifton Chenier, and Shirley & Lee.

In the late '90s, Ball released her final discs under the Rounder banner, Let Me Play with Your Poodle (1997) and Sing It! (1998). The latter featured Ball with Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson utilizing both solo and combined energy that generated much exposure for all three women, as it was nominated for both a Grammy and a W.C. Handy Blues Award as Best Contemporary Blues Album. Ironically, while both of Ball's final Rounder releases were critically acclaimed, she signed with Alligator Records in 2000 and released her first album for the label, Presumed Innocent, in 2001. Ball, fully established as an important player in the club scenes of both New Orleans and Austin, continues to work at festivals and clubs throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She followed up her debut recording for Alligator with the similarly fine So Many Rivers in 2003 and a live album, Down the Road, in 2005. Peace, Love & BBQ appeared in 2008. Roadside Attractions, produced by Gary Nicholson, appeared in the spring of 2011, also on Alligator. ---Richard Skelly & Al Campbell, allmusic.com

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01. That's How It Goes
02. Roadside Attractions		play
03. Between Here and Kingdom Come
04. We Fell Hard
05. Look Before You Leap
06. I Heard It All
07. Believing In Love
08. This Used To Be Paradise
09. Everybody's Looking for the Same Thing
10. Sugar Boogie				play
11. Mule Headed Man
12. The Party's Still Going On

Marcia Ball - vocals, piano, Wurlitzer piano
Dan Bechdolt - Sax (Tenor)
Don Bennett - Bass
Steve Butts - Trumpet
Joel Guzman - Accordion
Jim Hoke - Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Colin Linden - Guitar, Mandolin
Damien Llanes - Drums
Steve Mackey - Bass
Wendy Moten - Vocals (Background)
Mike Schermer - Guitar
Thad Scott - Saxophone
Lynn Williams - Drums
Greg Wilson - Sax (Baritone)
Reese Wynans - Hammond B3
Mingo Fishtrap Horns

Marcia Ball, born on the Texas/Louisiana border, has long been a superb performer, delivering her swampy blend of zydeco, blues, and gritty R&B with all the force of a Saturday night locomotive, and through 12 albums, she has never let that energy go. Roadside Attractions, her fifth release for Alligator Records, is no exception -- it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano. None of her many fans will be disappointed by this outing, but it is a little different for Ball in one respect -- for the first time on one of her albums she has either written or co-written every song on it, and all of them draw on her thousands of hours on the road bringing her infectious brand of swampy boogie to the world. Song after song here roars by in a lightning-soaked tumble of piano-driven words until it feels like her own personal diary of America tumbling past the tour bus window -- and it isn't all barbecues, picnics, and big concert stages, either. Love is found, lost, and found again out on the road, and Ball captures the kinetic feel of all of that here, and she's arguably never sung better, her voice full of the smoke of life on the road. You can tell she loves singing these songs. The opening track, "That's How It Goes," stomps with joy right out of the gate, and song after song builds things forward, with Ball's singing and lyrics on cuts like "Between Here and Kingdom Come" and "Believing in Love" in constant motion. The whole album is full of motion and life, and it's easily Ball's best and most personal statement to date. But don't worry -- she still knows that all paths lead to the dancefloor, and once there, as she sings on the album-closing "The Party's Still Going On," you better be ready to dance. This wonderful album will insist on it. ---Steve Leggett, AllMusic Review

On her new CD, Roadside Attractions (her 15th solo recording), Marcia Ball's songwriting is at the forefront, ranging from tales of wild parties to stories of twisted motel affairs to declarations of the enduring power of love and family. It is inspired by her years on the road and from insights gained from everyday life, making it her most autobiographical album. Roadside Attractions is certainly more than capable of starting a no-holds-barred bash. But more than that, it's a tour-de-force of Marcia's seemingly endless talent, and among the most emotionally moving recordings she has ever made. Produced by famed songwriter, musician and producer Gary Nicholson (Delbert McClinton, Wynonna Judd, T. Graham Brown), Roadside Attractions finds Marcia Ball at a creative peak. Ball wrote or co-wrote every song--something she had never done over the course of her forty-year career. Throughout the proceedings, her stellar musicians add power and nuance to the music, perfectly complementing Ball's expert piano playing, slice-of-life lyrics and melodic, storytelling vocals.

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01. A Fool In Love (3:16)
02. Good Rockin’ Daddy (2:20)
03. It Hurts To Be In Love (3:19)
04. Love, Sweet Love (5:05)
05. Gonna Make It (4:01)
06. You Can If You Think You Can (2:41)
07. I Idolize You (3:38)
08. Dreams Come True (2:41)
09. Bad Thing (3:06)
10. Turn The Lock On Love (3:18)
11. Something’s Got a Hold On Me (3:46)
12. Snake Dance (3:09)

Marcia Ball - Composer, Performer, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Lou Ann Barton - Performer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Angela Strehli - Performer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jon Blondell - Trombone
Doyle Bramhall - Drums
Mel Brown - Bass
Sarah Brown - Bass, Composer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Dr. John - Guitar, Organ, Percussion, Piano
Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
David "Fathead" Newman - Saxophone
Derek O'Brien - Guitar
George Rains - Drums
Mac Rebennack - Guitar, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Producer
Gary Slechta - Trumpet
Jimmie Vaughan - Guest Artist, Guitar (Steel)
Reese Wynans - Organ
Kamikaze Horns Band

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1 Party Town 4:16 
2 Peace, Love & BBQ 4:06 
3 Miracle in Knoxville 5:07 
4 Watermelon Time 4:04 
5 Down in the Neighborhood 4:03 
6 Where Do You Go? 4:08 
7 My Heart and Soul 3:14 
8 I'll Never Be Free 5:03 
9 Married Life 3:22 
10 Falling Back in Love with You 4:52 
11 Right Back in It 3:50 
12 Ride It Out 5:04 
13 I Wish You Well 4:42

Marcia Ball - Accordion, Composer, Piano, Vocals
Christine Albert - Harmony
David Barard - Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Don Bennett - Bass, Choir/Chorus
Stephen Bruton - Choir/Chorus, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin, Producer
Vickie Carrico - Harmony
Cindy Cashdollar - Lap Steel Guitar
Herman V. Ernest III - Drums
Chris Gage - Harmony
Corey Keller - Choir/Chorus, Composer, Drums
Mike Keller - Choir/Chorus, Composer, Guitar (Electric)
Ian McLagan - Organ (Hammond)
Tracy Lee Nelson - Harmony
Lon Price 	Saxophone
Wardell Quezergue - Horn Arrangements
Mac Rebennack - Choir/Chorus, Clavinet, Organ, Vocals
Thad Scott 	Composer, Saxophone
Terrance Simien - Accordion, Choir/Chorus
Barry "Frosty" Smith - Bongos, Congas, Cowbell, Triangle
Lee Thornburg - Trombone, Trumpet
Wayne Toups - Accordion, Choir/Chorus
Terry Tucker - Harmony

Like other artists on the Alligator label, it can be tough to distinguish one Marcia Ball album from the next. Lots of upbeat party tunes, a few peppy Cajun and Zydeco inflected zingers, some ballads, and a couple of love songs all delivered with Ball's husky, soulful voice and driven by her nimble boogie-woogie piano describes this album as well as her older ones. But that's not necessarily a problem since she is such a classy, demanding, and talented musician it just means her quality control is high enough so there aren't any clunkers. Still, she has defined her niche through the decades and mines it on her first studio release in five years and tenth overall. There are a larger percentage of originals here -- eight of the 13 tunes are either written or co-written by the lanky pianist/singer, and all are up to her usual standards. Horns -- some arranged by the legendary Wardell Quezergue, who has worked with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair -- punctuate five tracks and add even more hot sauce to the proceedings. Stephen Bruton's nimble production keeps the sound open and spacious by highlighting Ball's voice in the mix. Tracy Nelson returns from the album she, Irma Thomas, and Ball jointly released to provide duet vocals on the melancholy "Where Do You Go?," a moving ballad they co-wrote. The festive cuts display Ball's energetic delivery with Bobby Charles' New Orleans loving "Party Town" kicking off the proceedings. Wayne Toups provides Cajun accordion for the frisky "Married Life," and "Right Back on It" references a Chuck Berry goes to Louisiana approach that's right down Ball's alley. Dr. John adds his distinctive croak to "I'll Never Be Free," a classic American standard that allows both singers a chance to croon and swoon and is reminiscent of the version Louis Armstrong performed with Ella Fitzgerald. Ball taps the Bill Withers catalog for "I Wish You Well," a terrific closing tune that gives saxist Thad Scott room to let loose. The most gripping moment, though, is Ball's own "Miracle in Knoxville." It's a riveting story about a preacher being struck down dead in front of a tent revival where he was baptizing the believers. The eerie track is rather incongruously stuck between the playful title tune and the lighthearted funk of "Watermelon Time" but shows the singer/songwriter can compose lyrics that deal with more serious subjects than her usual fare. Like that man of the cloth, Ball might be preaching to the converted with Peace, Love & BBQ, but it's a sermon well worth hearing. ---Hal Horowitz, allmusic.com

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